Top 10 Right Now: Rightfielders

The final portion of the position player part of the "Top 10 Right Now" series focuses on right field. It's a position that once again is key for all 30 teams because if you don't have the right person manning right field, you likely will have a tough time trying to beat out your opponent.

Most of the time, when you look at the average right fielder in the game today, they possess a power arm along with a power bat. Occasionally, some right fielders rank higher up on the offensive scale than others do, but regardless of that, their range of motion and strength in their throwing arm needs to be on point to get the baseball back into the infield and ready for play again. However, the biggest offensive weapon on a team usually isn't found in this position anymore, something else that has shifted in a team's way of thinking during this new age of analytics.

With that being said, here are the Top 10 Rightfielders in the game right now.

1. Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers) - You could make a case that others on this list (Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge) are more deserving of first place, but it's really hard to go against the guy who won the NL MVP last season and had a monster year all around. Christian Yelich proved during every game last season exactly why the Milwaukee Brewers traded for him and why Milwaukees front office viewed him in such a high regard. Last season, Yelich finished with a career high (.326)  batting average, as well as, a career high slugging percentage of (.598) over the span of 651 plate appearances. Both of those are two big reasons why he was eventually named the National League's Most Valuable Player, but another reason was because it was the first season that Yelich earned an All-Star nod, a Silver Slugger Award, and an MVP Award all in the same season. Don't be shocked if he takes yet another step forward this year considering it will be his age 27 season.

2. Mookie Betts (Boston Red Sox) - If Christian Yelich wasn't impressive enough, Mookie Betts is the next best guy in the game at this position. In a perfect world, he would be in a definite tie with Christian Yelich because of the offensive abilities and the impressive defense that he brings to right field on a daily basis at Fenway Park. When you combine Betts career year last season, which ultimately earned him the AL MVP nod, you can see exactly why that is the case. Betts concluded the 2018 season with the most runs scored over his career (129), a career high batting average (.346), and a career high slugging percentage (.640) as well as an impressive 1.078 OPS over the course of 614 plate appearances. Beyond that, just like Christian Yelich, Mookie Betts is young (26) and has the potential to get even better this coming season which will just add to the immense talent that the Boston Red Sox currently have in their outfield trio.

3. Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) - The Judge has ruled and Aaron Judge is currently the third best right fielder in the game of baseball right now, but that's not to take anything away from how impressive he can be. The biggest thing that puts Aaron Judge third on this list is that he tends to be an all or nothing hitter as illustrated by the 52 home runs and 208 strikeouts that he amassed during the 2017 regular season. More recently, during the 2018 regular season, Aaron Judge ended the season with 27 home runs, 67 RBI, 76 walks, and 152 strikeouts, over 498 plate appearances, which is still a significantly high amount of strikeouts for that sample size. Regardless, his size is a big reason why the New York Yankees continue to be so bullish about him and have been since Day One. In addition, he is the right guy to go along with the Yankees other power slugger, Giancarlo Stanton, in the Yankees lineup as both can do a tremendous amount of damage when healthy and when they are seeing the ball right.

4. Mitch Haniger (Seattle Mariners) - You might want to highlight Mitch Haniger's name here on this list because if there was one guy that we would pick to have a breakout season of the highest level this coming year, it's got to Haniger. There's a reason why the Seattle Mariners insisted on keeping Mitch Haniger around this offseason, even though they elected, to do a reset and focus on the future instead of the present. With each of the passing two and a half seasons (Haniger first debuted for the Arizona Diamondbacks halfway through the 2016 regular season), Haniger's offensive numbers, particularly his home runs, RBI, and on-base percentage, have continued to climb. Beyond the impressive offensive abilities that Haniger possesses, you can't go wrong with his defense either. Among qualified right fielders last season, Haniger ranked second in Defensive Runs Saved (9) and had a Revised Zone Rating (RZR) of (.918). While not all of the defensive metrics are kind to Haniger, his glove plays and his defense should only continue to get better.

5. Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies) - Here's a name that you are probably sick of hearing this winter: Bryce Harper. Bryce Harper is one of the games biggest names and one of the easiest players for a team to market which is a significant reason why some teams have decided to jump into his derby, late in the process, such as the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Even though Harper is one of the games mainstay names and a marketable icon, he doesn't necessarily rank higher than the other four names on this list for a reason. Over the span of his 7 year career, Harper has only had a batting average over .300 twice (.330 in 2015 and .319 in 2017) and his highest on-base percentage came in 2015 (.460). Since that year, there hasn't been much excitement generated by Harper's bat, but one positive from last season was that he recorded a career high (130) walks over the course of 695 plate appearances and had the second most home runs of his career (34). Both of those could be good signs for a player that is just starting to enter his peak at (26) and looking for a long-term 10-year or more deal.

6. Stephen Piscotty (Oakland Athletics) - Stephen Piscotty was a big part of why the Oakland A's did so well last year and continues to be one of the more underrated right fielders in the game. Stephen Piscotty was traded prior to last season from the St. Louis Cardinals to the A's, as Piscotty's mother, Gretchen was battling ALS at the time, so he could be closer to her. Unfortunately, she passed away shortly after the start of last season, but it's still a move that deserves a lot of credit to the A's front office for making. Not only for the classiness behind the decision, but because of the fact that Piscotty is one of the better hitters in the game. Defensively, Piscotty has some shortcomings in virtually all of the categories, but among qualified right fielders last season, Piscotty ranked tenth in wOBA (.351), was tied for seventh in wRC+ (125), and tied for eighth in overall Offense with a rating value of (16.6). Looking ahead to this season, the Oakland A's will be relying on Stephen Piscotty even more, now that they lost one of their other key cogs in their lineup last season, in Jed Lowrie to free agency.

7. Brandon Nimmo (New York Mets) - Brandon Nimmo is a guy that the New York Mets will be relying on heavily this season as the Mets look to not only improve off of their disappointing season last year, but as they look to return to the postseason. Last year, Nimmo ranked second among qualified right fielders with a walk percentage of (15.0%), ranked seventh in Isolated Power (ISO) with a value of (.219), and eighth in slugging percentage (.483). One of the best parts of Brandon Nimmo's overall game play is the power that he has especially when you start to factor in some of his batted ball stats and compare them to others at this position. In pull percentage, Nimmo ranked fifth with a (44.7%) value and in Medium contact percentage Nimmo ranked 13th with a (44.4%) value. It's not the most power that an outfielder or someone that plays right field has, but a .351 BABIP, which is the fifth highest among right fielders, isn't that bad either. Considering that Nimmo is entering his age 26 season, the power could become even greater and he could end up moving up on this rankings list come next year.

8. Nicholas Castellanos (Detroit Tigers) - For about the past year-and-a-half to two years, the Detroit Tigers have received a significant amount of interest in Nicholas Castellanos, but there's a reason he has yet to be moved to a new team. Simply put, the Tigers like the offensive ability that he brings to the field everyday as well as the fact that he can play third base or over in left field too. The most impressive quality about someone like Nicholas Castellanos is his slugging percentage, which ranked third among qualified right fielders last season, at (.500). When you add that together, along with the 23 home runs and 89 RBI that Castellanos had over 678 plate appearances, it comes together for an wRC+ value of (130), the sixth highest amount in that category among the position player group. Tigers fans will get to enjoy Nicholas Castellanos for one more final season, before he ends up reaching free agency, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him potentially extended, if he is able to make it through the season healthy and shows that he can be a pillar for the team moving forward.

9. Yasiel Puig (Cincinnati Reds) - Yasiel Puig is one of those players that you either really like or really dislike depending on the team that you are a fan of, but the Cincinnati Reds picked up a good one when they acquired him from the Dodgers in their blockbuster deal this winter. Puig didn't have enough plate appearances last year in right field to qualify for the qualified list, but among those that had amassed at least 400 plate appearances, Puig was tied for seventh in home runs (23), had an Isolated Power (ISO) value of (.227) which put him tenth in that category, and finished the season with an overall batting line of: .267/.327/.494 over the span of 444 plate appearances. One area that Yasiel Puig really exceeds in, outside of being someone that likes to be in the spotlight, is his base running. Among those right fielders with at least 400 plate appearances last season, Puig was tied fourth with (15) stolen bases, something that has a lot to do with the speed that he displays on the base paths and something that the Reds will appreciate this coming season.

10. Nick Markakis (Atlanta Braves) - Nick Markakis put up a stellar 2018 campaign season and he is betting on himself to do that once again with the Braves this year, after inking a one-year deal with the team, earlier this offseason. If you recall, Markakis was the first player in baseball last season to surpass the 100 hit plateau, he ended up finishing the season with (185) which tied him for second in that category, and showed quite a bit of plate discipline too, finishing the year, tied for the tenth highest walk percentage (10.2%), among qualified right fielders. Outside of those impressive offensive numbers, you have to like what Nick Markakis brings to the clubhouse too and his ability to lead amid a young group of Atlanta Braves players. The Braves need a veteran presence like him in the clubhouse to be successful and he showed that numerous times last season, especially when the team went through the typical ups and downs, like any team does over the course of a 162-game season.