2011 N.L. Outfielders

If you're an A.L.-only owner who only peeks at what happens in the National League once the season over, this list will either make you salivate or make you sad. Or maybe you're the kind of person who will do both.

Ten Most Expensive N.L. Outfielders 2011

#	Player	$	Sal	+/-	CBS	LABR	TW	PK	2010
1	Ryan Braun	$47	39	8	45	37	36	38	$33
2	Carlos Gonzalez	$33	39	-6	44	37	36	38	$45
3	Matt Kemp	$53	34	19	32	35	34	32	$24
4	Matt Holliday	$24	33	-9	37	30	32	29	$32
5	Andrew McCutchen	$28	32	-4	31	32	32	31	$29
6	Justin Upton	$35	30	5	29	29	31	29	$22
7	Hunter Pence	$31	29	3	26	29	31	30	$29
8	Jay Bruce	$26	28	-3	29	27	29	26	$22
9	Andre Ethier	$17	28	-11	30	28	26	26	$22
10	Jayson Werth	$18	27	-9	26	27	27	27	$30
	Average	$31	32	-1	33	31	31	31	$29

There weren't even five outfielders in the American League that earned $30+, and Jacoby Ellsbury was the only big ticket item over there that did. These 10 hitters almost earn back what they're paid, and while some of that is obviously due to Kemp's historic (Rotisserie) season, you still have to like what the first eight hitters on this list did. Holliday was the 28th best N.L.-only hitter in 2011; if someone told you that you could spend between $28-39 and were guaranteed to own a Top 30 National League hitter, you would have taken that deal on the spot.

Of course, grizzled veterans know that it doesn't always work out this way. There's usually a bigger dud here than someone like Ethier - and usually more than just one. While the market's faith in these hitters was rewarded in 2011, we have to remember that it doesn't always work out this way.

LABR, Tout Wars and Rotoman nail the average earnings of these players. CBS's more robust bidding lands them Braun, Gonzalez, Holliday, Ethier and a share of Bruce, but unlike in the A.L., their earlier spending spree forces them to pull back somewhat. Tout Wars is the next most aggressive bidder getting Upton and Pence outright, tying LABR on McCutchen and getting the other half of Bruce. LABR only gets Kemp (nice buy, though). LABR, Tout and Rotoman are all equally wrong on Werth; since Rotoman isn't spending his dough he can feel free to not get his money's Werth.

There's more money flying around in the National League for outfielders, but why shouldn't there be? These guys are damn good.

Next 10 (11-20) Most Expensive N.L. Outfielders 2011

#	Player	$	Sal	+/-	CBS	LABR	TW	PK	2010
11	Drew Stubbs	$25	26	-1	27	25	27	26	$27
12	Jason Heyward	$11	26	-15	28	25	26	26	$22
13	Shane Victorino	$26	26	-1	27	26	26	24	$27
14	Mike Stanton	$25	26	-1	26	27	24	25	$15
15	Chris Young	$22	24	-2	23	24	25	25	$29
16	Colby Rasmus	$12	24	-12	22	23	26	26	$23
17	Corey Hart	$24	22	2	21	22	24	22	$28
18	Michael Bourn	$36	21	15	20	23	21	20	$26
19	Angel Pagan	$22	20	2	20	19	22	22	$30
20	Jose Tabata	$13	20	-7	20	18	21	19	$18
	Average	$22	24	-2	23	23	24	24	$25

In the first group, Kemp was the big profit center that pushed the group close to neutral earnings, while here it's Bourn. However, there are a lot of hitters here who nearly broke even or made a small profit on your $20-26 investment. Getting $60 or so worth of value from $60 worth of bids is a nice way to fill out your outfield.

For the third year in a row, this was a remarkably consistent group. They earned $21 off a $22 investment in 2010 and $20 off of a $21 investment in 2009.

As the 23rd most expensive player, Victorino seems to be CBS's high water mark; they grab him and Heyward and tie Tout Wars on Stubbs. Tout Wars also ties Rotoman on Young, Rasmus and Pagan while getting Hart and Tabata outright. LABR gets Bourn and Stanton. They're not buying many players, but a Bourn/Kemp/Stanton outfield would have been great last year.

Is there a drop-off coming at some point?

Next 10 Most Expensive (21-30) N.L. Outfielders 2011

#	Player	$	Sal	+/-	CBS	LABR	TW	PK	2010
21	Jason Bay	$15	18	-4	19	17	19	19	$12
22	Dexter Fowler	$16	18	-2	13	19	22	19	$13
23	Logan Morrison	$16	16	0	16	18	15	15	$6
24	Andres Torres	$9	16	-7	16	16	16	17	$24
25	Alfonso Soriano	$17	14	3	10	16	17	16	$18
26	Seth Smith	$20	14	6	11	16	15	15	$12
27	Carlos Beltran	$26	13	13	13	15	11	14	$6
28	Marlon Byrd	$12	13	-1	9	14	15	15	$20
29	Raul Ibanez	$16	13	4	7	16	15	13	$19
30	Cameron Maybin	$25	12	13	9	15	13	9	$8
	Average	$17	15	3	12	16	16	15	$14

Maybe, but not here. There is actually profit to be had with this group of outfielders. And - if you read my stuff religiously - this shouldn't come as a surprise.

In Roto, I dig guys like Bay, Soriano and Ibanez. Their WAR, OBA, and RC+ might suck, but I'm paying for stats, not metrics.

One obvious problem if you're targeting guys like this is that the experts in LABR and Tout Wars seem to know this too. Ibanez at $7 in CBS is a slam-dunk. Ibanez at $16 in LABR is a Stage Three bore. You need guys like Ibanez at par to win but you can't win with a team of Raul Ibanezes.

The hope is always that there will be some players in the middle or at the bottom who break through.

Top 10 N.L. Outfielders 2011

#	Player	$	Sal	+/-	CBS	LABR	TW	PK	2010
1	Matt Kemp	$53	34	19	32	35	34	32	$24
2	Ryan Braun	$47	39	8	45	37	36	38	$33
3	Michael Bourn	$36	21	15	20	23	21	20	$26
4	Justin Upton	$35	30	5	29	29	31	29	$22
5	Carlos Gonzalez	$33	39	-6	44	37	36	38	$45
6	Hunter Pence	$31	29	3	26	29	31	30	$29
7	Michael Morse	$29	9	19	4	10	14	12	$12
8	Andrew McCutchen	$28	32	-4	31	32	32	31	$29
9	Emilio Bonifacio	$28	1	27	3			3	$7
10	Jay Bruce	$26	28	-3	29	27	29	26	$22
	Average	$35	26	8	26	26	26	26	$25

But of the 10 players here, only Morse and Bonifacio are surprises. Seven of the 10 hitters here were also represented in the Top 10, with Bourn the only other hitter who snuck in.

This is a pretty spectacular group of hitters. Thirty-five dollars per hitter blows away anything the best National League outfielders have done since I began tracking this.

There's nothing wrong with paying a little extra for position scarcity. But the place to get stats last year was in the outfield. If you diverted too much money into your infield and missed out on too many of these hitters, you probably didn't win.