2019 Third Base Rankings
Third base is in a very healthy state checking in as the second deepest position on the diamond heading into the season (or at least the infield… judging IF v. OF is difficult given the need to roster 3-5 OF depending on league type). There’s even upside for many. Is Rafael Devers ready for a breakout season? Can Jake Lamb’s shoulder stay together and push him back to the 30 HR level? Will Maikel Franco have another Spring Training HR explosion and trick me into drafting him again? Will Kyle Seager rebound? Is Ian Happ capable of trimming his K% to foster a breakout?
- What’s your strategy at 3B in shallower mixed leagues (10-12 teams)?
- What about 15-team NFBC-type leagues?
- Who’s your favorite gamble outside of my top 20?
Third Base – February
*20+ gm eligibility
Great work on these lists so far Paul. Outside the top 20, Seager and Sano are guys that were high picks in the past that looked real bad last year. I will def be checking in to see if they can be rosterable again. Candelario and Dozier are both younger and should get plenty of ABs, it’ll be interesting to see how they progress.
The position is so deep I don’t think I’ll be spending heavily on the top guys, rather save it for the scarcer positions like 1B (I can’t believe that’s our reality now!). I’ll probably aim for the 8-15 range for my primary 3B and look Candelario, E Nunez or B Anderson for my CI. I also like Renato Nunez as a breakout candidate. He has the power and generally elevates the ball. Consider him for a late round flyer.
Poor Eugenio,… Paul, mass respect for what you do and all the work you put in. Poor Eugenio, he’s a top 10 3B, at least in my heart!
Tough part about this year is that there are more top 10 3B than spots available… meaning I think there’s a case for a good 13 or so to be viable top 10ers, but I had to put em in an order and I chose a couple Matts over Suarez. Not anti-Suarez, but I think he’s more ’17 than ’18 which is juuuusst outside top 10.
Hey Paul, if the league was OBP instead of AVG, would your rankings of Muncy, Chapman, and Suarez change at all?
All fair and reasonable points. Totally see what you mean with the position this year being so deep, especially with multi positional eligibility guys like Carpenter moving back to 3B this year. However, as a Reds fan, my bias will not allow me to agree with your assessment of ’17 Eugenio, nor ’18, the guy is a flower just starting to bloom! Plus, don’t you just want to pinch those cheeks?
I’d slot Eugenio in at #7/8 (probably 8 behind Carpenter) and just ahead of Vlad Jr. Sometimes people try so hard to avoid recency bias that they just refuse to believe a player improved. I see a high floor and high ceiling when I look at Suarez. The ballpark and lineup don’t suck either.
suarez is always underrated
Manny Machado is going to play 3b and isn’t in the rankings?
He is SS eligible so I assume will be in the SS rankings. Is he even 3B eligible to start the season?
Yahoo has him as SS,3b eligible which is why I asked. I see he’s listed as only SS on rotoworld so makes sense to leave him off this list initially..
I pulled these lists directly from my master list for NFBC drafts which is 20-game eligibility requirements so I don’t have a list readily-available for lower threshold sites. I’ll make something for March.
So tomorrow? Terrific.
I’m confused.
Carpenter is your 5th 1B, and 11th 3B
Muncy is your 7th 1B and 9th 3B
Two questions…
Would you rather have Muncy or Carpenter?
Is 3B really deeper than 1B?
I know you didn’t ask me, but the answers are No and Yes.
Sano outside top 20,More dedicated this offseason with new diet and workouts + having Nelson Cruz around can’t hurt
Be wary of “best shape of his life” narrative
best shape of his life*
*except for the big hole in his foot
Sano is still projected to hit about 30 dingers, warts and all. I really like him as a late round best ball pick (points). He might turn into Wily Mo Pena but I’ll take the 40-HR upside…he’s not old and has shown plenty of talent before. To say he lacks consistency is an understatement but I’m willing to see what he can do with a fresh season, surrounded by the best hitting lineup he’s ever been a part of.
Where do RHys Hoskins and Daniel Murphy rank on this list ? 🙂
Ke Bryan Hayes…any chance of a July call up!?
Yes. July 2020
Not if Kang keeps playing solid defense and hitting homers.
Wow. I didn’t realize you were so down on Andujar. I didn’t get that sense from the 3rd base preview on the pod. I may have made a keeper mistake if you are right. yikes.
No love for Turner…
He’s really good when he plays, but how high can he really go with a 130-game cap?
Baby Vlad looks too high. He can’t be counted on to be on MLB roster cause of service time, and Jays could realistically not play him this year at all if they don’t mind the bad PR. White Sox just did it with Eloy all season. If he is up, he’ll be a stud, But even if he is up, is he really better than Carpenter, Suarez or even Devers out the gate? Hard to project any rookie, much less one his age. Dynasty he is a no brainer, but given his ADP and the hype, there are a lot of 3b safer to roster with likely better stats, imo.
I can understand passing him due to being a rookie, but there is no world where he spends the entire season in the minors.
You’re possibly right, but the Sox nad no reason to do it to Eloy and they still did. Jays are not close to contending and so starting his clock isn’t helping them. Baby Vlad has the hype factor, though.
Dear Paul, great work as always.
Can you expand a bit on your preference of Arenado over JRam? Is that bcause of the breaking balls struggle of JRam or anything else?
Thanks!
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Especially after reading the comments in the 2B Rankings and Paul mentioned something to the effect of “If Gleyber hit 25 HR w/10 SB and Albies hit 10 HR w/25 SB, I’d take Albies”. I agree with that sentiment completely which is why his placement of Arenado over Ramirez is just weird. Arenado’s only real edge is that he has a longer track record. And maybe batting average if .270 is the norm for Ramirez going forward. But their counting stats we’re virtually the same last year and one guy stole 34 bases and the other guy stole 2. I can’t see those edges that Arenado has being enough to justify putting him over Ramirez.