Left field is a deeper position in MLB than most people realize. It is not the most star powered outfield position with most of the power bats playing in left field and the athletic guys playing in center field.
J.D. Martinez will not count in this exercise as he will be in the designated hitter category even though he did play 57 games in the outfield last year with over half of them in left field.
Khris Davis is also one of the designated hitters that will not count in this left fielders list as he really only played left field in inter league games.
As stated in the title, there are only three spots to fill, so there are so many left fielders that were not able to get on my list, so let’s first go through those players.
Just Missed
Juan Soto (Washington Nationals)
Juan Soto put the league on notice in his rookie year with the Washington Nationals. The then 19 year old was the runner up in the Rookie of the Year award and he tied with Bryce Harper for the second most home runs by a teenager in MLB history.
He already has three multi homer games, which is the most by a teenager in MLB history. He then went on to be the first teenager to steal three bases in a game.
Andrew Benintendi (Boston Red Sox)
Andrew Benintendi was once again a dominant top of the order bat in Alex Cora’s lineup and will probably make my list before next season.
He hit 16 home runs and driving in 87 runs, but was known for his tremendous diving catch to rob Alex Bregman and the Astros of a possible Game 4 win.
He was stellar defensively leading the American League in outfield assists, left field assists, and left field double plays.
Do not be surprised if Benintendi has an even better year than his teammate Mookie Betts.
Marcell Ozuna (St. Louis Cardinals)
In his first season with the Cardinals, Marcell Ozuna hit 23 home runs with an OPS of .758. Ozuna may have made my list if it was not for the injury he had last year. He had to take a trip to the disables list late in the season with right shoulder inflammation.
David Peralta (Arizona Diamondbacks)
David Peralta had a breakout year hitting 30 home runs with 87 RBI’s. Instead of Paul Goldschmidt leading the offense it was Peralta as he took home his first career Silver Slugger Award.
Now let’s get to the top three left fielders right now….