Sluggers -- giant home run and power producers -- used to roam left field in most ballparks like baseball’s version of the T-Rex. In 2006, 21 players whose primary position was left field mashed 20 or more homers, from Barry Bonds to Juan Rivera to Pat Burrell to Marcus Thames to Manny Ramirez.
But as statistical analysis continues to shape the game, highlighting players who excel in run prevention and in their platoon work against left-handed and right-handed pitchers, the composition of those who play left field has changed. (Increased testing for performance-enhancing drugs has probably played a role in this, as well.)
If you use the same sorting tools for 2016 as for 2006, only 12 left fielders generated 20 or more homers last year. Oh, sure, there are still a few left fielders cut out of the old mold, like Khris Davis of Oakland, who bashed 42 homers, or Justin Upton of the Tigers, who clubbed 31 homers while playing every day. But more and more, the left field at-bats are carved up into slices doled out to a group of players who provide productivity in particular matchups -- on defense and against lefties or righties. In 2006, 24 left fielders had more than 490 at-bats. In 2016, only 12 left fielders had more than 490 at-bats.
The Dodgers used 12 different players in left field in 2016; the Astros, eight. Among the 12 left fielders deployed by the Cubs were pitchers Travis Wood and Pedro Strop.
What this also means is that teams are not devoting as much of a share of their payroll to left fielders as they used to. This makes sense because positions like shortstop, second base, third base and center field require a greater range of skills -- and more money -- in this era.
With all of that in mind, here is Part VII of our positional rankings: the top 10 left fielders, based on the input of scouts and executives.
Major League Baseball is flush with cash, and teams have operated this winter with the comfort of knowing that a new management-favorable labor agreement is in place. Yet only one player received a deal worth at least $100 million -- Cespedes, who returned to the Mets on a four-year, $110 million contract after demonstrating the past two seasons what a difference he can make. Over the past two years, the Mets’ record in the regular-season games in which Cespedes has played for them is 110-79. In the games he hasn’t played, they're 67-68. They don’t have a lot of lineup depth or power, which underscores the importance of Cespedes’s production for them. The Mets have averaged 4.6 runs per game in which he has played for them and 4.0 when he hasn’t been in the lineup. While his defense has been in clear regression, his ability to throw still makes him a weapon.
From Sarah Langs of ESPN Stats & Information: Cespedes has 48 homers since Aug. 1, 2015, third-most in the NL behind Nolan Arenado (58) and Kris Bryant (51). Cespedes’s 20.9 percent hard-hit rate ranks first in the NL in that span.