Rankings Update: Third Base

Back, but probably not better than ever. If the rankings are crazy, blame my cold.

Big Three
Evan Longoria
David Wright
Alex Rodriguez

Every week that A-Rod doesn’t show his old power, he continues to lose value. He is still a very good third baseman in real life, but his days as a dominant force may be over. I’d like to see Longoria hit a couple more dingers this week, otherwise Wright may be able to squirm his way into the number one spot.

Large Two
Ryan Zimmerman
Scott Rolen

Rolen still carries some injury risk, but he is really tearing it up.

Medium Four
Mark Reynolds
Casey McGehee
Michael Young
Adrian Beltre

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Reynolds is doing everything he can to hit 40 homers, even if it means killing his batting average. Young is playing like a man who is much…never mind, that pun wasn’t worth it.

Sad Panda
Jorge Cantu
Ian Stewart
Jose Bautista
Pablo Sandoval

Cantu is steady, so he’s a good play if you want to know what you’re getting. Stewart has more power than he’s show, or so I think. Bautista will kill your average, but could save you with his power. And Pablo, well, he’s not doing so hot.

I am Jack’s Third Baseman
Kevin Kouzmanoff
David Freese
Casey Blake

If we all try hard enough, we can will David Freese to hit more homers. Blake has always been a favorite bench guy of mine, because you know what you’re getting year-in and year-out.

The Rest of ‘Em
Neil Walker
Chase Headley
Pedro Alvarez
Chipper Jones

Slow down, Pedro. Just do your thing and everything will come together. With Edwin Encarnacion getting DFA’d, I had to find a new guy to fill out the list. I’m liking what Neil Walker is showing, and it doesn’t surprise me one bit.





Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.

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cavegravedave
15 years ago

Are these rankings supposed to be used as value-indicators for the rest of the season from this day forward or just a different version of ESPNs ‘player rater’ tool?

cavegravedave
15 years ago
Reply to  Zach Sanders

I think it’s crazy that you have scott rolen ahead of guys like michael young, mark reynolds, and pablo sandoval because of a good 3 month stretch this year.

Way too much weight is being put on current performance and not enough on past performance. And a player’s health-prospects needs to be considered more seriously as well.