Fantasy Ruckus: Third Base

March 15th, 2010 | by Craig Williams |

The hot corner is a position of power production and, traditionally, it is a position where fantasy managers could find plenty of power options. However, more recently, the position has taken a bit of a hit. Look no further than David Wright as a prime example. Fantasy owners are concerned, and rightfully so, about Wright’s power outage last season. Alex Rodriguez and Aramis Ramirez are two of the most productive third base options as well. However, while currently healthy, fantasy owners need to at least keep A-Rod’s hip and A-Ram’s general tendency to get injured into consideration when making a selection. Don’t let the reputation of the position fool you into thinking that you can be patient to land yourself a stud at third base.

Top 5
1. Alex Rodriguez
2. Evan Longoria
3. David Wright – a return to pre-2009 stats puts him back in the discussion as the top third baseman.
4. Ryan Zimmerman
5. Aramis Ramirez

Bounce Back
Wright has to bounce back right? How can a guy who averaged 29 home runs and 112 RBI from 2005-2008 just lose that production? Citi Field certainly could have had something to do with it but maybe even more of a factor is the AAAA lineup he was playing with for most of the season. Carlos Beltran will miss the beginning of the season, but with a better overall lineup around him, he should return to his All-Star caliber ways.

Rising
Zimmerman finally had the breakout that has been expected of him for a couple of years now. The best part about it is that he showed signs during the second half that he has not reached his ceiling. Don’t be surprised if he builds on last year’s numbers. Pablo Sandoval swings at everything but rakes anyway. He improved his walk rate significantly from 2008, and if he continues to develop more plate discipline he will be a very nice offensive producer for years to come.

Falling
Mark Reynolds had a great season, and this isn’t to say that he can’t still be good again this year. However, there are too many factors suggesting that his numbers in 2010 won’t live up to expectations. Just make sure you don’t overpay. Michael Young (33) and Chipper Jones (38) are not getting any younger. Young has more left in the tank than Jones who can’t seem to stay healthy for a full year anyway, but both of them are guys who should be looked at as secondary options and drafted in the middle to late rounds.

Sleeper
How about a little post-hype sleeper action for Alex Gordon? Aside from some nice improvements during the second half of 2008, Gordon has been a bust and has not given us reason to consider otherwise. Drafting the former Cornhusker is going to take a little bit of faith but the potential profit is too tempting to pass up. His thumb injury lowers his initial value even more. Brandon Wood will (or, at least, should) get an opportunity to play full time in 2010. It’s time for us to see what he can do. He’ll come cheap on draft day.

YANKEE SPOTLIGHT

Alex Rodriguez - .286/.402/.532/.934__78-127-30-100-14__80/97

2009 – Despite missing significant time with his hip injury, A-Rod still managed to reach the 30 HR, 100 RBI plateaus (although it took him a 2 HR, 7 RBI game in the regular season finale to get there). Apparently one of the keys to A-Rod’s success was his ability to just “play baseball”. Whatever works, we don’t care how you get the numbers; we just want you to get them.

2010 – A-Rod will be receiving more frequent rest in 2010, but much of it will come in the form of DH duties so the at-bats should still be there. Look for him to return to his lofty status as one of the top producers in the game.

Final Call – Say what you want about him, he still deserves to be one of the Top-5 off of the board on draft day.

A-Rod has at least one more year atop the 3B rankings before he passes the torch to David Wright or Evan Longoria for good.