With all respect to third base, there’s an argument that MLB’s most loaded position group lies in the green pastures of the outfield.

Five of the last six MVP Award winners were outfielders, and it wouldn’t shock anyone if the position swept the honors again in 2020. In fact, outfielders claimed the top four spots on MLB.com’s Top 800 fantasy rankings this year, and with seven of them residing within the top 20, one doesn’t necessarily need to spend a first-round pick to obtain an elite outfield option.

Tier 1: Christian Yelich, Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Trout, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts

There was a point last summer where Yelich had knocked 61 homers over his past 162 games, so, yeah, that certainly helped him shoot to the top of this list. There were questions last year as to whether Yelich’s 2018 National League MVP Award-winning season was fluky, and then he went out and hit even better before that broken kneecap harmed his bid for back-to-back honors. Add in Yelich’s 30 steals across 130 games, and he gets the edge at No. 1.

But there were points over the last two seasons at which each of the other four stars looked like the best player in baseball. Acuña has 40-40 potential, Trout is the safest choice possible and the absurdity of Bellinger and Betts now hitting next to each other in Los Angeles (we’re still processing that), should give each of them better pitches to crush.

Tier 2: Juan Soto, J.D. Martinez, Charlie Blackmon, Aaron Judge , George Springer, Bryce Harper, Starling Marte

If one was to craft the ideal postseason launching pad for a youngster, Soto’s October 2019 would probably be it. He looked like a man among boys while approaching his 21st birthday (his homer victims: Gerrit Cole, Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Justin Verlander) and the major projection systems have him essentially matching his elite average and on-base percentage while adding a little more power. Being the main guy in Washington now could boost Soto's stature as an NL MVP Award candidate.

Martinez’s batted ball metrics indicate that he was a little unlucky, and it’s easy to see him reaching 40 homers and 100 RBIs again. Judge’s potential remains sky-high if he can stay healthy. Springer was an early MVP front-runner until he went down with a hamstring injury last spring. And Harper reached 35 dingers and 114 RBIs last season -- one that was considered a down year by his lofty standards. Marte represents some sneaky value as he seeks his third straight 20-20 campaign.

Tier 3: Ketel Marte, Yordan Alvarez, Austin Meadows, Giancarlo Stanton, Jeff McNeil, Jorge Soler

Fear of regression is the only thing keeping Marte this low, since he entered 2019 with 22 career homers and then bested that total by 10 in just one summer. If he maintains a .300-plus average with 30-plus homers and 10-plus steals, he could be challenging for Tier-1 status by this time next year.

Meanwhile, the projections don’t see any dropoff for Alvarez, who’s coming off the best abbreviated rookie hitting season in recent memory. Houston’s lineup, despite all the offseason storylines, remains loaded, and that only helps Alvarez in his sophomore season. Stanton and Soler could both reach 50 homers, or given their injury histories, either of them could send you scrambling for fill-ins.

Tier 4: Michael Brantley, Tommy Pham, Luis Robert, Victor Robles, Joey Gallo, Eloy Jiménez, Nick Castellanos, Marcell Ozuna, Trey Mancini, Eddie Rosario

Gallo has the most upside in this tier; his plate-discipline improvements made him one of MLB’s best hitters last season until an oblique strain sidelined him in June. With better health, he could challenge for both the homer and walk titles. And speaking of upside, there’s a chance Robert could break camp as the White Sox starting center fielder after he went 30-30 last year in the Minors.

Picking Brantley isn’t as sexy as those other two, but his contact ability fit perfectly with Houston’s lineup, and a .300 hitter with 20-plus homers makes for a solid mid-round option. If fantasy players believe more in the Cubs version of Castellanos, as opposed to his slow start in Detroit, then his move to the even cozier confines of Great American Ball Park makes him an enticing option.

Tier 5: Danny Santana, Michael Conforto, Ramón Laureano, Oscar Mercado, Yasiel Puig, Kyle Schwarber, Max Kepler, Andrew Benintendi

There’s an argument that Kepler (36 HR, 90 RBIs) and Laureano (24 HRs, 13 SB) already broke out in 2019, but both players are young enough that there could be even higher ceilings to reach. Benintendi, Conforto and Schwarber are more known options, but all of them bring enough tools to still qualify as pluses. Free-agent Puig is the wild card here, depending on which ballpark he ends up in.