Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts came in second place on MLB Network’s Top 10 Right Fielders Right Now list, trailing only Aaron Judge.
An offseason tradition at MLB Network is the “Top 10 Right Now” series, where they look at each position and come up with a list of the top 10 players at that position heading into the new season. It’s a fun way to look ahead to the upcoming season and see how things stack up for the Dodgers.
Wednesday was time for the Top 10 Right Fielders Right Now list, and L.A. has a pretty great ballplayer holding down right field at Dodger Stadium. Unfortunately for Mookie Betts, though, there’s another right-fielder coming off a historic season in New York.
There’s no shame in finishing behind the guy who hit an American League record 62 home runs last year, and it definitely says a lot more about Aaron Judge than about Mookie. Defensively, there’s no comparison, as Judge is a solid right-fielder but Betts is a six-time Gold Glove winner. But at the plate, Judge is nearly unparalleled when he’s healthy, with a .977 career OPS and 1.111 last year.
Betts hit a career-high 35 home runs in 2022, finishing fifth in the NL MVP voting despite having somewhat of an off year at the plate. He’s hoping to bring even more consistent greatness to the leadoff spot in 2023.
The rest of the top 10 is interesting, including two guys who got traded this offseason (Teoscar Hernandez and Hunter Renfroe) and one guy who has played 18 career games in right and didn’t play a single game anywhere in 2022 (Fernando Tatis Jr.).
It’s hard to argue with the order of the top two after Judge’s historic 2022 season, but Dodger fans are pretty happy to have Mookie in right.
