Archive for third base

You can tell we’re all itching for pitchers and catchers to report when multiple RotoGraphs writers start jumping all over a trade between the A’s and the Astros that doesn’t really have any marquee talent to discuss. But hey, we’re almost there. Just days away, in fact. But while others handle the power bat of Chris Carter, the potential of Brad Peacock and the dregs of what’s left in Houston, I’m going to take a look at how Jed Lowrie’s arrival in Oakland is going to impact the A’s, and how, for fantasy purposes, the outlook isn’t so good. Read the rest of this entry »

Edit: It should be noted that several players listed below were not drafted with the intention of making them primary third basemen. Mike Petriello grabbed both Headley and Trumbo, and I took Ryan Zimmerman early, then both Freese and Scutaro later on as my CI/MI players. Machado was picked up by Jeff Zimmerman, who already had Hanley who could play either SS or 3B. 

Even after the decline of two staples at third base in Kevin Youkilis and Alex Rodriguez, the position is stronger — not to mention deeper — than I would have imagined. After 15 rounds, there has been a total of 16 third base eligible players taken in The RotoGraphs Ridiculously Early Mock Draft. For the 2013 season, it appears as though the third base position will be offer a wide range of choices for fantasy managers. There are plenty of early round/big money picks as well as more than a few mid and late round options. Read the rest of this entry »

As we continue to examine Zach Sanders’ Third Base End of Season Rankings, let’s scroll down to number 22 where we find Arizona’s Chris Johnson who, according to the calculations, produced a $3 value for the 2012 season. The value is reflective of how Johnson compares to the rest of the third basemen out there and to be honest, that number could be a bit high. Sure, his final line of .281-48-15-76-5 might look pretty tasty on the surface, but outside of some deep, mixed leagues, Johnson is about as exciting as the flavor of buttered white bread. Read the rest of this entry »

Why was there so much excitement in Minnesota for Trevor Plouffe this year? Here are a few names to keep in mind: Danny Valencia, Joe Crede, Brian Buscher, Nick Punto, Michael Cuddyer, Corey Koskie, the illustrious crew of Twins’ third basemen since 2000. While Plouffe’s 106 wRC+ ranks just about dead average for that group, five of the six years better than his belong to Koskie, who was the Twins’ last offensively acceptable third baseman and who left the team in 2004. Valencia’s half-season of success in 2010 gave fans — and likely the team as well — hope that they had found a long term answer, but by June or July of 2011, it was clear that Valencia was another in the line of replacement level replacements. It looked, for more than a fleeting moment during the summer, that Plouffe would be the answer the Twins have been looking for. Read the rest of this entry »

What exactly it a post hype sleeper? If there is a standard definition, I don’t know it. To me, a post hype sleeper is a player who was once highly regarded, tapered off, and then bounced back. In some leagues, deeper draft leagues for instance, one expects a post hype sleeper to be taken. To obtain him will likely take a trade and he is never the centerpiece. If you ask a competitor for a single prospect they’ll quickly be aware something is up. In shallow formats I’m a big fan of packaging my elite prospects for good young major leaguers. In leagues where you are allotted a certain amount of minor leaguers, the elite prospects are taken but post hype sleepers may have been dropped. On to a name worth targeting… Read the rest of this entry »

All too often, players get dismissed in fantasy leagues because of a low batting average. Owners are paranoid that a player with a low average is going to siphon off points in that category and no matter how productive he may be, will always be a drain. But then they get so caught up in avoiding these players and only see the aggregate numbers that they miss when one of them turns things around. Here are two players to check out for the home stretch. Both are turning their average around, both can hit for tremendous power and even if they do start to slump again in the average department, there’s simply not enough time for them to accrue enough at-bats to completely kill you in the category. Read the rest of this entry »

With the addition of a second wild card team for each league, the decision to be a buyer or seller at the trade deadline becomes a bit more difficult, despite it being just two weeks away. For the San Diego Padres, however, the decision is neither difficult nor complicated. Sitting 14 games out of both first place in the NL West and the final wild card slot, the Padres will most definitely be sellers over the next two weeks and while collectively, they can’t seem to put it all together, individually there’s some value to be had. It’s time to bring the jalopy to the chop shop and make some money selling off the parts. Read the rest of this entry »

When an organization decides to give a player an opportunity to play every day and take over a starting position, fantasy owners need to stand up and take notice.  Especially if the player qualifies at a position that is either thing to begin with or has been decimated by injuries through these first two months of the season.  Here are two prime examples that are likely sitting on your waiver wire just waiting to be claimed.

Josh Bell, ARI  |3B|  Ownership:  ESPN – 0.5%  Yahoo – 1.0%

Right on the heels of my last Kicking Rocks piece which clamored for Bell’s call-up, the Diamondbacks finally said enough to the Cody Ransom/Ryan Roberts platoon they had working the hot corner this season.  With little or no legitimate production at the position, it made perfect sense for the team to give Bell a shot, if not for anything but to at least just kick the tires and see what they had.  It’s not like things could get worse, right?

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When he slid into second and immediately grabbed his knee, my heart dropped.  The sickening taste of bile crept up my throat and into my mouth as I anxiously awaited for him to stand up, dust himself off and signal to the trainers that he was fine.  When that didn’t happen and he gingerly limped off the field, immediate thoughts of a torn ACL raced through my head.  In three different leagues I grabbed Evan Longoria at the tail end of the first round and until that moment, I wasn’t giving third base another thought.  Now, with news of a partially torn hamstring and a six to eight week recovery period, I’m left here staring at my computer screen, feeling like Kramer when the Kenny Rogers Roasters sign was finally turned off. Read the rest of this entry »

For those that love to follow industry leagues, the Tout Wars drafts took place this past weekend in New York City.  In addition to their usual rundown, this year introduced a brand new Mixed League and as I was looking over some of the rosters, Josh Donaldson’s name stuck out to me.  He went for $4 to Rotowire’s Derek Van Riper who went with a “stars and scrubs” approach, but considering some of the other names that went for a buck, along with RotoGraphs’ reader Jeff’s question in the Catcher Tiers piece, it seems that Donaldson is on quite a few people’s fantasy radar these days.  Now the question remains, is he worth a look?

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