2025 Positional Power Rankings: Center Field

Rodríguez, the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year, has taken substantial steps backwards in each of the past two seasons, with successive declines in just about every key offensive statistic, traditional or advanced. After joining the 30-30 club in 2023, he hit .273/.325/.409 (116 wRC+) with 20 homers, 24 steals, and 3.9 WAR last year; those numbers represent drops of 76 points worth of SLG and 12 points worth of wRC+, losses of 12 homers and 13 steals, and a dip of almost 2.0 WAR. That said, Rodríguez hit .295/.345/.486 (140 wRC+) upon returning from a 19-day absence due to a high right ankle sprain suffered in late July, up from an oddly tame .263/.315/.372 (104 wRC+). He stopped exclusively hunting fastballs, trimmed his chase rate, improved his bat speed, and elevated the ball with regularity (especially to his pull side). Statcast-wise, he got more bang for his buck during that latter stretch, though his overall 54-point shortfall in xSLG was the majors’ seventh-largest gap. Whatever his struggles at the plate, his defense was typically stout (8 FRV, 3 DRS). He’s still just 24, and his upside is higher than any outfielder not named Judge or Soto.

Robles, a former top-five prospect, got a new lease on life after going from Washington, DC to Washington state, hitting a star-caliber .307/.381/.433 (141 wRC+) with 34 steals and 3.1 WAR in just 295 PA, and he even landed a two-year, $9.75 million extension. He manned center during Rodríguez’s injury but will serve as the team’s regular right fielder.

Stop me if you’ve heard about a 2022 Rookie of the Year producing diminishing returns last season but then performing much better after returning from a leg injury. Harris hit just .250/.295/.358 (80 wRC+) with an 89.3 mph average exit velo, 5.9% barrel rate, and .393 xSLG before missing two months — from mid-June to mid-August — due to a left hamstring strain. After returning, he improved to .283/.318/.506 (125 wRC+) with a 92.2 mph exit velo, 15% barrel rate, and .560 xSLG. His overall 99 wRC+ was still 16 points below his 2023 mark, and his 2.0 WAR — bolstered by outstanding defense (11 DRS, 8 FRV) — was just over half the prior year’s 3.8. Paralleling Rodríguez, Harris fell 43 points short of his .461 xSLG, the majors’ 18th-largest gap. At 24, his odds of bouncing back are high — if he can stay on the field.

For awhile, a change of scenery from Seattle appeared to benefit Kelenic, who hit .278/.324/.457 (115 wRC+) through June. By the All-Star break, however, he was in a tailspin; he hit an anemic .175/.242/.317 (53 wRC+) from July 1 onward with a 30.8% strikeout rate. The 25-year-old lefty appears on track to share right field duties with the 28-year-old De La Cruz while Ronald Acuña Jr. rehabs from ACL surgery. Once a promising prospect, De La Cruz was utterly dreadful (.233/.271/.384, 77 wRC+, -1.2 WAR) with the Marlins and Pirates. White, a 30-year-old Quad-A type, is trying to add the infield to his repertoire this spring in hopes of becoming a superutilityman, though a righty with a career 59 wRC+ can only be so useful.

Neck-deep in shortstops but ankle-deep in outfielders, the Padres decided to experiment with their 2021 first-round pick in late ’23 by briefly playing him in left field at Double-A San Antonio, then took a longer look at him in the outfield last spring. Merrill so impressed the team, first in left and then in center, that he skipped Triple-A completely, emerged as one of the Padres’ top players, made the All-Star team, and was runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting. He hit .292/.326/.500 (130 wRC+) with 24 homers, 16 steals, and 10 FRV en route to 5.3 WAR, tops on the team and seventh in the NL. Of his 24 homers, nine either put the Padres into the lead or tied the game, including six in the seventh inning or later, two of them walk-offs. He could stand to chase fewer pitches, boost his 4.9% walk rate, and pull the ball in the air more, though he did make progress in those areas over the course of the season.

With José Azocar gone, the Padres may not carry anything more than an emergency backup center fielder, à la Wade, a light-hitting superutilityman with 17 career games in center but just three starts, or Heyward, a platoon right fielder who made 12 starts there in 2023 but none last year. Lockridge, a 28-year-old career minor leaguer, stole 46 bases for the Yankees’ and Padres’ Triple-A affiliates and took 12 PA with San Diego; he might be just a phone call away in El Paso if a larger need arises.

Now 31 years old, Buxton has played parts of 10 seasons in the majors, but last year was just his second time reaching 100 games. Despite 46 days on the IL for bouts of inflammation in his right knee and right hip, he hit a robust .279/.335/.524 (142 wRC+) with 18 homers and 3.7 WAR in just 388 PA — production worth waiting for, even in smaller portions. After a subpar 2023 in which he managed just a 97 wRC+, he took a more aggressive approach, with more chase and swing-and-miss but lower strikeout and walk rates. He still hits the ball hard and in the air — his 30.2% pulled air rate ranked seventh in the majors — and still has great speed; after a year off from playing defense to recuperate from past injuries, he was solid in center (4 FRV, 2 DRS).

Speaking of perennially banged-up center fielders, Bader played a career high 143 games for the Mets last year but hit a meager .236/.284/.373 (85 wRC+). He hasn’t been average or better at the plate since 2021, and at this point his value is mainly defensive (10 FRV, -2 DRS). Castro, a switch-hitting superutilityman, is stretched in center, but he’s produced a 108 wRC+ in back-to-back seasons. The 28-year-old Keirsey is a speedy lefty who debuted with 14 PA last year. “His athleticism at the wall is amazing,” wrote Eric Longenhagen. Rodriguez, no. 20 on our Top 100 list as a 55-FV prospect, is a 22-year-old lefty, a flashy defender with plus power and insane plate discipline, as his 24.4% walk rate across four levels last year attests.

In late August of last season — his first full one after a fractured left ankle wrecked his 2023 campaign — the Pirates decided to transition the 6-foot-7 Cruz from shortstop to center field. Small-sample caveats apply but the early returns and Statcast metrics were positive, at least according to FRV (-3 at shortstop, +2 in center). There’s little doubt Cruz has the speed or arm strength for center, but he’ll still face a learning curve. At the plate, Cruz showed growth, hitting .259/.324/.449 (110 wRC+); his 26-point gain in batting average relative to 2022 owed much to a 3.6-mph bump in average exit velocity, to an elite 95.5 mph, and a 9.3-point gain in hard-hit rate, to 54.9%. Any progress in trimming his 30.2% strikeout rate or elevating the ball with greater consistency (note the 47.8% groundball rate) could push him to stardom, but as it is, the 26-year-old behemoth is developing nicely.

After a solid 2023 breakout, Suwinski was awful in ’24, hitting .182/.264/.324 (62 wRC+) with a 28.5% strikeout rate. He didn’t hit the ball as hard or as well as before; his barrel rate declined from 15.7% to 8.8% and his xSLG from .461 to .361. He was demoted to Triple-A, and still has an option remaining, though he’s on track to break camp with the team. Pham, slated mainly to serve as a platoon left fielder, is probably an emergency proposition in center given his defensive decline. Bae, a 25-year-old Korean lefty, has yet to prove he can hit major league pitching. Cook, a 26-year-old righty, is toolsy and pull-happy, perhaps a future platoon outfielder.

Mullins was a bright spot during some lean years for the Orioles, and while he remains a solid player now that they’re contenders, he’s unlikely to go 30-30 with 6.0 WAR again as he did in 2021. He doesn’t hit the ball hard with regularity, but while his average exit velocity, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate all placed in the 20th percentile or lower, he still hit enough fly balls, particularly to his pull side, to tally 18 homers to go with his 32 steals, propping up a .234/.305/.405 (105 wRC+) slash line. He could probably raise his batting average by hitting more grounders and taking advantage of his 75th-percentile speed, but he appears comfortable with the tradeoff. Defensively, his range has declined but he’s still around average in center.

Mullins’ weakness against lefties (43 wRC+ in 2024, 70 since ’22) mandates a platoon partner. Last year, Cowser got the bulk of that duty, but with Anthony Santander’s departure, he’s the regular right fielder. Laureano is a good fit for the job given his career 123 wRC+ against lefties and last year’s 139 mark; though he was terrible with Cleveland, he was outstanding with Atlanta, finishing at .259/.311/.437 (108 wRC+) with 11 homers in 309 PA overall. The light-hitting Mateo has just 111 career innings in center and won’t be ready for Opening Day after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

With the departure of Juan Soto and the acquisition of Bellinger, Aaron Judge is out of center field and back in right. Bellinger will take over the middle pasture, where he’s about average defensively these days. Offensively, he was unable to match his 2023 return from injuries and non-tender oblivion, hitting a modest .266/.325/.426 (109 wRC+) with 18 homers, nine steals and 2.2 WAR. He hit the ball about as hard as in 2023, which wasn’t hard at all; his 87.8 mph average exit velo, 6.3% barrel rate and 32.4% hard-hit rate all ranked in the 32nd percentile or lower. While he matched his 2023 strikeout rate (15.6%), his two-strike performance eroded from a 98 wRC+ (.281/.315/.411) to a 69 (.215/.248/.358). His 2019 power level isn’t likely to return, but his penchant for pulling the ball in the air is a tantalizing match with Yankee Stadium’s short porch.

With Giancarlo Stanton out indefinitely, Judge could see more time at DH, with Bellinger shifting to right and Grisham manning center. A capable defender, Grisham has been stuck below the Mendoza Line for three straight years; last year, he hit .190/.290/.385 (91 wRC+) in 209 PA. Though he hits the ball hard, his passive approach (36.5% swing rate) doesn’t mean he’s making good decisions; he took too many strikes en route to a 27.3% K-rate and a 23rd-percentile SEAGER. Domínguez, no .16 overall on our Top 100, has been pushed from center to left but could still return to the position he played most in the minors. Pereira, who’s recovering from June 2024 internal brace surgery, will be stashed at Triple-A until an injury strikes.

Signed to a six-year, $113 million deal following a stellar seven-year run with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes, Lee played just 37 games before tearing the labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder while attempting a run-saving catch; he needed season-ending surgery. As contact-oriented as advertised (6.3% walk rate, 8.2% strikeout rate), he hit .262/.310/.331 (83 wRC+) with two homers and two steals in 158 PA. While those meager numbers were disappointing, his .278 xBA and .404 xSLG were in the ballpark of his projection. His 89.1-mph average exit velo and 41.8% hard-hit rate were middling, and his 4.5% barrel rate was bottom-quartile stuff; when he hit the ball hard, it was often a grounder. His skills are those of a table-setter and above-average fly chaser, not a slugger. While he’s dealing with lingering back soreness, a recent MRI showed no structural damage; the Giants expect him to return to the lineup before they break camp.

Ramos and McCray saw the most time in center in Lee’s absence, but the former, who was brutal defensively, is now the regular left fielder. McCray appears on track to make the roster and fill in if Lee is injured. The 24-year-old lefty struggled mightily as a rookie, hitting .202/.238/.379 (71 wRC+) in 130 PA with a 43.1% strikeout rate, but has made more consistent contact this spring, and profiles as the best defender among the alternatives. Matos, a 24-year-old righty, was the team’s top prospect circa 2023, but he’s produced just a 75 wRC+ in 409 PA over two seasons while playing his way out of regular center field duty. Meckler, a 24-year-old lefty, is a contact-oriented 40-FV prospect who played 20 games in the majors in 2023, was limited by a wrist injury last year, and has been slowed by a concussion this spring.

After spending most of 2023 in Double-A, Carter took over the Rangers’ left field job and hit a sizzling .306/.414/.645 in September, then played well in October during the team’s championship run. He entered last year at no. 12 on our Top 100 Prospects list, but didn’t come close to living up to expectations, hitting just .188/.272/.361 (80 wRC+) with five homers in 162 PA before being sidelined by a lumbar sprain in late May. A hoped-for return was scrubbed in late July, and he didn’t play again; in October, he underwent an ablation procedure to remove tissue that was hindering his recovery. How much of a factor his back was in his underperformance is unknown, but he didn’t hit the ball as hard as in late 2023, nor did he make good swing decisions; his SEAGER dropped from the 77th percentile to the 35th. Thankfully, the lefty-swinging 22-year-old is healthy now; the Rangers’ biggest concern about him is his production against southpaws.

Taveras hit .266/.312/.421 (100 wRC+) with 2.4 WAR in 2023, but slumped to .229/.289/.352 (82 wRC+) and 1.1 WAR last year. Given his speed, hitting the ball in the air more often — but not very hard — wasn’t productive. His defensive metrics diverged widely, ranging from 5 FRV to -10 DRS. As a switch-hitter who has struggled against lefties, he’s not a great platoon fit with Carter, but Pillar, a 36-year-old righty, is. While he hit for just an 88 wRC+ with the White Sox and Angels overall last year, he produced a 139 wRC+ in 125 PA against lefties.

After producing just an 80 wRC+ in 541 PA over his first two major league seasons, Bleday — the fourth pick of the 2019 draft — broke out to become one of the A’s most productive players last year. He hit .243/.324/.437 (120 wRC+) with 20 homers and 3.2 WAR, with simplified mechanics leading to incremental improvements in several areas and adding up to a very solid season. While his modest 88.5-mph average exit velocity was virtually unchanged, he improved his barrel rate rom 6.4% to 8.3%, and made similar improvements in his hard-hit and sweet spot rates, adding 48 points of xSLG relative to 2023 (.400 vs. .352). He boosted his wOBA against each group of pitches, with his improvement against fastballs — from .356 to .393 in terms of wOBA, with a whiff rate cut from 24.7% to 15.5% — the most substantial. His defensive metrics were absolutely all over the map (0 FRV, -19 DRS) in his first year in center, so his progress in the field bears watching.

After stealing an AL-high 67 bases in 2023 but hitting just .254/.309/.345 (85 wRC+), Ruiz was limited to 65 PA in the majors last year by strains in his left wrist and his right patellar tendon, the latter of which required surgery. The emergence of Bleday and Butler — who played 43 games in center in 2023 but made just two brief cameos there last year — have pushed him to Triple-A to start the season.

Robert’s miserable season was emblematic of just how badly everything unravelled for the White Sox last year. He played just seven games before being sidelined for two months by a right hip flexor strain. When he returned, he never found a rhythm (as he put it) and put up by far the worst numbers of his career (.224/.278/.379, 84 wRC+). Even while making a conscious effort to trim his chase rate, he struck out a career-high 33.2% of the time, and his barrel rate plunged from 15.2% to 9.8%, with his xSLG falling from .515 to .364. His defensive metrics took a hit as well, with his FRV plummeting from 12 to 0 and his DRS from 5 to 1. At 27, Robert is too young and too talented merely to be replacement level; the irony is that if he does rebound — and stays healthy, something he’s managed just once in the past four seasons — he’s a prime trade candidate.

Between Robert’s penchant for injuries and the chance he’ll be traded, Taylor’s presence makes sense. After accompanying a career-high 21 homers with a respectable 95 wRC+ in 2023, he didn’t sign with the Pirates until mid-March last year, and struggled mightily in sporadic play (.193/.253/.290, 50 wRC+, 35% strikeout rate). Only exceptional defense (11 FRV, 11 DRS) kept him above replacement level. Jankowski, who crashed from a 97 wRC+ in 2023 to a 48 last year, is hoping to keep his career and golden locks flowing.

Our 20th-ranked prospect heading into last season, Crow-Armstrong arrived in late April and stuck around for good from late May onward. Though his overall line (.237/.286/.384, 87 wRC+) wasn’t great, he improved from a 64 wRC+ in the first half to a 104 in the second, and his baserunning and defense were so good that he still put up 2.7 WAR in just 123 games. He tapped into his 99th-percentile speed to go 27-for-30 in steals and total 4.9 baserunning runs, and he used his elite arm strength and range to tie for the major league lead among all center fielders with 16 FRV (plus 11 DRS). His approach at the plate needs work, as his 41.3% chase rate placed him in the second percentile, and he particularly struggled against four-seamers and sliders. The going-on-23-year-old has work to do to reach the next level.

The versatile Bruján played just 73 innings in center field last year, which at least matches his 73 wRC+; he’s the likely fill-in if PCA needs a day or two off, though he could play second and Berti center field if manager Craig Counsell prefers. The 22-year-old Alcántara, no. 46 on our Top 100 list, is a 50-FV prospect, standing 6-foot-6 with a big power/speed combination and excellent defense in center. That said, he’s still fairly raw, prone to hitting too many groundballs, and particularly vulnerable to missing secondary pitches; he’ll start the year in Triple-A.

In the wake of Trevor Story’s shoulder fracture, the Red Sox divided Rafaela’s duties between 71 starts at shortstop, where he struggled defensively, and 72 in center field, where he was exceptional (12 DRS, 6 FRV). While he showed enough power to hit 15 homers, he didn’t hit the ball hard with consistency, and while he stole 19 bases, he was caught 10 times. His biggest issue, however, was his command of the strike zone. His 46.3% chase rate led all qualifiers, his 2.6% walk rate was the the lowest among that group, he struck out 10 times for every walk, the fourth-highest rate of the millennium, and he posted just a 79 wRC+ (.246/.274/.390). Of the nine pitch types he saw most often, only against sinkers did he have a whiff rate lower than 30%. The 24-year-old’s athleticism and defense will keep him afloat for awhile, but his approach needs major refinement.

The 28-year-old Duran set career highs with 21 homers, 34 steals, a 129 wRC+ (.285/.342/.492) and 6.7 WAR in 2024, including impressive defensive numbers (17 DRS, 9 FRV) while making a team-high 89 starts in center. He’ll likely spend more time in left this year, but could be pushed back to the middle pasture — and Rafaela into a superutility role — if Anthony, our no. 2 overall prospect, gets called up to play a corner. The 27-year-old Hamilton, who’s the leading candidate to be the team’s starting second baseman, has a sprinkling of minor league experience in center, while the 25-year-old Abreu, the regular right fielder, took 11 starts there in 2023 but made just a two-inning cameo in ’24.

After an extended cup of coffee in 2023, Meadows went north with the Tigers last spring but hit just .096/.224/.219 in 85 PA over the first six weeks. Between being optioned and straining his right hamstring shortly after returning from Triple-A, he didn’t solidify his spot in the majors until early August, but from that point onward, he hit .296/.340/.500 (137 wRC+) with six homers in 201 PA while helping the Tigers make the playoffs; notably, he slashed his strikeout rate to 20.9% for that stretch, down from 35.1% prior. Though he’s 6-foot-5 and an excellent defender, the 25-year-old Meadows isn’t very efficient at tapping into his raw power, and even during that hot stretch, he averaged just an 87.2-mph exit velo, with barrel and hard-hit rates (5.5% and 29.2%, respectively) below his full-season marks.

Alas, Meadows will miss Opening Day due to inflammation around a nerve in his upper right arm. Absent too will be Vierling, who’s rehabbing from a right rotator cuff muscle strain and figures to occupy the short half of a platoon in center when he’s not playing right or third base. Greene, the regular left fielder, spent 27 games in center last year, but the most likely early-season fill-in is Pérez, a 25-year-old switch-hitter who batted .242/.300/.383 (95 wRC+) in 425 PA while mainly splitting time between center (29 games) and right (83 games).

With Mookie Betts slated to play shortstop, the versatile Edman is lined up to be the Dodgers’ regular center fielder eventually, though he may man second base while Hyeseong Kim acclimates in the minors after coming over from the KBO. Last year, Edman was sidelined until August 19 by lingering complications from offseason surgery on his right wrist, plus a sprained right ankle that prolonged his rehab; he was still working his way back when the Dodgers acquired him in a three-way deadline deal. His 98 wRC+ (.237/.294/.417) in 37 games and 153 PA was on par with his career mark, but his 3.6% barrel rate and .316 xSLG were notably subpar; it’s fair to wonder whether his wrist was a factor. Even his impressive .328/.354/.508 postseason line, which included NLCS MVP honors, featured more homers (two) than barrels (one). His center field experience is modest relative to his time as a middle infielder, but he’s been fine there defensively.

Between the left-handed Outman and the right-handed Hernández and Pages, the Dodgers have alternatives aplenty in center. Outman came up big as a rookie in 2023 (118 wRC+, 4.0 WAR) but struggled mightily in 53 games last year (.147/.256/.265, 54 wRC+) and spent much of the summer in Triple-A. Hernández had his own struggles during the first half but hit .274/.307/.458 (112 wRC+) in the second after getting corrective lenses. Pages hit .248/.305/.407 (100 wRC+) with 13 homers as a rookie, with a wide platoon split (157 wRC+ against lefties, 82 against righties) and suspect defense in center. Both he and Outman made the roster for the Tokyo Series, but Outman was optioned yesterday.

Varsho led all outfielders in DRS (28) and FRV (17) in 672 innings in center field — which he took over after the deadline trade of Kevin Kiermaier — and 404.1 in left last year; quite deservedly, he won a Gold Glove. His 99 wRC+ represented a 14-point improvement from 2023 and was more in the vicinity of his ’21–22 performances with the Diamondbacks, but there was less to that offense than met the eye, and not just because his slash-line wasn’t pretty (.214/.293/.407). He hit for a 130 wRC+ or better in March/April and August, but was at a 87 or lower in the other four months. With the combination of weak contact stats and a 26.7% strikeout rate, he had just a .186 xAVG and .316 xSLG. He’s currently rehabbing from right (throwing) shoulder surgery, stemming from a diving play in August, preceding his weakest offensive month. Thus he could start the year at DH —the equivalent of hiring Thomas Keller to wash dishes — or even the IL.

Varsho’s early absence from the outfield opens the door for a platoon between the left-handed Loperfido and the right-handed Straw. Acquired from Houston in the Yusei Kikuchi trade, Loperfido hit .214/.264/.350 (74 wRC+) as a 24-year-old rookie, but he should be better than that given his plus speed and plus raw power. After back-to-back seasons with a wRC+ in the 60s, Straw spent almost all of last year in Triple-A, where he struggled (.240/.321/.329, 72 wRC+); he made just four plate appearances for Cleveland. The Blue Jays acquired him in January, taking on most of his remaining salary to get $2 million in international bonus pool money to aid their pursuit of Roki Sasaki; the gambit was unsuccessful.

Doyle was one of the majors’ most improved hitters last year, but then he almost had to be given his miserable .203/.250/.343 performance in 2023, which produced a 45 wRC+, the lowest of any player with at least 400 PA. He hit .260/.317/.446 (97 wRC+) with 23 homers, 30 steals and 3.6 WAR, tying Ezequiel Tovar for the team high. He cut his strikeout rate from an unsightly 35% to 25.4%, and improved his quality of contact, elevating the ball with greater consistency — particularly to his pull side — and boosting his xSLG from .344 to .436. As in 2023, he played elite defense as well, tying for third among center fielders with 16 FRV and tying for seventh with 11 DRS.

Beck and Hilliard both figure prominently in the Rockies’ right field plan and to a lesser extent their left field one as well. Beck, a righty, struggled mightily last year (.188/.245/.276, 32 wRC+) while playing just 19 innings in center, while Hilliard, a lefty, hit .239/.305/.507 (107 wRC+) with 10 homers in just 158 PA; defensively, he played 121 innings in center. Veen, a 40+-FV prospect, has compelling speed and raw power, but poor reads and routes have kept the Rockies from trying him for long in center. Jones is a 35+-FV prospect with major contact issues but 80-grade speed, giving him late-inning tactical value. If any of them is in center, though, it means the Rockies are without one of their best players.

Thomas played just 39 games in the majors last year due to a left hamstring strain, an oblique strain, and a 66 wRC+, which led the Diamondbacks to option him to Triple-A once he was healthy. In his absence, manager Torey Lovullo started Carroll in center field and platooned McCarthy in right for most of the season’s first three months. The juggling may have been a secondary factor in Carroll’s slow start, and the team now intends to keep him in right barring injuries or late-inning moves, leaving center a competition between the 24-year-old Thomas and the 27-year-old McCarthy.

McCarthy is the only one of the two to demonstrate he can hit major league pitching. For the first time, he spent a full season in the majors and set a career high with 3.0 WAR while stealing 25 bases and hitting .285/.349/.400 (110 wRC+). That said, his 84.4-mph average exit velo, 2.7% barrel rate, and 24.5% hard-hit rate all placed in the fourth percentile or lower; he’s not exactly a heavy hitter. His center field metrics spread from 6 FRV to -4 DRS in just 499.1 innings, so you can understand the Diamondbacks’ openness to alternatives. Thomas, though just a career .226/.271/.359 (70 wRC+) hitter, hits the ball much harder (91.2 mph average exit velo in 2024) and is the better defender of the two, which should keep him in the picture.

Acquired from the Dodgers in the Tyler Glasnow trade, the 26-year-old DeLuca split last season between all three outfield spots, with 40 starts in right field, 37 in center, and 10 in left, plus a whole lot of benchwork and in-game moves. Within the smallish samples of innings, he showed himself to be average in center and very good in right. Unfortunately, he didn’t hit much, batting .217/.278/.331 (77 wRC+) with six homers, 16 steals, and Statcast numbers that all placed in the 12th percentile or lower. He chased 36.1% of pitches outside the zone, which didn’t help his quality of contact, and he was pushed around when he had the platoon advantage, batting just .191/.280/.270 (62 wRC+) with a 25% strikeout rate against lefties. Once a 40-FV prospect who graduated in 2023, DeLuca has the tool set of a fifth outfielder, so he seems stretched as a regular.

Mangum, a 29-year-old switch-hitter, has yet to reach the majors; he makes better contact than DeLuca but is even more free-swinging, with a 46.6% chase rate at Triple-A last year. The 24-year-old Simpson is a 50-FV prospect who placed at no. 72 in our Top 100 after stealing 104 bases (!) at High- and Double-A last year. He’s a slash-and-dash hitter with 80-grade speed and a 60/70 hit tool. He’ll likely start in Triple-A but figures to get a shot at some point. Palacios is a lefty-swinging superutilityman with good on-base skills, Caballero a righty-swinging middle infielder who led the AL with 44 steals but was displaced from shortstop with the arrival of Ha-Seong Kim; he’s only gotten a smattering of innings in the outfield as a pro.

Marsh hit the ball a bit harder than in 2023 — and in the air more often, especially to his pull side — but even so, his performance regressed. When he hit .277/.372/.458 (125 wRC+) in 2023, he outdid his xSLG by 67 points, but last year, as he declined to .249/.328/.419 (108 wRC+), he outdid his xSLG by just 13 points. Baked into that xSLG dip was a strikeout rate that rose from 30.5% to 32.4% even while his swinging strike rate stayed constant; his SEAGER dropped from the 43rd percentile to the 35th, which is to say that he wasn’t making great swing decisions. He was basically unplayable against lefties (.192/.270/.282, 56 wRC+) after posting a 96 wRC+ against them in 2023.

Thus Marsh will platoon with the righty-swinging Rojas, which looks less than ideal given the latter’s collapse from a 110 wRC+ in 164 PA in 2023 to a 68 wRC+ (.243/.279/.322) in 363 PA in ’24. Rojas’ 30.1 ft/s sprint speed ranked as the majors’ second-fastest, and showed up both in his defensive and baserunning value, but he’s another player who doesn’t put much of a jolt in the ball; his hard-hit rate was in the sixth percentile, and that was still higher than his barrel rate, exit velo, xSLG or xwOBA placed (those last two were in the first percentile). He’s battled a right shoulder injury sustained in winter ball, but the Phillies expect him to play the outfield before Opening Day. Stevenson, a 28-year-old lefty, is on his sixth major league organization and owns a career 54 wRC+ in 110 PA.

Meyers set career highs in games (148), homers (13), steals (11), and WAR (2.0), the last of those on the strength of exceptional defense (12 FRV, 6 DRS), but even so, his offense was a disappointment. He hit just .219/.286/.360 (86 wRC+) despite improving his average exit velocity from 86.0 to 88.2, and his hard-hit rate from 27.9% to 36.8%; he went from exceeding his xSLG by 25 points to falling short by 22 points, enough to cancel out his other gains. He was particularly troubled by sliders, batting just .165 and slugging .243 against them while whiffing on 42.5% of his swings.

Melton topped the Astros’ prospect list as a 50 FV prospect last June but missed our Top 100 this spring after getting knocked back to a 45 FV. Last year between Double- and Triple-A, he showed off his 65-grade raw power and 55-grade speed by homering 15 times and stealing 30 bases, but he hit just .253/.310/.426 (95 wRC+), missed time with a wrist injury, and scuffled against lefties. Dubón is a superutilityman with 181 career games in center (22 last year); he slipped from a 98 wRC+ in 2023 to a 87 (.269/.296/.361) last year as he struggled to hit the ball with authority. McCormick, who spent much of 2021–23 sharing time with Meyers in center, is slated to be the regular right fielder with the trade of Kyle Tucker, though he’s coming off an absolutely dismal campaign (.211/.271/.306, 66 wRC+).

After missing nearly all of 2023 due to a torn left labrum, Mitchell lost most of the first half of last season to a fractured left index finger. He was impressive in his return, batting .255/.342/.469 (126 wRC+) with eight homers and 11 steals in 224 PA. That said, he struck out a hefty 31.7% of the time, and it wasn’t just from chasing. His 78.9% zone contact rate placed in the ninth percentile among players with at least 200 PA; meanwhile, his 36.5% whiff rate against four-seamers (regardless of location) placed in the third percentile. It won’t be a surprise if his offense regresses, but speed and defense will keep him in the lineup.

The switch-hitting Perkins took most of the starts against lefties even once Mitchell returned. He was close to average against them (.271/.333/.357, 95 wRC+, 15.4% K%) but was a pushover against righties (.222/.306/.317, 77 wRC+, 30.2% K%). The metrics say he’s an even better defender than Mitchell. He’s likely out until May after fouling a ball off his right shin. Margot, signed to a minor league deal with an NRI in February, set career lows with a 79 wRC+ (.238/.289/.337) and -0.2 WAR with the Twins last year, though he did hit .269/.322/.391 (103 wRC+) in 171 PA against lefties, which should buy him a look. As for Hicklen, a Brewer named Brewer isn’t something you see every day… though if you do, a whole lot else has gone wrong for Milwaukee.

Thomas parlayed a 28-homer, 3.2-WAR 2023 performance with the basement-dwelling Nationals into a trade to a contender, but he couldn’t match that breakout, either in Washington or Cleveland. Though he still hit 15 homers and stole a career-high 32 bases, his .237/.309/.400 (99 wRC+) performance represented a 68-point drop in SLG and an 11-point drop in wRC+ overall. His post-trade performance was particularly weak, a .209/.267/.390 (84 wRC+) line with a 34.8% strikeout rate (up from 21.1% pre-trade) — not exactly what you want from a stretch-run acquisition. As for his disappearing power, his pulled air rate dropped from 23.5% to 18.2%, while his barrel rate dropped from 9.6% to 7.4%. He played 304 innings in center field, up from 46.2 in 2023; his defense there was average-ish, but some ugly pre-trade numbers in right field (-10 DRS, -5 FRV) limited him to 1.3 WAR.

Given a massive platoon split (140 wRC+ vs. LHP, 87 vs. RHP for his career), Thomas could use a lefty-hitting platoon partner, but neither Brennan, the Guardians’ platoon right fielder, nor Schneemann, a superutilityman, has much experience in center. Freeman, a righty who played a team-high 97 games in center last year, was a solid defender in his first major league taste of the position. His platoon splits are more or less level, career-wise, but that’s not to say they’re good (81 wRC+ vs. LHP, 84 vs. RHP).

Siri was so good defensively (15 FRV, 12 DRS) that he started 116 games in center for the Rays and accumulated 1.9 WAR despite hitting an unsightly .187/.255/.366 (78 wRC+). As in 2023, when he hit for a 106 wRC+, he barreled the ball with great frequency; his 14.6% rate placed in the 93rd percentile. The problem was that he didn’t make enough contact; his 37.9% strikeout rate was the highest among all players with at least 400 PA, and his 45.4% whiff rate against four-seamers led all hitters as well; meanwhile, his 46.5% whiff rate against sliders ranked sixth. Supposedly, he’s working on making more consistent contact this spring, but at this writing, he’s struck out in more than a third of his plate appearances.

Though he’s thoroughly playable in center, Taylor isn’t the defender that Siri is. On the other hand, he’s also a more consistent hitter, coming off a .248/.299/.401 (98 wRC+) season in which he showed a bit less power than before. Like Siri, he’s a righty, but his platoon splits have been negligible, whereas Siri’s have been all over the map (much better against lefties last year, much worse against them for his career). Canario is a 24-year-old righty with 65-grade raw power but a 20/30 hit tool; he struck out in 42.2% of his 45 PA with the Cubs in 2023–24. Nimmo is a year removed from being shifted from center to left in the face of declining defensive numbers and a desire to keep him healthy; he did make 22 starts at his old position last year.

The Royals made the playoffs for the first time since 2015 despite getting an 86 wRC+ or lower at every position besides catcher, first base, and shortstop. Their center fielders hit for just a 77 wRC+ collectively, with Isbel getting 73% of the playing time and the since-departed Garrett Hampson absorbing nearly all of the rest. While Isbel is a very good defender (8 FRV, 5 DRS), he doesn’t walk much and doesn’t hit the ball all that hard; when he makes contact, he tends to hit it on the ground, and when it’s in the air, it’s rarely to his pull side. In other words, he’s the perfect Royal; nothing about his offensive profile inspires confidence.

Blanco, a Cuban defector who didn’t reach the majors until he was 29 (2022), is the rare Royal whose bat showed signs of life in 2024. Not that his .258/.308/.392 line in 132 PA was all that impressive, though his 94 wRC+ did rank fifth on the team, and his 31 stolen bases — his real calling card — tied for second, with 20 of those coming as a pinch-runner. In fact, only one other player has ever taken fewer PA in a 30-steal season. The righty-swinging Blanco is a potential platoon partner for Isbel, as is Wiemer, who hit just .204/.283/.362 (75 wRC+) as a rookie with the Brewers in 2023 before spending most of last year in Triple-A. If he could tap into his 70-grade raw power, he’d be onto something, but he hit just three homers while striking out in 28% of his 381 PA between Triple-A and the majors.

A year after breaking out with an 18-homer, 27-steal, 3.9-WAR season, Friedl was limited to 85 games by fractures in his right wrist and left thumb as well as a right hamstring strain. After hitting .279/.352/.467 (115 wRC+) in 2023, he sank to .226/.310/.380 (88 wRC+) last year; all of those numbers were career worsts, not that he’s been in the majors long. While you might surmise that his downturn owed something to his hand injuries, his 2024 Statcast numbers were nearly identical to ’23, with exit velocities around 86 mph and matching barrel rates of 3.2%; he actually increased his hard-hit rate by nearly four points, to 31.5%. The reality is that he had the majors’ largest SLG – xSLG gap (145 points) in 2023, and still outdid his xSLG by 62 points in 2024. He’s beaten his xSLGs consistently because he pulls the ball in the air with great frequency; his 27.1% rate in 2024 placed in the 93rd percentile.

Fairchild, a righty, and Benson, a lefty, did the bulk of the fill-in work when Friedl was injured but both were quite subpar, with the former hitting for a 77 wRC+ overall and the latter a 75 wRC+. Fairchild is a credible platoon option, the owner of a career .248/.346/.409 (107 wRC+) line against lefties, but he’s managed just a 71 wRC+ against righties. Benson, who hit for a 127 wRC+ in 2023, has major contact issues, as his 39.7% strikeout rate — nearly two points ahead of Siri, but in just 388 PA — attests.

Trout played just 29 games last year before tearing and then re-tearing the meniscus in his left knee. The Angels have decided it’s time to move him to right field, with Adell — who made 113 starts in right last year but just four in center — taking over the middle pasture. A perennial top prospect, Adell finally spent a full season in the bigs in 2024, in part because he was out of options. While he got off to a strong start, hitting .316/.365/.614 in April, he hit just .190/.266/.368 the rest of the way, finishing at .207/.280/.402 (90 wRC+) — bad, but still a step up from what he’d done over fragments of the previous four seasons. He shaved his strikeout rate to 27.9% and made better contact than before, with an 11.7% barrel rate and 44.5% hard-hit rate. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough contact, and he was particularly flummoxed by four-seamers, whiffing on 30% of his swings and hitting .180 with a .309 SLG against them. His scant experience in center may be the least of his troubles.

Moniak, the first pick of the 2016 draft, was primed for regression after extreme numbers (such as a .397 BABIP, 2.8% walk rate, and 35% strikeout rate) fueled his 2023 breakout. He hit just .219/.266/.380, with his 79 wRC+ representing a 35-point drop from the year before – and that was while taking about 92% of his plate appearances against righties. Y-I-K-E-S. Ward, the Angels’ regular left fielder, hasn’t played center since 2022.

Flanked by elite youngsters James Wood in left and Dylan Crews in right, Young isn’t nearly as promising, but that’s not to say the light-hitting fly chaser is without value. Last year, his 16 FRV tied Pete Crow-Armstrong for the lead among center fielders, while his 12 DRS tied for third. Between his defense and his work on the basepaths — including 33 steals and 4.3 runs baserunning runs — he was worth 2.6 WAR despite batting a slaptacular .256/.316/.331 (85 wRC+). His 1.6% barrel rate was the third-lowest among qualifiers, and none of his major Statcast numbers placed above the eighth percentile. He did lead the majors with 11 bunt hits, though.

Hassell, a former first-round pick acquired from the Padres in the Juan Soto trade, now grades as a 35+ FV prospect after a rough season in which he hit .241/.319/.328 (87 wRC+) and missed time due to a hand injury. He did show signs of life in the AFL thanks to some mechanical adjustments. Call, whose 77 starts in center led the team in 2023, found himself back at Triple-A last year save for a couple brief stretches during which he hit a sizzling .343/.425/.525 (167 wRC+) in 113 PA. He won’t do that again. Crews has the speed for center, but his reads and routes aren’t great, and the presence of the defensively superior Young makes his move to a corner a sensible one.

With the trade of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the, uh, direction that the Marlins are going (i.e., nowhere), they have no shortage of options for the center field job. Hill, a 2014 first-round pick by the Tigers, saw more time in the majors last year than ever, playing 53 games and taking 172 PA. Unfortunately, that was spread across three teams, as he hit the waiver wire twice while cycling through the Rangers and Giants before landing with the Marlins. He hit .241/.271/.420 (88 wRC+) with seven homers, a 32.6% strikeout rate, and just a 2.9% walk rate, which doesn’t exactly portend sustained success.

Meyers, who like Hill is 29 but has played just 66 major league games, batted .263/.333/.442 (112 wRC+) with a 33.3% strikeout rate last year. He’s likely to serve as the short half of a right field platoon with Griffin Conine while Sánchez recovers from an oblique strain that will put him on the IL to start the year. Mesa, the son of a legendary Cuban outfielder/manager, is a 40-FV prospect with plus speed, the ability to play center field, and a tendency to chase; he reached Triple-A last year but didn’t excel, so there’s little need to rush him. Stowers is a lefty-swinging former Orioles prospect who hit a grim .208/.268/.333 (67 wRC+) in the majors before and after the Trevor Rogers trade; he’s got enough power to be interesting. Sánchez, who’s had only limited success converting his raw power to game power over the past four seasons, played just nine games in center in 2023 and none last year.

After stealing 94 bases in his 2023 stops in High- and Double-A, Scott began last season with the Cardinals because Dylan Carlson sprained his AC joint three days before Opening Day. He went just 5-for-59 before being sent down, and while he played better when he returned in August, we’re taking an 84 wRC+ in 90 PA type of better, which still isn’t good. His overall batting line (.179/.219/.283, 40 wRC+) bears a strong resemblance to Adam Wainwright’s career numbers. Scott has the potential to be an exciting player given his 80-grade speed and 70-grade defense, but he won’t get far hitting the ball in the air given his lack of punch, and he’ll have to improve the 3.9% walk rate and 27.1% strikeout rate he put up last year as well.

Siani handled the bulk of the center field work once Scott fizzled, but his .228/.285/.285 line (64 wRC+) was nothing to write home about either. He did play impressive defense, as his metrics attest (11 FRV, 8 DRS). Like Scott, he’s a lefty, so a platoon pairing the two won’t work; one might end up in Triple-A. Whoever wins the job will likely be sharing time with Nootbaar, who will see more time in left. He’s another lefty, but one with a negligible platoon split, and is a much better hitter than either Scott or Siani. Last year, Nootbaar hit .244/.342/.417 (114 wRC+) and deserved better, as he posted career bests in average exit velo (91.8 mph) and hard-hit rate (49.5%), but fell 38 points short of his xSLG and once again dealt with injury.