After a bit of a layoff from the top 10s, we’re back with one of the most talented positions MLB has to offer, with multiple MVP-caliber players at the position. One of the toughest positions to rank due to the sheer level of talent at the top and the surplus of quality players who round out the list, there were some really tough exclusions I had to make to end up with only 10 players.
If your favorite right fielder wasn’t on this list, factor in that the level of difficulty making a top 10 at this position far exceeds most other positions. We’ll be using FanGraphs to determine which position the player will play, so if they’re listed as the team’s right fielder then they’re eligible for this list.
10. Lawrence Butler – Athletics
The power-hitting Lawrence Butler launched 22 home runs with a 130 wRC+ in 125 games, posting a 3.3 fWAR and looking like one of the best young players in the entire sport. His excellent speed paired with league-average defense in the corner outfield make him the kind of player you can have as the face of your franchise, and he formed a formidable offensive duo with Brent Rooker. While the A’s are mired in controversy after moving out of Oakland, they have a roster that might actually be fun to watch thanks to guys like Butler.
He has improved his contact rates, made better swing decisions, and still hits the ball incredibly hard, leading me to believe that this is the year where he could finish in the top 10 in AL MVP voting. The Athletics made sure to lock him up for the next seven years, a wise decision since his tantalizing style of play and excellent production at just 24 years old creates a whirlwind of possibilities where we see Lawrence Butler mash 30 HRs and swipe 25+ bases in 2025.
9. Teoscar Hernandez – Los Angeles Dodgers
While his glove in right field is below-average, Teoscar Hernandez is a freak athlete who combines strong sprint speed numbers with a thunderous bat that can crush the ball to all fields. He had a down year with the Mariners, largely due to the harsh park conditions for hitters in Seattle, and in his first season with the Dodgers, he made teams across the league look silly for not giving in to his contract demands. Hernandez belted 33 home runs with a 134 wRC+ and 3.5 fWAR across 154 games, playing a pivotal role in LA’s second title in five years.
His plate control improved, posting his highest walk rate since 2019 while cutting the strikeout rate back to below 30%, a result of the Dodgers helping him better recognize sliders down and away. Pitchers can’t just exploit his weaknesses as often as they did in 2023, and with how much power he has in his bat, any mistakes made over the heart of the plate can result in trouble. Teoscar Hernandez was 10th among qualified hitters in Barrel% and looks to build off of his brilliant 2024 season in 2025.
8. Jackson Chourio – Milwaukee Brewers
On June 7th, Jackson Chourio had a 63 wRC+ and .209 average, looking like a 20-year-old who was overmatched by big-league competition. The doubters started quietly getting louder, and that’s exactly when he turned on the jets to have one of the best seasons ever for someone his age. Clubbing 15 home runs and posting a 143 wRC+ over his final 94 games, his rookie season ended with 21 home runs, 22 stolen bases, a 117 wRC+, and +12 Defensive Runs Saved in the outfield.
His all-around game and developing power give me hope that not only will we see Chourio play in multiple All-Star games, but that he’s capable of winning an MVP in the next few years. He turned 21 just 10 days ago; what Jackson Chourio can become as he continues to get stronger is terrifying, and if you compare him to some of the biggest stars in the game and what they were doing at this age, there’s a lot to be excited about. This is a high-floor and high-ceiling player because he’s above-average or elite in all three facets of the game. Special.
7. Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels
Everything about this placement feels wrong, Mike Trout shouldn’t be outside the top five of a position group, and yet I have to dock him for his lack of games played over the past four seasons. He’s exceeded the 100-game threshold just once, and while the move to right field could help him stay on the field more often, I’ll still be skeptical of how he is when healthy and how often he is healthy. Last season we saw the strikeout rate dop and he hit 10 home runs in just 29 games, but injuries once again cut that season short and robbed us of greatness.
I am rooting to be wrong, I am rooting for Mike Trout to play 150 games and launch more home runs than anyone thinks he will, but history is not on his side. The margin is thin between he and some of the players ranked directly ahead of him, and that’s a testament to just how good of a ballplayer he is. Let’s not forget that Trout is one of the greatest players of all time regardless of era; this is a player who broke the way we evaluated players, and if he’s healthy in 2025 he’ll finish top five in MVP voting.
Just give me ~130 games. MLB needs a healthy Mike Trout.
6. Fernando Tatis Jr. – San Diego Padres
The career of Fernando Tatis Jr. is one that I struggle to wrap my head around. He had a serious case for being the best player in baseball back in 2021, but an injury and PED suspension would kill all of that momentum, and he’s settled for being a great but not elite player since. This past season was both a step forward and a step back, as he posted a 135 wRC+ with 21 home runs in 102 games, with his WAR/150 at 4.7, but injuries ate into his season and that has to be factored into his ranking here.
His defense took a step back from his elite numbers in right field as well, going from perhaps the best corner outfielder in the game to merely an average one. If Tatis can find a way to bring back that elite defense while posting a wRC+ above 130, we could be looking at a 5-6 WAR player who gets MVP votes. San Diego is going to need someone to step up and be that superstar-caliber player after some key losses this winter, and while Tatis did everything he could in October, he’ll need to be just that little bit better to restore his elite status from 2021.
5. Corbin Carroll – Arizona Diamondbacks
Maybe I’m giving Corbin Carroll too much slack for his down year in 2024, but I am fully convinced that his first-half slump was a blip in the radar. He finished the season with 22 home runs, 35 stolen bases, and much better defense than we saw in his first full season as a pro. The Diamondbacks were able to get Carroll to pull the ball in the air more often, and he worked more walks while striking out less as well. I seriously doubt we see a .256 BABIP from someone who does make damage on contact and has the speed that Carroll has had his whole life.
It’ll even out and he’ll have a wRC+ in the 125-130 range, with his elite-level baserunning and brilliant defense in right field floating his WAR value. If he has the .362 OBP we saw in 2023 in 2025, the power he showed in the second half could carry him into winning NL MVP, even with Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto representing the clearcut frontrunners for the award right now. Arizona has the best baserunner in baseball on their side, he’s capable of winning a Gold Glove in right field, and he’s still only 24 years old.
There’s a lot of Jose Ramirez in this profile, and I love the consistency and value that kind of archetype brings to the table year in and year out in the WAR department.
4. Kyle Tucker – Chicago Cubs
A pillar of consistency who flashed the upside to be a real MVP frontrunner in 2024, Kyle Tucker might have had a shot to enter what was a tantalizing race for the AL MVP award this past season before an unfortunate shin issue emerged. It was a freak accident, occurring because of a foul ball in a random game in June, so he won’t be dinged on this list for missing time at all. Tucker had a 180 wRC+ and 4.2 fWAR in just 78 games, hitting 23 home runs and cementing himself as the Astros’ best player that year before being traded to the Cubs.
He’s eight in wRC+ (145) from 2022-2024 and has a 14.1 fWAR, as his well-rounded game allows him to provide value with his bat, legs, and glove all at once. There’s a reason that teams are gearing up to spend over half a billion dollars potentially on him this upcoming winter, and if he delivers a strong season we could be looking at an MVP season in a walk year. The Cubs paid a hefty price to nab him from Houston in that trade, and Chicago is hoping it’s a long-term stay that results in at least one World Series title.
3. Ronald Acuna Jr. – Atlanta Braves
A poor start to his 2024 season paired with an ACL tear has me more pessimistic on how much WAR we’ll see Ronald Acuna Jr. will accumulate…relative to his absolute peak years. That’s the thing here, Acuna is such a dynamic hitter with blazing baserunning skills that even a lesser version of him is good for 4-5 WAR. His 2022 season might scare some people from immediately buying in on his bounceback in 2025, but that season came with a massive differential in results and expected data.
Entering the 2024 season I would have included him in the same conversation as the two guys ahead of him, but they’ve had seasons where they separated themselves from the pack a bit. The chance for Acuna to regain that reputation is still there, but the injury he suffered this time around is bad enough to knock him down a peg. Here’s to hoping he puts up that 4-5 WAR season and then builds on it moving forward, firmly entrenching him as not only a great player, but one of the best to ever don a Braves’ jersey.
2. Juan Soto – New York Mets
Do you know why Juan Soto got a record-setting deal the likes of which we have never seen before, with multiple teams offering money close to that mark? That’s because at just 25 years old, he had the second-best xwOBA of all time, posting an 8 WAR season with a ridiculous slashline. Is he a bad defender and baserunner? Sure, but he’s such a good hitter that those things don’t outweigh the value of having him in the middle of your lineup.
Since 2021 he is behind only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in fWAR, and he has never had a season with an OBP below .400 in a season. The ability to do damage on contact has only improved in recent years, as he’s become the kind of hitter that you rarely come across in this sport. He walks more than he strikes out while hitting 30+ home runs a season, the level of talent and skill it takes to do that is something you cannot find anywhere else in baseball.
The Generational Juan, he’s going to change the way the Mets are perceived for the next 15 years.
1. Aaron Judge – New York Yankees
Aaron Judge has placed himself in a tier above the rest of the league, with only Shohei Ohtani in that category of players who are more than just a game-changer. When you have Judge in your lineup, you have someone who is both the best player on the field at almost any moment, but someone who is so much better than everyone else at hitting that teams have to pitch to the people in front of and after Judge differently. His 202 wRC+ since 2022 is 28 points higher than second-place (Yordan Alvarez), which is a more insane gap than people think.
What’s even crazier is the fact that Judge is averaging 9 WAR per season over those three years despite playing centerfield in two of those three seasons, where he is a worse defender than he is in right field. The Yankees go as far as their captain goes, and if he has another MVP-caliber season, he could have three MVP awards in four seasons and eclipse the 60 WAR threshold. He has gotten better with age, gets to move back to right field where he’s still a solid defender, and is coming off of his best season.
Did I mention that he just posted the highest wRC+ for a right-handed hitter since MLB integrated in 1947?