NL Central Smackdown : Left Fielders

Before we examine left field, I remind you to check out and vote on center field and right from this weekend if you missed it. As for the left fielders, I think it's an intriguing group and something that should really test the "homer" vote that's been going around in the previous installments. I think Soriano is as good as they get out there in the division, but he seems to be quickly falling out of fans' good graces as of late.

Let's see how it breaks down...

The Justification: There's some talent there, at least with the bats. Besides Soriano's arm and I guess Jason Bay, it's an absolute disaster in the field. I did put Soriano at the top of the rankings, although I think there's a solid argument for any of the top five. Chris Duncan is clearly the bottom-feeder of this group, but that's less of an indictment on him than the quality he's matched up against.

Soriano has a nice combination of power and speed that should age well, even if he'll never be able to justify his contract. It would be nice if patience and health went along with that power and speed, but I think he just nudges Adam "TTO" Dunn. Sure Dunn's a lumbering oaf out there in the field, but four straight 40+ home run seasons and still just 28 years old. Speaking of lumbering oafs, there's Carlos Lee, who I don't think will age nearly as well as Soriano. I'm probably a little down on Ryan Braun, but I just don't see him even coming close to his rookie campaign, not with a nearly 4-1 K:BB ratio that he's sporting in the majors. Had I done these rankings last year, Bay probably runs away with the top spot, but his dreadful 2007 season has me worried. He's bounced back a bit to start off 2008 and as I mentioned, I think any of the top five can stake a claim for the top spot.

There's another poll for you guys to fill out below this and I'll leave the old polls open until we finish this. Do not forget to vote for any polls you may have missed over the weekend as I do plan on doing something with the results.

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