Top 10 Center Fielders Under 30

January 25, 2009

All Positions: C / 1B / 2B / SS / 3B / CF / OF

Top 10 Center Fielders Under the age of 30
No. Player Pos. Comments Age Org Lvl
1 Grady Sizemore CF His .384 wOBA was 2nd to J. Hamilton (.385) among CFs in '08; 3rd-best CF by UZR/150 in '08 26.2 CLE MLB
2 B.J. Upton CF Breakout alert: huge postseason, shoulder repaired, K% down 7.2 ('07 to '08) and BB% up 3.3 24.1 TB MLB
3 Josh Hamilton CF/RF Elite bat + great arm + poor CF range = less value than Sizemore; will be 32 in five years 27.4 TEX MLB
4 Curtis Granderson CF 4th-best CF by wOBA in '08 (.374) -- big BB% improvement; 10.4 UZR/150 in '07 to -11.0 in '08 27.4 DET MLB
5 Matt Kemp CF/RF Went .291/.340/.460 in 1st full MLB season (655 PA); BB, K rates both up slightly from '07 24.1 LAD MLB
6 Nate McLouth CF Worst range among CFs last season (-15.1 UZR/150); .369 wOBA was 5th-best at the position 27.0 PIT MLB
7 Cameron Maybin CF Nearly replicated A+ (.406 wOBA) numbers in AA (.381); still K'd a ton (26.9%); .179 IsoP 21.5 FLA MLB
8 Colby Rasmus CF After posting .397 wOBA in AA in '07, fell to .324 in AAA in '08; missed time w/ sprained knee 22.2 STL AAA
9 Dexter Fowler CF Olympian had breakout year: career-best .401 wOBA; lots of BBs (12.9%), K's down (17.6%) 22.6 COL MLB
10 Cody Ross CF/RF Hit .279/.328/.533 (.364 wOBA) on road in '08; very good range: 17.6 UZR/150 in RF/CF ('08) 27.8 FLA MLB
Honorables: Shane Victorino (PHI), Lastings Milledge (WAS), and Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS).
* Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it within a five-year period
** Ages are as of November 1st, 2008
*** Level is the highest level the player has reached
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Questions about this list can be directed toward Adam Foster at .