This week’s fantasy baseball outfielder review will help you identify outfielders available in 50% or more of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues. For deep league players, the third is available in 85% or more of Yahoo! leagues.
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Jayson Werth, Washington (35% owned)
Werth has had consistent production worthy of rostering in at least twelve-team leagues pretty much all season. As of this writing, he ranked 36 among outfielders, which is a starting-caliber OF in twelve-team leagues. Strip out multi-position eligibility factors, and he falls firmly in the “good starter” camp. For the season, he has a .308 average, six homers, a staggering 22 runs, 12 RBI and (unexpectedly) three swiped bags. Health is always the issue with Werth, and he’s dealing with some groin tightness. Still, he’s been producing and is a plug-and-play starter in nearly all leagues. Batting average regression is inevitable, but his power in a potent Washington offense make him worth an add.
Josh Bell, Pittsburgh (36% owned)
Josh Bell kept popping up as a qualified player who deserved recognition week-over-week while writing this piece. However, I can no longer ignore his production, and neither can fantasy baseball owners. Over the last fifteen days, he has six home runs, 12 RBI, 10 runs and a .273 average. He’s swiped nary a bag, but he has homered in four-of-six games. Only a small handful of outfielders are out-hitting Bell over the last week. It’s to be seen if Bell keeps it up all year, but he’s been knocking on this article’s door for some time now. A power surge like his has obvious regression baked in, but his extremely low BABIP means that a positive batting average regression will offset the power adjustment.
Michael Taylor, Washington (4% owned)
Taylor only has an opportunity to play thanks to the Adam Eaton injury. It’s a good thing for Taylor that Eaton’s injury was season-ending. Some game postponements and a rest day have made racking up counting stats lately difficult, but that hasn’t stopped him from racking up two homers and two stolen bases in two weeks to go alongside his .295 average. He has the complete package for a deep league addition, but his ownership does not reflect his potential contributions.