We continue our series measuring talent scarcity across the baseball diamond. taking CHONE projections, translating these projections into fantasy value, and correlating the results with average draft position.  The series started at the catcher position, moved onto the first base position, rounded second base, glided past shortstop, made a pass around third base, and now we’re taking a detour into the outfield. 

Below you’ll find an interactive bar graph (java required) that charts values for the 60 outfielders who, according to data from mock drafts, are most highly valued in the fantasy baseball community. The talent curve at OF is a rather consistent downward slope. Top value Grady Sizemore stacks up nicely against his peers, but we don’t see a dramatic drop-off in talent as the slope descends. Fantasy baseball teams should have plenty of options in the outfield. They may be wise to be discretionary with their investment in the position. (Click on the bars to see player names.)

Looking at CHONE’s projected production by draft order (after the jump), we’ve identified some good potential values. Carl Crawford is the 12th outfielder selected and projects to be the fourth most valuable at the position. Bobby Abreu and Raul Ibanez are the 24th and 34th outfielders selected on average, respectively, and both are projected to exceed the values given to Nick Markakis and Alex Rios, currently selected in the 4th round. Nelson Cruz has been mentioned as the 2009 fantasy baseball #1 sleeper and CHONE gives supporting evidence: He’s projects to give more value than Ichiro Suzuki and Jason Bay, among others. We can also identify some guys who CHONE projects to fall well short of their draft grades, including Josh Hamilton, Adam Dunn, Carlos Quentin, and Nate McLouth.

Finally, we have a stack graph that measures value in relation to draft position.

Here’s the key to deciphering the draft grades: A=round 1-2, B=3-5, C=6-10, D=11-15, E=16-20, F=21-25