2025 Positional Power Rankings: Left Field

In early February, the following words appeared in my Sunday Notes column: “Frankly, I won’t be surprised if Greene ends up in the MVP conversation.” Fittingly, the 24-year-old outfielder and his primary standby now sit atop our rankings, thanks to their left-handed production.

Playing in his third big league season, Greene homered 24 times while logging a 135 wRC+ for an up-and-coming Tigers team that reached the playoffs courtesy of a late-season surge. Given his development path, there is reason to believe that he can be even better in 2025. Among qualified players age 23 and younger — Greene turned 24 in late September — only Gunnar Henderson had a higher wRC+. Already good, the fifth-overall pick in the 2019 draft is well on his way to becoming a bona fide star.

Kerry Carpenter is slated to spend the majority of his time as a DH, although his time in left could increase if Parker Meadows’ injury issues push Green into center — a scenario the Tigers would like to avoid. The offensive drop-off wouldn’t be as steep as you might think. The underrated Carpenter boasts a 136 wRC+ over 868 big league plate appearances, with the lion’s share of his playing time having come against opposite-handed hurlers. You can see why — his OPS versus righties is .897, but just .588 versus lefties. When a southpaw toes the rubber, Detroit’s non-Greene/Carpenter left-field option will likely be Justin-Henry Malloy.

Wyatt Langford is similar to Riley Greene in that he is a 23-year-old former fourth-overall pick. Drafted out of the University of Florida in 2023, he is also on the precipice of stardom. Rebounding from a slow start to his rookie season — a hamstring strain that put him on the shelf for three-plus weeks did him no favors — the right-handed-swinging former Gator went on to finish with 16 home runs, with fully half of them coming over the final month. The projections have him picking up where he left off, with our Depth Charts bullishly anticipating 22 homers as well as a 129 wRC+, which would surpass last year’s 110 mark by a comfortable margin. You might not want to bet against that happening. As our lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen wrote back in July, “It’s rare for hitters to hit the ball both as often as Langford has and as hard as he does.”

When the likely future All-Star needs a day off, his at-bats will go to some combination of Kevin Pillar, Josh Smith, Leody Taveras and Joc Pederson. While all are solid hitters, none comes close to Langford’s level of talent, at least not in terms of upside. With last season’s April to August learning curve in the rearview mirror, Langford looks like he’s going to be an impact bat in the middle of the Rangers lineup for many years to come.

Steven Kwan entered last season known primarily for his ability to make consistent contact. Over his first two big league campaigns, he fanned just 10% of the time while slashing a befitting-a-leadoff-hitter .298/.356/.384. The one thing he hadn’t done was hit many baseballs over the outfield fences. In 1,356 plate appearances, Kwan had gone deep just 11 times. That changed somewhat in 2025. He didn’t exactly become a basher — that will never be his game — but he did augment his .292/.368/.425 slash line with 14 home runs and a shiny 131 wRC+. Moreover, he upped his production while lowering his strikeout rate; at 9.4%, it was the lowest in the majors behind free-swinging bat-to-ball wizard Luis Arraez. Add in Kwan’s willingness to accept a free pass (a 9.8% walk rate) and his plus-plus defense — he’s won three Gold Gloves — and what you have is one of baseball’s best left fielders.

Projected to caddy for Kwan at the position will be fellow-lefty batters Will Brennan and Daniel Schneemann, as well as the right-handed Johnathan Rodriguez. The last member of that trio is somewhat of a wild card. Your prototypical slugger, the 25-year-old Rodriguez went just 4-for-31 in a big league cameo last year, but he also went deep 29 times while logging a 140 wRC+ in Triple-A.

The Astros sat atop our left field rankings last year, with Chaz McCormick slated to garner most of the at-bats and Yordan Alvarez set for the bulk of the rest when not in the lineup as a designated hitter. This year’s split is similar, yet meaningfully different. Alvarez is once again expected to DH more than play an outfield corner, but it is Jose Altuve, and not McCormick, on tap to be the primary starter in the glove-necessary position. Assuming the transition comes to fruition — Altuve has been Houston’s second baseman his entire big league career — production shouldn’t be a problem.

At age 34, Altuve remains a stern challenge for opposing pitchers. Building on his Hall of Fame résumé, he homered 20 times last year while registering a 127 wRC+. That said, his .439 slug was well below previous standards, which has to be a concern. As for Alvarez, he is simply one of the game’s most feared hitters. Last season’s 35 dingers and 168 wRC+ were par for the course as he built on his own burgeoning Cooperstown credentials. The one concern is his knees, which have been an on-and-off issue for several years running. He had arthroscopic surgery on both in August 2020; more recently, he missed the last six games of the 2024 regular season with a right knee sprain. He was able to return for the playoffs, but his comments this offseason suggest there was a good bit of damage, though he avoided additional surgery.

McCormick, who projects to spend more time in right field, could potentially return to the mix in left if Altuve falters at his new position. Ben Gamel could also fill the role, although his track record is that of a backup. A relatively smooth Altuve transition is Houston’s best scenario.

Tyler O’Neill should feel comfortable with the left field wall at Camden Yards. A free agent addition this winter, he’s played in front of it as a visitor, and he is a plus defender with a pair of Gold Gloves to his credit. And those aren’t the only reasons. Baltimore brought O’Neill on board to propel pitches over the structure, a feat that will be easier now that it has been lowered and brought closer to home plate. No longer of cavernous dimension, left field at the neoclassical ballpark will be an inviting target for the 29-year-old British Columbia-born slugger’s right-handed stroke. When healthy — historically an issue for the seven-year veteran — O’Neill is a productive power hitter. He went deep 34 times in 2021 with the St. Louis Cardinals, and went yard 31 times with the Boston Red Sox last year.

The runner-up in last year’s AL Rookie of the Year balloting is also expected to log reps in left field in addition to his primary duties in right. Regardless of which corner he’s stationed in, left-handed power will remain Colton Cowser’s calling card. The OBP and strikeout numbers leave a lot to be desired, but no one questions his ability to impact a baseball. If opportunity knocks, 2020 first-rounder Heston Kjerstad is also more than capable of putting runs on the board with one swing.

Jackson Chourio didn’t rest on his laurels after being inked to an eight-year, $82 million contract prior to debuting in the majors. Instead, he showed why he entered last season with a plethora of praise and a no. 3 ranking on our 2024 Top 100. Playing the entire season at age 20, and with just six games of experience above Double-A, Chourio slashed .275/.327/.484 with 21 home runs and a 117 wRC+. He finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting, and were it not for especially sparkling performances by Paul Skenes and Jackson Merrill, Chourio likely would have taken home the honor. His future is clearly bright.

The Brewers hope that Christian Yelich’s best days aren’t behind him. Once an elite hitter — he captured MVP honors in 2018 and was every bit as good the following season — the 33-year-old fan favorite has battled injuries and inconsistency as he’s aged. Yelich was looking a lot like his old self last season, slashing .315/.406/.504 with 11 home runs and a team-high 153 wRC+, but then a back ailment put him on the shelf for the duration. A return to health would go a long way toward the Brewers returning to the postseason.

When Ben Clemens put together our annual Trade Value Series last summer, he listed Lars Nootbaar as an honorable mention, dropping the Cardinals outfielder from the no. 47 perch he’d held in 2023. My colleague explained that he was “downgrading [Nootbaar] to a solid player who needs to put together a few healthy years in a row.” Nootbaar had only recently returned from an oblique strain when Ben wrote those words, but health aside, it’s fair to label the outfielder as just that: a solid player.

In three-plus years as a big leaguer, the 27-year-old left-hander has put up similar numbers — counting stats and rate stats alike — on an annual basis. While there might be more in the tank, last year’s .244/.342/.417 line was more or less on par with his career marks, as were his 12 home runs, .331 wOBA, and 114 wRC+. His walk and strikeout rates also dwelled in the same neighborhood. With Nootbaar, what you see has been what you get.

What you get with Alec Burleson is an aggressive left-handed hitter who possesses power and solid contact skills, yet has failed to prove he’s worthy of middle-of-the-order reps. More bat than glove, he’s slashed .256/.307/.402 over two-plus seasons in St. Louis. That said, he did leave the yard 21 times last year.

Much like St. Louis’ Lars Nootbaar, Ian Happ has been statistically steady in recent seasons. He’s also been more productive. Over the last three campaigns, the 30-year-old switch-hitter has hovered between 3.4 and 3.7 WAR, while his wRC+ has been between 120 and 122. And while he’s seen his home run total climb — it’s gone from 17 to 21 to 25 — jumpstarting the Cubs offense is his primary role.

Happ most often batted leadoff last year, and he’ll do so again in 2025. He’s not exactly an on-base machine, but with a .343 career OBP (it was .341 last year), he’s as well-suited for the role as anyone on the team. The club’s longest-tenured player now that Kyle Hendricks has departed, the three-time Gold Glove winner has consistently put up solid numbers in his eight seasons on the North Side.

Seiya Suzuki might be the Cubs’ best hitter, as evidenced by last season’s 138 wRC+ and .365 wOBA, both of which were tops on the team. Moreover, his overall numbers weren’t outliers. Suzuki, who is set to primarily DH, has been even more consistent than Happ. Over the past two seasons, his home runs (20 in 2023, 21 in ’24), runs scored (75 in ’23, 74 in ’24), RBI (74 in ’23, 73 in ’24), slugging percentages (.485 in ’23, .482 in ’24), ISOs (.200 in ’23, .199 in ’24), and batting averages (.285 in ’23, .283 in ’24) were nearly identical. Not surprisingly, the projections predict little to no change.

Brandon Nimmo’s right knee has been an issue this spring, so while he hopes to be ready for Opening Day, beginning the season as a DH rather than in the outfield is a possibility. Regardless of where he starts out, you can be certain that he’ll play if at all possible. One of only 17 players in major league history born in his home state, the soon-to-turn 32-year-old Cheyenne, Wyoming native has seen action in at least 151 games in each of the last three years. A painful bout of of plantar fasciitis hampered him throughout 2024, but he still managed to take the field on a near-daily basis. A key cog in the Mets’ lineup, Nimmo typically gets on base at a solid clip and provides a decent amount of pop — he homered 23 times in what was otherwise a down year statistically — and while age and injury necessitated a move off of center, he should be respectable in a corner provided he stays healthy.

Jesse Winker isn’t especially good with the glove, but he can swing the bat. He had a nice bounce-back after a disastrous 2023 season in Milwaukee, posting a 118 wRC+, though his production dipped after he was traded to New York at the deadline. The well-traveled lefty also does an admirable job of not swinging when pitches are out of the zone. Thanks to a discerning eye, Winker’s career .367 OBP is 105 points higher than his batting average. He’ll likely hold down the fort in left until Nimmo’s knee is right.

James Wood has the upside to outperform most if not all of the left fielders on this list. Still just 22 years old, the 6-foot-7 power hitter went into last year as the no. 6 prospect on our Top 100, with Eric Longenhagen opining that he was “one of only a few prospects with a realistic shot at being a 70-grade player or better on tools.” Wood began displaying those tools after a July call-up that followed a dominant half-season in Triple-A. He didn’t crush pitchers at a 1.058 OPS clip like he did with Rochester, but he did slash a solid .264/.354/.427 with nine home runs and a 120 wRC+. He should easily surpass those numbers in his first full major league season. Acquired by the Nationals as part of the 2022 mega-deal that sent Juan Soto to San Diego, Woods is a star in the making.

Alex Call might never be a star, but he’s proving to be a capable big leaguer. The 30-year-old late-bloomer out of Ball State University batted .343 last year in 113 plate appearances, and while he’s not that caliber of a hitter, he did show that he can handle the bat at baseball’s highest level. Robert Hassell III, who was also part of the Soto swap, is showing signs that he might be big league ready.

Anthony Santander wasn’t the biggest name on this winter’s free agent market, but he was the top slugger available — at least in terms of 2024 home run totals. The 30-year-old switch-hitter left the yard 44 times for the Baltimore Orioles. Hoping that he can build on his career-best season, Toronto inked Santander to a five-year, $92.5 million deal in January, a month after Juan Soto (who hit 41 home runs) spurned their offer and signed with the Mets. Santander isn’t Soto, but he is a serious long-ball threat, homering a team-high 61 times across the 2022-23 seasons.

Exactly how the non-Santander left field at-bats will be divvied up is a question with several potential answers. George Springer, who has primarily played center and right, is a candidate, but at 35, he’ll need to rebound from a pair of down seasons to merit serious time at any position. Alan Roden profiles on the opposite end of the spectrum. Twenty-five-years old and yet to debut in the majors, the Creighton University product is having a hot spring after scalding the ball in Double- and Triple-A. Davis Schneider is coming off of a so-so season after an impressive 35-game cameo in 2023. Joey Loperfido likewise has something to prove after a middling 2024 campaign.

Statistical consistency has been a theme in these ranking, and Randy Arozarena fits right in. The erstwhile Tampa Bay Rays’ home run totals over the last four seasons were 20, 20, 23, and 20, while his wRC+ numbers were 127, 124, and 125 before nudging down to 114 a year ago. The Mariners acquired Arozarena last July in exchange for Brody Hopkins, Aidan Smith, and Ty Cummings in an attempt — as my colleague Jake Mailhot wrote at the time — to help a beleaguered offense. Arozarena did just that. Despite playing roughly half of his 54 games in the offense-suppressing environment of T-Mobile Park after the trade, he slashed .231/.356/.377 with five dingers and a 122 wRC+.

Luke Raley may want to share his secret with his Mariners teammates. In his first Seattle season, the lefty-hitting former Ray slammed 15 home runs and put up a .901 OPS at T-Mobile. Curiously, he was better at home than he was on the road. As for his overall production, his 129 wRC+ matched what he did the previous year with Tampa Bay. Raley doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves. He’s an underrated hitter.

Does this ranking seem too low? Based on what Jarren Duran did last season, the answer almost has to be yes. Playing in all but two games — both were missed while he served a suspension suspension — the 28-year-old finished with 21 home runs, 34 stolen bases, and 6.7 WAR. An asset on both sides of the ball, Durran is an offensive catalyst and a center-field-capable fly chaser stationed in left. ZiPS anticipates a less-impactful season — his WAR projection is a comparably humble 3.9 — but that is arguably far too conservative. Players with Duran’s hard-nosed hustle and power/speed combination don’t grow on trees.

Duran is expected to get more rest this season, which will open up more opportunities for Rob Refsnyder, whose forte is raking against lefties. It could also mean outfield reps for Masataka Yoshida, who was limited to DH duty last year and now finds his positional status in limbo thanks to Rafael Devers’ pending transition to the bat-only role.

And then there’s the game’s top position player prospect. How soon 20-year-old Roman Anthony makes his much-anticipated debut remains to be seen, but whenever it happens, it will be a welcome “problem” for a team that is well-stocked with outfielders. Some of Anthony’s time could come in left once he reaches the majors.

Taylor Ward has largely flown under the radar. The 30-year-old Dayton, Ohio native had his best season in 2022 when he homered 23 times with a 136 wRC+, but it’s hard to get noticed when your teammates include Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. Ward’s subsequent seasons haven’t been quite as shiny, but he’s still been a productive player. With Ohtani gone and Trout mostly on the shelf, he was one of the Angels’ few bright spots last year. His 25 home runs were the most on the team, as were his 249 total bases. You’re excused if you didn’t notice. Sans their superstars, the Anaheim-based club lost 99 games and was anything but a must-watch for most fans around the country.

Mickey Moniak was a must-watch player when he was drafted first overall by the Phillies out of a Carlsbad, California high school in 2016. In the years to follow? Not so much. Moniak has amassed just 197 hits and 32 home runs since making his big league debut with Philadelphia in 2020. He’s earned more playing time since being acquired by the Angels in 2022 along with Jadiel Sanchex in exchange for Noah Syndergaard, but he’s nonetheless underachieved given his draft pedigree.

Jasson Domínguez has been a household name in prospect circles since he was 16 years old, and at the still-tender age of 22, he’ll be getting an extended opportunity to make a name for himself as a major leaguer. His looks thus far have been short-lived. The toolsy switch-hitter got a cup of coffee in September 2023, only to undergo Tommy John surgery and be limited to 76 games last year, 18 of them in the majors. All told, he has just 100 big league plate appearances. That’s about to change. As Eric Longenhagen pointed out while ranking him no. 16 on our 2025 Top 100, Domínguez “is poised to assume the playing time left vacant by Juan Soto’s crosstown departure.” Add in the plethora of spring health issues, and the Yankees will need Domínguez to live up to his potential to help make up for what’s lost.

New acquisition Cody Bellinger can fill in when not roaming center, as could infielder/outfielder Oswaldo Cabrera, or any of a handful of young and/or unproven players. Given injuries and exodus, this isn’t one of the deeper Yankees teams you’ll see entering a season, yet they have high hopes. Domínguez may not be the key to their success, but he’s not far from.

The Sacramento-based, Las Vegas-bound Athletics played surprisingly-good baseball in the second half of their final Oakland season, and they’re hoping to carry that over into their first year in a temporary home. Miguel Andujar will play a part, although much like the venue, he’s more stopgap than long-term solution. Which isn’t to say that the 30-year-old outfielder/third baseman can’t provide value. Along with positional versatility, he’s been a tick better than a league-average hitter in part-time duty over the past two seasons. That’s enough in his current environment. Playing for a club that has meticulously shed payroll, it’s not as though Andujar and his teammates are having to fight off high-priced free agents to earn their jobs.

Seth Brown has kept a job thanks to a left-handed stroke that propels enough baseballs over fences to make him a viable contributor on a second-division squad. The batting averages and OBPs haven’t been pretty, nor has the defense, but the 32-year-old has had 20 and 25 home-run seasons on his ledger. Colby Thomas homered 31 times in the minors last year and has a similar profile. At 24 years old, he has room to grow his game.

Max Kepler reportedly made swing adjustments over the offseason, and the early results are promising; the Twin-turned-Phillie has had a hot spring with the bat. Now he needs to get healthy. Kepler collided with an outfield wall prior a recent game, bruising his back and temporarily stalling his quest to rejuvenate his career after a string of uneven seasons in Minnesota. Assuming a return to full health, he could very well prove to be a bargain signing. Inked to a one-year, $10 million contract in December, Kepler has a 36- and 24-dinger season on his résumé, and at 32 years old, he’s young enough to revisit his 2019 and 2023 success.

Brandon Marsh would like to revisit his own 2023 season. The bearded lefty hitter set career highs with a 125 wRC+ and 3.5 WAR, and while last year’s 106 and 2.4 marks weren’t chicken salad, they also weren’t anything to write home about. The Phillies don’t need him to be a star — they have enough of those on the roster already — but they’re an even better team when he’s performing at his best. As is the case with Kepler, a bruise is currently a temporary concern, as Marsh banged a knee in the same game.

Christopher Morel could be about to break out. Conversely, he could be on the verge of qualifying as an all-or-nothing slugger who never quite manages to put it all together. Through three big league seasons, Morel has blasted 63 home runs, but he’s also batted .223 with a .301 OBP and a 29.3% strikeout rate.

Weighing the positives and intrigued by his untapped potential, the Rays acquired the 25-year-old multi-position player along with Hunter Bigge and Ty Johnson, from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Isaac Paredes. The deadline deal didn’t pay immediate dividends — Morel had a .547 OPS in 190 PA with his new team — but the hope remains that he can finally find his way. The Rays a reputation for making shrewd swaps, and who knows, this could turn out to be another.

If Morel whiffs his way out of the lineup, Richie Palacios will be ready to step in to take his place. The Brooklyn native is himself a trade acquisition, having come to Tampa Bay from St. Louis prior to last season in exchange for Andrew Kittredge. Originally in the Cleveland organization, Palacios had a 101 wRC+ in 316 big league plate appearances in 2024. At age 27, he’s probably a finished product.

Heliot Ramos was very good over the first half of last season — he had an .888 OPS through 60 games — but as my colleague Ben Clemens pointed out in mid-June, he’d also had luck on his side, courtesy of an unsustainable BABIP in the .400 range. Not surprisingly, regression to the mean followed. When all was said and done, Ramos’ ledger included a .269/.322/.469 slash line, 22 home runs, a 120 wRC+, and a .329 OBP that was still well above league average. Moreover, he had a 7.1% walk rate and a 26.1% strikeout rate. What that all means going forward is a question to be answered.

Interestingly, the Giants are strongly considering hitting him leadoff against lefties. Ramos batted .370 with an 1.189 OPS against opposite-handed hurlers last year. Will that 123 plate appearance sample prove predicative? Again, only time will tell.

Grant McCray and Luis Matos will also factor into the mix. The former is a 24-year-old left-handed hitter with 130 plate appearances and limited success against big league pitching; the latter is a 23-year-old right-handed hitter who as recently as two years ago was rated the Giants’ top prospect. A .631 OPS over parts of two major league seasons has dimmed Matos’ profile markedly.

Aaron Gleeman recently wrote a “picks to click” article for The Athletic focused on the Twins, and the first player he listed was Trevor Larnach. Gleeman cited Larnach’s .242/.327/.417 FanGraphs projection, then went on to say he’s banking on the left-handed batter being better than that, in part because of a swing adjustment he made in the latter half of last season. After making the change, Larnach was able to reduce his strikeout rate and improve his results against off-speed pitches.

Gleeman also cited the injuries the outfielder has dealt with — if you’re a Twin, injuries seem to come with the territory — which have contributed to him having played just 300 games over four seasons. He can certainly hit when healthy. In 400 plate appearances last year, Larnach homered 15 times and logged a 121 wRC+.

Willi Castro plays all over the field, so it makes sense that he’s listed here as a contributor in left. The superutilityman has 125 games of experience at the position, as well as league-average numbers with the bat. New addition Harrison Bader is yet another option, as is Luke Keaschall, a promising prospect. Keaschall also plays second base, but what he mostly does is hit line drives.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. primarily generates headlines with his right-handed bat, but he’s developed another valuable skill in recent seasons. Once known as a so-so defender, the 31-year-old native of Sancti Spiritus, Cuba had 14 Defensive Runs Saved in 2023, and last year, he was a Gold Glove finalist. And he can still swing it. Gurriel doesn’t walk much — just a 5.6% rate for his career — but he’s a .279/.324/.461 hitter who raps out his fair share of extra-base hits. Last year’s numbers were pretty much in line with his career norms.

Jake McCarthy doesn’t have Gurriel’s track record, but at 27, he has a brighter long-term future — at least that’s what the D-backs are hoping. The speedy outfielder had the best season of his three-plus year career in 2024, swiping 25 bags and amassing 3.0 WAR. His .285/.349/.400 slash line was aided by a .329 BABIP, but that’s less indicative of luck than it is his ability to leg out balls on the turf. Taking advantage of his plus wheels, McCarthy had 10 bunts hits and the same number of infield hits. Randal Grichuk provides most of his value by hitting the ball in the air. His calling card is power, and he hit 12 home runs last season in a part-time role.

The Dodgers’ lineup is loaded with star-power, with left field being one of the few exceptions. That’s not to say there is a black hole at the position. Far from. Michael Conforto is a good hitter, and not so long ago he was a very good hitter. From 2017-19, Conforto’s left-handed stroke catapulted 88 baseballs over the outfield fences, and in 2020 he went deep nine times while posting a 158 wRC+ in a pandemic-limited 233 plate appearances. His subsequent seasons haven’t been as good. In 2021, he had a 104 wRC+ and 14 homers, in 2022 he was on the shelf after undergoing shoulder surgery, and over the past two seasons, he’s hit a combined 35 homers with a 105 wRC+. Now 32 years old, the erstwhile New York Met and San Francisco Giant is projected to approximate his more recent numbers.

Chris Taylor has been a Dodger since 2017, and his eight seasons in Los Angeles have been those of a versatile and valuable contributor on both sides of the ball. Playing all over the field, he has generally hit at better than a league-average rate. He’s also made an All-Star team and performed well in the postseason. He’s had a down couple of years marred by lower-half injuries, but every team can use a Chris Taylor.

Jurickson Profar had a career year in 2024 — .280/.380/.459 line, 24 home runs, 139 wRC+ — and he capitalized on it by inking a three-year, $42 million contract with a perennial powerhouse. His Atlanta tenure is off to a slow start — he’s battling a wrist injury — but the Braves are enthusiastic about his chances of building on what had been a long-awaited breakthrough. The now-32-year-old had some decent seasons on his résumé, but given that he was once rated the game’s top prospect — this was over a decade ago — more had been expected.

Jarred Kelenic is looking to follow in Profar’s footsteps and have the type of season that has been expected of him since the Mets made him a first-round pick in 2016. Swapped to Seattle as part of a seven-player deal in 2018, he proceeded to underachieve expectations as a Mariner, putting up a .656 OPS over three seasons. Traded to the Braves prior to last season, he again failed to put up good numbers. He homered 15 times, but his OPS was an anemic .679. Maybe this will be the year he puts it all together. He’s only 25 years old, so the possibility certainly exists. As it is often stated, development isn’t always linear.

To put it bluntly, Nolan Jones had a terrible 2024 season. Hampered by a back strain and a sprained knee, he batted an abysmal .227/.321/.320 with just three bombs in 297 trips to the plate. Jones is a far better hitter than he showed in his lackluster campaign. A year earlier, he swatted 20 home runs and put up a 137 wRC+ over 424 plate appearances in his first full big league season. That said, the 26-year-old former Guardians prospect — Colorado got him in the 2022 deal that sent Juan Brito to Cleveland — probably isn’t the statistical performer of two years prior, either. His .401 BABIP was a good bit higher than any he’s likely to attain going forward.

Jordan Beck is a right-handed, younger version of the lefty-swinging Jones. Power is Beck’s best attribute, while his bat-to-ball skills have been less than ideal. The 23-year-old 2022 supplemental first-round pick had 25 home runs in the minors two years ago, but also 142 strikeouts. Last year, he raked to the tune of a .906 OPS over 39 games in the hitter friendly PCL, but then slashed just .188/.245/.277 with three home runs and a 35.3% strikeout rate in his 184-PA introduction to the majors.

Austin Hays got squeezed out of playing time in Baltimore, and Philadelphia had outfield strength of its own, but no such obstacles exist in Cincinnati; only four teams got less production from their outfielders last season. Signing Hays to a free agent deal made sense for the Reds, and it likewise made sense for the 29-year-old corner bat. Hays can hit. He averaged 32 doubles and 18 home runs with the O’s from 2021-23, earning All-Star honors in the last of those seasons. Last season’s subpar effort — five homers and a 98 wRC+ — was impacted by injuries; Hays missed time with calf and hamstring strains, as well as a kidney infection. He played in just 85 games.

Spencer Steer is one of several Reds who dealt with injuries, and the shoulder strain he played through last summer is still lingering this spring. Once he gets back in the swing of things — Opening Day seems unlikely — he should provide pop to an offense that finished in the bottom half of the majors in runs scored, homers, and slugging percentage. Steer has hit 23 and 20 long balls in his two full seasons, and he’s capable of 30-plus when fully healthy. Cincinnati’s offense is more formidable when he’s slugging.

Andrew Benintendi tied his career high with 20 home runs last year, but much like the team he plays for, his overall season was anything but stellar. Half a decade removed from his halcyon days with the Red Sox, he slashed just .229/.289/.396. Moreover, he finished with -0.3 WAR for the second year running. It’s a bit of mystery as to why he’s backslid so profoundly since leaving Boston. Benintendi puts his bat on the ball, supplies occasional power, and at one time was a plus defensive outfielder. The glove has been especially perplexing. In 2017, he was good for 11 DRS as a left fielder; in 2018, that number was 12. Last year it was -13. A revival is possible — he’s still just 30 years old — but it probably wouldn’t be prudent to bet on it happening. A non-displaced fracture of his right knuckle, courtesy of hit by pitch in late February, isn’t helping his cause.

Bringing Travis Jankowski on board after the veteran outfielder opted out of his contract with the crosstown Cubs adds speed and a good clubhouse presence. A contributor off the bench for Texas’ 2023 World Series-winning squad, Jankowski won’t experience that kind of team success on Chicago’s South Side. That said, a big league job is a big league job. Eight-year veteran Austin Slater will be the right-handed option in left.

Jason Heyward celebrated a World Series championship with the Cubs in 2016, and he would have done so with the Dodgers last year had he not been released in late August. Signing with San Diego as a free agent gives him another opportunity, but hurdles abound. The Padres play in a daunting division, and the 15-year veteran needs to prove that he still has enough left in the tank to contribute to a playoff-quality team. Well past his prime, the five-time Gold Glove winner and 2010 All-Star had an uninspiring .700 OPS last year in 87 games between the Dodgers and the Astros.

The next names on our list comprise a five-year veteran who previously played for three teams, and a prospect you may not be familiar with. The former is Connor Joe, who had a roughly league-average wRC+ and 20 home runs over 888 plate appearances with the Pittsburgh Pirates over the past two seasons. The latter is 25-year-old Tirso Ornelas, who had a .297/.367/.497 slash line and 23 home runs in the Pacific Coast League a year ago. Unlike Joe, he takes his hacks from the left side.

The Kansas City Royals went from 56 wins in 2023 to 86 wins in 2024, primarily on the strength of their pitching and an MVP-caliber year by Bobby Witt Jr. Their overall offense was merely middle-of-the-pack, in part because several of the hitters they were counting on underachieved expectations. MJ Melendez was among them. Rather than provide punch in the middle of the Royals batting order, he struggled to a .206/.273/.400 slash line with 17 homers and an 85 wRC+. A declining walk rate contributed to Melendez’s malaise. After drawing free passes at a 12.4% and 10.3% clip respectively in the preceding two seasons, he slid to 7.8%. He also fanned 25.1% of the time. Adjustments were clearly in oder, and the 26-year-old catcher-turned-outfielder recognized that need. He revamped his swing over the offseason.

Kansas City has a new leadoff hitter, and he’s slated to play left field as well as his more familiar second base. Jonathan India was acquired from Cincinnati in exchange for Brady Singer over the offseason, largely for his ability to reach first base. OBP is one of India’s strengths, whereas it was a weakness for the team he now plays for: His .357 mark last year would have been second-best on the Royals behind Witt’s .389.

Kyle Stowers is slated to get the kind of playing time in Miami that proved difficult to earn in Baltimore. The Stanford University product got opportunities with the O’s in each of the last three seasons, but they were all short-lived. All told, he came to the plate just 168 times, a total he topped by four after being traded to the Marlins along with Connor Norby in exchange for Trevor Rogers at last summer’s deadline. He didn’t impress after arriving. Stowers logged a .556 OPS and left the yard just three times last year. How indicative his results in a relatively small sample are of his true talent is a question that should be answered in the coming season. An extended opportunity is there for the taking.

Griffin Conine is hoping to wrest that extended opportunity away from Stowers. Himself a 27-year-old left-handed hitter with a power profile, the son of former Marlin Jeff Conine has 30 big league games under his belt, all of them last year. He had a .777 OPS in that small sample, and he’s swinging a better bat than Stowers this spring, so there is a decent chance he’ll jump ahead in the pecking order. Whichever of them wins the job will then be challenged to hold onto it. Both have a lot to prove.

Exemplifying the term journeyman, Tommy Pham has played for nine teams over 11 seasons, including seven over the last three. At times controversial — slapping Joc Pederson amid a fantasy football feud is notable among his handful of foibles — the 37-year-old has 985 career hits, 139 of which were struck far enough to clear the fences. Whether he’ll add to those totals in his new uniform is an easy question to answer — he will — but why the Pirates chose to bring Pham into the fold is another story. Veteran leadership? Lack of better options given their ownership-imposed financial constraints? Whatever the reason, Pham has morphed into a poor man’s Bobby Bonds. Have bat, will travel.

Jack Suwinski has only been a Pirate at the big league level — he was originally in San Diego’s system — and his three-season tenure has been curious. Suwinski followed up a solid 2022 rookie campaign by clubbing 26 home runs in 2023, only to see things spiral in 2024. He batted .182 with nine dingers and a 62 wRC+, and by the end of July he was demoted to Triple-A. For now he’s a fourth outfielder on a team in need of offensive reinforcements.