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2016 AL East Rankings by Position: Right Field

By Nate Wardle

Apr 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (19) is restrained by second base umpire Tripp Gibson (73) as he engages in a verbal altercation with Baltimore Orioles players prior to the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays won 13-6. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (19) is restrained by second base umpire Tripp Gibson (73) as he engages in a verbal altercation with Baltimore Orioles players prior to the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays won 13-6. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (19) is restrained by second base umpire Tripp Gibson (73) as he engages in a verbal altercation with Baltimore Orioles players prior to the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays won 13-6. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (19) is restrained by second base umpire Tripp Gibson (73) as he engages in a verbal altercation with Baltimore Orioles players prior to the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays won 13-6. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

Our series on the AL East rankings by position moves on to the last position in the field, right field.

As a reminder, just a few points about these rankings:

  • I love being able to discuss these rankings. I don’t claim to know anything about the AL East, but I try to be as impartial as possible. If you disagree, let me have it!
  • We are primarily focused on the starter at the position, but if it is close, backups will be considered.

First, how did I rank right fielders last year before the season started? 1 – Toronto, 2 – Boston, 3 – Tampa, 4 – Baltimore, 5 – New York.

By the end of the year, it looked a little different. 1 – Toronto, 2 – New York, 3 – Tampa, 4 – Boston, 5 – Baltimore.

I was right on Bautista, but very wrong on Carlos Beltran, who was healthy enough and good enough offensively to make up for his horrendous range defensively at this point. Tampa was third with Steven Souza, which says a lot about how bad the Red Sox and Orioles ended up.

So, let’s move on and look at 2016.

2016 PRESEASON RANKINGS

  1. Toronto Blue Jays – Jose Bautista, Dalton Pompey, Ezequiel Carrera

Did you expect anyone else? Joey Bats may not be well-liked by Oriole fans, or Royal fans, or Ranger fans at this point. His antics on the field can rub people the wrong way. But, his power is undeniable. The six-time All-Star (in a row) has a combined 227 home runs over the last six years, an average of 38 a year. He also has a fantastic batting eye (and will let the umpire know it if he disagrees), having more walks than strikeouts three of those six years. The career batting average is .257, and the batting average the past 6 years has not been consistent. One year it will be high, the next not so much.

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Last year, Bautista hit .250/.377/.536 with 40 HRs, 29 2Bs, 114 RBIs, 108 runs, and 110 walks, which led the majors. Bautista is never going to be rated great defensively. His range is fairly limited, but he does have a pretty good arm. His range in right field does not rate terribly per some metrics, however. Bautista is 35 years old, and the next issue will be when his ability starts to decline. But, until then Bautista will be a power hitter and fierce competitor in the AL East.

As far as the backups, by this point most everyone has been discussed, including Pompey. With Jay Bruce being rumored to come to the Jays for Michael Saunders, Bruce will start in left field, making Pompey a certain backup, and not a platoon player with Saunders.

Next: Lots of positive WAR...

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