MLB: Top three left fielders currently in the majors

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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….

(Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Tommy Pham (Tampa Bay Rays)

Tommy Pham excelled after a mid season trade that shook the baseball world when the Cardinals traded their center fielder to the Rays in the middle of a postseason run.

With the Cardinals and the Rays, Pham had a little bit of a stepdown from his 2017 season, but he still managed to hit 21 home runs with 63 runs batted in.

Pham did not let the disappointment of getting traded to “no fan base at all” get to his head, hitting much better while at Tropicana Field (.343) than in the first half of the year at Busch Stadium(.248).

In his previous years in St. Louis he was a staple in their lineup with an on base percentage over .320 every season and has a career high 23 home runs in 2017. He has proven to be reliable as he has played in more than 125 games in each of the last two seasons.

He is projected to be the every day left fielder for Tampa Bay and hit 20 home runs and driving in 62 runs.

This coming season the Rays will lean on Pham to be in the lineup every day as a top of the order bat.

Moving on to another electrifying young left fielder…

(Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

2. Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves)

Ronald Acuna Jr. won the National League Rookie of the Year in 2018 as he was the lead off hitter for the National League East winning Atlanta Braves.

Acuna Jr. had a war of 4.1 and a batting average close to .300 with an astounding 26 home runs in just 111 games.

Although he had to deal with a few injuries, the 20 year old led his club to the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

He became the youngest player in major league history to hit a grand slam in the playoffs when he homered against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

He even impressed some voters as he got 12 votes from the Baseball Writers to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award.

He is projected to have another outstanding year, hitting 21 homers and 23 doubles with an on base percentage of .362.

Acuna Jr. will be the team’s lead off hitter once again, and last year he did something no other Braves player has done. He set a franchise record with eight lead off home runs breaking the previous record of seven by Marquise Grissom.

I would be very surprised if he is not in the MVP conversation for this coming season.

Here is my number one left fielder in the game…

1. Giancarlo Stanton (New York Yankees)

Giancarlo Stanton and his 13 year, $325 million contract got traded to the New York Yankees from the Miami Marlins as one of Derek Jeter’s first moves as owner. Stanton was tired of playing for a non playoff team, and he showed that he was primed for the spotlight in New York this year.

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Stanton, 29, had a bad year if you base it off of his MVP season the year before with 60 home runs. In 2018 he hit 38 home runs driving in exactly 100 runs in his first year in the Bronx.

Granted he did strikeout 211 times, he made up for it when he made contact. He hit a career high 34 doubles and had a slugging percentage of .509.

Fans were anxious to see Stanton finally in the playoffs, and he showed out. Stanton had five hits including a home run in the American League Wild Card game against the Oakland Athletics.

This was technically Stanton’s first season as a left fielder, as he played right field in Miami. There is room to grow defensively, but Brian Cashman traded for him to be paired with Aaron Judge and drive in runs.

Next year Stanton is projected to have about the same season, but with 41 less strikeouts which is going to be huge if the Yankees want to get past the Red Sox in the division and/or in the postseason.

Next. Top 150 prospects in baseball. dark

So, that is my top three MLB left fielders list, let me know what you think, and stay tuned for my center field list coming up tomorrow!

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