Outfield - NL Rankings 21-30

The National League outfield is surprisingly shallow this year. You will also see some unfamiliar names on this list as a new breed of power/speed outfielders emerges. The names that just missed the cut in my NL top 30 are Austin Kearns, Aaron Rowand, Juan Encarnacion, Chris Burke, and Randy Winn.

21. Willy Taveras - New COL centerfielder, will hit .285 and steal 40+ bases. Even though he looks like he is 35, he's only 25 with lots of room for improvement. Needs to be a little more patient at the plate. COL was 14th in the NL in HRs in 2006, so Hurdle will be giving Taveras the green light early & often to manufacture more runs.

22. Pat Burrell - BA killer. Will probably hit 30HRs but make sure you balance him out with a high BA guy.

23. Moises Alou - Old man still has some solid ABs left in him. Will have plenty of RBI opportunities in that lineup. Don't be surprised with a .300/22/85.

24. Brian Giles - What a dissapointment this guys been the last couple of years. Formerly a top 10 NL outfielder, he'll be lucky to hit 20 HR again. Those of you in OBP leagues, he does continue to get on base.

25. Chris Duncan - Surprised a lot of people with his power last year. A solid contact hitter, I feel he continues his momentum into 2007 and is a sleeper to keep an eye on. Here's a message to the St. Louis brass: Please don't sign Preston Wilson and platoon him with Duncan.

26. Luke Scott - I think he wins the RF job from Lane outright and has a solid season. Has big time pop.

27. Ryan Freel - Would be higher on my list if I thought he could make it a full season without getting hurt. 35 SB no problem for this gamer.

28. Ken Griffey Jr. - Sounds like he will be ready for spring training. Would be higher if I thought he could improve the BA and as always, a huge injury risk.

29. Andre Ethier - Pretty swing. Will hit for high average but don't expect more than 15 HRs and maybe 8-10 SBs. Keep an eye on James Loney's development in the OF.

30. Corey Hart - My correspondence in WI tells me this kid is the real deal. If Yost lets him run in MIL, could be a 20/20 guy and leap frog over some of the aforementioned names.