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.
Steven Souza, Tampa Bay (46% owned)
No outfielder has hit more home runs in the last two weeks than Souza, and he’s pulled a .326 average alongside that massive power output. He took advantage of the good park in Texas, but he still has six homers since May 24. There’s nothing too out of line with his season totals except a slightly elevated HR/FB rate. He turned 28 just over six weeks ago, so he could have turned a corner this season. Either way, he has 20/20 upside with a decent average. It’s difficult to find speed these days, so getting some steals without abandoning power is the ideal third outfielder or utility player who helps out in multiple categories.
Max Kepler, Minnesota (29% owned)
Kepler’s spent the last couple of weeks turning into the #3 OF performance in that timeframe. He pulled in numbers mostly thanks to those around him (R & RBI), but he’s turning in a perfectly acceptable all-around season for a deeper league outfielder. He carries a batting average more in line with his batting profile (due to BABIP-normalization). He’s back on the path to solid overall production as one of the unsexy glue guys on your roster. He’s currently rocking a seven-game hit streak with hits in ten-of-twelve games. The Twins run hot right now, but Kepler seems to be a cause, not a symptom, of their production.
Danny Valencia, Seattle (14% owned)
Valencia is a 2017 post-hype sleeper and an extremely slow start confirmed his sleeper status, but Valencia sleeps no longer. He rocked a sweet .565 OPS at the end of April, mostly due to his .222 BABIP. However, since the calendar turned over to May, his .565 gave way to a .514 slugging percentage. Since May 1, Valencia has a .339/,392/.514 slash line. He missed some time in late May with a wrist injury, but that hasn’t stopped him lately. He’s hit even better since that injury. So far this year Valencia is pulling a .283/.343/.435 slash line with five home runs, 26 RBI, 22 R and a stolen base. He’s already a good AL-only play and could be on his way up to higher relevance. He has first base and third base eligibility, which helps his relevance, as well.