Fantasy Baseball Tools

by Todd Lammi

Following up on my previous post, here are the tiers for fantasy baseball third basemen.

Tier 1 – David Wright

Tier 2 – Evan Longoria, Alex Rodriguez, Aramis Ramirez,

Tier 3 – Chipper Jones

Tier 4 – Garrett Atkins, Jorge Cantu, Carlos Guillen

Tier 5 – Adrian Beltre, Ryan Zimmerman, Aubrey Huff, Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Reynolds, Casey Blake, Kevin Kouzmanoff

Tier 6 – Melvin Mora, Mike Lowell, Alex Gordon, Chone Figgins

Tier 7 – Joe Crede, Josh Fields, Bill Hall, Scott Rolen, Ian Stewart

I currently have Wright ranked number three overall. His stolen bases could take a hit with Jerry Manuel the manager now for the entire season, but he is outstanding in every category.

Evan Longoria I have as the second best third basemen. He put up the same number of home runs as Aramis Ramirez in 100 less at bats last season. In another year, Longoria will be battling David Wright and A-Rod for the  number one ranking at 3b.

Alex Rodriguez looks like he will miss roughly 25-30 games which puts him just at the end of round two in 15 team league drafts. He still should end up around30 home runs, 90 rbi and 15 steals.

Chipper Jones has a tier all to himself.  His current ADP puts him at 54, or the end of the fourth round. If you select him, make sure you take a quality backup later in the draft knowing Jones will miss at least 20-30 games during the season. The .320+ average makes him worth the pick.

I wanted to put Atkins in Tier 3, but with numbers that have fallen two years in a row and Ian Stewart lurking to steal some at bats, plus the potential for a trade out of Colorado he becomes Tier 4. Cantu’s season was not that much of a breakout last year except for batting average. His numbers in 2006 showed the potential for 25+ home runs if he could get the at bats. He also adds flexibility to your roster by qualifying at 1b. I love the fact that fantasy people owners discount players coming off of injuries or down years like there is no such thing as a bounce back. I like Guillen in Tier 4 and best of all you can probably get him later in the draft as he has been going behind 7 other third basemen I have not even listed yet. Qualifies at 3b, 1B and will qualify at OF in week four. Is a solid .300 hitter and with the potential to steal 10-15 bases plus hit 20 home runs makes him undervalued in drafts for this year.

Tier 5, I threw a bunch of people together. Their stats are all kind of similar. I like Beltre a little bit more for the bonus steals he can provide. Zimmerman could be a nice pick if he can recover his power after his injuries last season. Huff is due for regression after doubling his home run total from 2007. Encarnacion seems to have promise but has yet to fulfill it yet. Reynolds’ stats look like Ryan Howard lite with the strikeouts and low batting average. Kouzmanoff plays in the vast wasteland that is Petco Park and is surrounded by the weakest lineup in baseball.

Tier 6, I don’t think that Melvin Mora has discovered the fountain of youth in his late thirties so expect a drop off in performance in 2009. Alex Gordon is still trying to live up to the hype generated several years ago. He is always drafted way too early in fantasy drafts as people expect his breakout season to come one of these years. Figgins was a third or fourth round pick a few years ago, but a few hamstring injuries later and his stats seem Ryan Theriot like, which is okay, but not for a corner infielder.

This might be the last season for Josh Fields to prove that he belongs in the major leaues with Dayan Viciedo pushing him. Don’t waste a pick on Bill Hall, Matt Gamel will be up for the Milwaukee Brewers at some point this season if he can improve his fielding.