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Speaker 2Let's take a look at Scott's top 12 outfielders for 2027 up next on Fantasy Baseball Today Express. Welcome to FBT Express on Wednesday, November 11th. I am Frank Stample joined by Scott White. And let's take a look at his early top 12 outfield rankings for next season. And we'll start off with the top three. No surprise up top. We have P. Carl Armstrong, followed by Aaron Judge and Jordan Alvarez. PCA, Alvarez, we get it. Likely NL and AL. And Vincenzo. MVP winners, Aaron Judge. He is the meat of this sandwich here. And he's coming off a year where he dealt with a lot of injury. He is in his mid 30s. Obviously, he we think he's still super talented, but there are more questions now than ever before. Scott, that doesn't deter you from ranking him in your top three outfielders.
Speaker 3No, it doesn't. And part of me was even tempted to rank him ahead of P. Carl Armstrong, honestly, because I don't I don't think we know exactly what we're getting. I think we're going to see a lot of good things from Pete Carl Armstrong next year. Obviously, I think it'll be very good. But I would imagine there will be at least half a step back just by virtue of there never being a repeat 40 40 guy in history. So why would he be the first? But Judge, yeah, it's possible that he'll never stay healthy again. He is turning 35 next year. It's also possible that. That they find a way to get him a DH a lot more and he enjoys a fully healthy season. Like, I think I think everybody can only guess as to how next year is going to go. Everybody can only guess with every player. Frankly, what I can determine from history looking at Judge is he was coming off one of the best four year runs in Major League history. Truly historic stretch where he put together together an 1117. OPS over a four year stretch. And so I just don't want to lose sight of how good Aaron Judge is. Injury plagued year. Obviously, you know, we know why he wasn't as good last year. He was injured most of it. And if he has his usual injury, if he has even better. I'm sorry. If he has his usual health, if he has even better health than ever because he spends more time at DH, I think it's more likely than not. He gets back to being that 1100 OPS guy. In which case he could have another historic season that makes him far and away the best player in fantasy. So I will accept any form of discount you're able to get with him. He's my third overall player for next year with only Otani being ahead of him, along with Pete Armstrong. So, yeah, I'm still I'm still going to be optimistic about Judge four,
Speaker 2five and six in your outfield ranks. You have Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr. and James Wood, the only name that we have not talked about on these. Recap podcast yet is Juan Soto of this trio. I think he's still an incredibly high floor. He had the calf injury this past season. But if you look at his full season pace, it was still thirty nine homers, ninety two runs, ninety nine RBI, thirteen steals. Given how high his floor is, Scott, I think you can draft him inside the top five picks. I think you can make that argument for him to go at that high.
Speaker 3And I would make that argument. I myself will draft Soto that high. I know early. ADP data. And we're talking very early and we're talking only one source and FBC. I know it has him going outside of the top five. There's always a premium on on stolen bases in that format. And I think we saw this past year that the one year where he stole a lot of bases, twenty twenty five was a fluke. He's back to being a sparse base dealer. You can't count on Juan Soto being of much good at all in that category, but he's so good at everything else that. I'd be fine just getting my steals elsewhere and locking those stats in. He's normally a model of health. I know he wasn't this past year. Nobody's going to stay healthy forever, I guess, except for Cal Ripken Junior. But I would still treat Juan Soto as a counting stats monster who probably helped more than hurt and batting average and be an absolute stud in points leagues because his plate discipline is so good.
Speaker 4All right, let's take a quick break. We'll be back right after this. Hey, I'm Tony DeCoppo, anchor of the CBS Evening News on my new daily podcast. Great question with Tony DeCoppo. We go deeper on the one big question you haven't heard answered or maybe haven't even heard asked. Follow and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2Welcome back in FBT Express. Taking a look at Scott's top 12 outfielders for next season, seven, eight and nine. You have Jackson Churio, Ronald Acuna, Jr. and Julio Rodriguez for Acuna and Julio. Starting to become a little bit more polarizing players. I mean, Acuna, obviously, like all the injuries that he's dealt with. And even last year when he played, he wasn't his usual self. Julio Rodriguez, we normally depend on him to have that monster second half to fuel his numbers. We didn't get that. But he also dealt with a concussion. So it sounds like for the most part, you're still giving these two guys the benefit of the doubt as probably top two round players.
Speaker 3Yeah, and I'll go ahead and loop number 10 in there as well. Corbin Carroll. It's hard to separate those three in terms. Of what we know they can be and how they disappointed in 2026. All still in the prime of their careers. I'm not sure I have them in the right order. Acuna, eight. Julio Rodriguez, nine. Corbin Carroll, 10th. I think those three belong here in the outfield rankings. It's just, do I have them in the right order? Because in a way, Julio Rodriguez feels the safest to me. He's only 25. The other two are in. They're late 20s. But Rodriguez is still very much in his prime and had been bankable 30-30 guy. And I think has the clearest explanation for his struggles in that second half concussion. But I still think Ronald Acuna has the highest ceiling of these three, which is why I have him ahead. I think his biggest issue last year wasn't as much the injuries as the mechanical mess created by the injuries. And trying to protect himself from the injuries. And being in and out of the lineup because of the injuries. He had a big September where it seemed like everything synced up for him mechanically. And I think he can still be that player over the full season. But he needs more health. I hope, kind of like with Aaron Judge, Acuna spends more time at DH next year to keep him healthy. And I think, though I don't rank him as a first-rounder for next year, I think he's still very much capable of that. As Julio Rodriguez and Corbin Carroll are as well.
Speaker 2The last two names on this list, you have Jackson Merrill at 11 and Jordan Walker at 12. Jordan Walker, the big breakout season, but he did kind of stumble to the finish line. He was brutal in September. Turns out that he was playing through a hip injury. As a result, it feels like kind of the early read is that this is a very polarizing player for next season. So where do you fall here on Jordan Walker?
Speaker 3I'm an optimist. I don't think he should be as polarizing as he is. I think people who fade him will be making. The same mistake that people who faded Pete Crowe Armstrong heading into 2026 are making. And there may be a stronger case for that for Walker, seeing as he was a monster prospect. And some of his data points that measure raw ability off the charts in terms of how hard he hits the ball, in terms of his average bat speed, few players do it better than Jordan Walker. And we finally got the payoff. In 2026, in a way that made perfect sense, I think the fall off in the second half, you could really just confine it to September. He had a big August. He ended the month of August batting 285 with an 839 OPS and ended up being 269 with a 793 OPS because he was so bad in September. But he was dealing with a bad hip the whole time that threw him off mechanically and I think totally explains those struggles. So the talent is obvious. The kind of trend he was on prior to his September was to be a second round pick next year. I think if you can get him in the third round, particularly if he's late in the third round, you should feel really happy with that.
Speaker 2All right. For more extensive fantasy baseball coverage, listen to our full-length podcast, Fantasy Baseball Today, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else podcasts are found. Thanks for listening to Fantasy Baseball Today Express. And we'll be back again later this week. Bye-bye. Parabount Podcasts.
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