Brian’s Top 12 Third Basemen Rankings and Projections for ’12
by rotobrian
"I am on the top of all these sexy men."
If the first basemen of 2012 are to be likened to current stars such as Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, then the third basemen of 2012 might as well be Richard Grieco (Who?! Google him). Third base has guys who look sexy in jockstraps, have well known names, and have been ultra-productive in the past. But outside of Jose Bautista, none of the names on this list put up top-25 numbers in 2011. But there’s an underlying sense of optimism down at the hot corner. Veterans Ryan Zimmerman, David Wright, and Alex Rodriguez appear to be healthy and poised for rebound seasons. Kings of consistency, Michael Young and Aramis Ramirez, don’t appear to be fading any time soon. And youngster Brett Lawrie is threatening to be drafted in the fourth round of your draft (though he’s probably not worthy of a pick that high, yet).
There are three tiers indicated by the underline.
1. Jose Bautista- 100, 39, 110, 6, .280
2. Evan Longoria- 90, 28, 100, 5, .265
3. Adrian Beltre- 80, 27, 100, 2, .299
4. Ryan Zimmerman- 76, 23, 84, 3, .290
5. David Wright- 80, 19, 88, 15, .275
6. Alex Rodriguez- 75, 28, 95, 6, .280
7. Michael Young- 85, 15, 95, 5, .300
8. Aramis Ramirez- 78, 25, 88, 1, .276
9. Pablo Sandoval- 65, 20, 75, 3, .285
10. Brett Lawrie- 75, 19, 80, 12, .260
11. Kevin Youkilis- 80, 20, 75, 3, .290
12. Mark Reynolds- 80, 30, 80, 5, .230
no Cabrera? He will be 3B eligible this season.
“Will be” is something I didn’t rank. When you’re making projections and ranking positions, you can’t make assumptions, and while it’s well known that he will start the season at third base, what if his first game is epically bad and they scrap the project and slot him at DH the rest of the year?
Additionally, some platforms have different eligibility requirements, which can range from 5-20 games played. While you may think it’s ridiculous to think he might get pulled after one game at third, it’s very probable that Big Fat Miggy doesn’t get 20 games at third base, leaving teams who needed him to reach that 20 game mark high and dry.
Hanley will also be moving to third this year, but I didn’t rank him either.