Fantasy Baseball: Ray's Third Base Rankings For 2010

by Ray Guilfoyle on Mar 18, 2010 9:00 AM EDT in Baseball

We move on to the hot corner for the Top 20 rankings and the Yankees Alex Rodriguez leads the way. Hitting in the new Coors Field, I mean Yankee Stadium, ARod could approach 50 homers in 2010. The second guy on this list isn't David Wright. He has to prove his power loss was a fluke in 2009.

Here are the Top 20 third baseman for 2010 fantasy drafts, with 2009 stats:

Name	AB	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
Alex Rodriguez	444	30	78	100	80	97	14	0.286
Mark Reynolds	578	44	98	102	76	223	24	0.260
Ryan Zimmerman	610	33	110	106	72	119	2	0.292
Evan Longoria	584	33	100	113	72	140	9	0.281
David Wright	535	10	88	72	74	140	27	0.307
Aramis Ramirez	306	15	46	65	28	43	2	0.317
Pablo Sandoval	572	25	79	90	52	83	5	0.330
Kevin Youkilis	491	27	99	94	77	125	7	0.305
Gordon Beckham	378	14	58	63	41	65	7	0.270
Chone Figgins	615	5	114	54	101	114	42	0.298
Adrian Beltre	449	8	54	44	19	74	13	0.265
Chipper Jones	488	18	80	71	101	89	4	0.264
Michael Young	541	22	76	68	47	90	8	0.322
Casey Blake	485	18	84	79	63	116	3	0.280
Ian Stewart	425	25	74	70	56	138	7	0.228
Mike Lowell	445	17	54	75	33	61	2	0.290
Mark DeRosa	515	23	78	78	47	121	3	0.250
Kevin Kouzmanoff	529	18	50	88	27	106	1	0.255
Jorge Cantu	585	16	67	100	47	81	3	0.289
Scott Rolen	475	11	76	67	45	62	5	0.305

I rank David Wright 5th because I think he can rebound to maybe 20 HRs in 2010. That along with the 25+ SB potential, a .300 BA and hopefully, 90+ RBIs is valuable. But should he return to hit less than 20 HRs in 2010, he could drop out of the top 10 for me. He can't put up another 10 HR/72 RBI line this season.

I like Mark Reynolds at the two spot in the third base rankings in 2010, because he has legit 35+ HR power, and Diamondbacks manager AJ Finch will allow him to run again. I see another 35-20 season from Reynolds in 2010.

A couple guys who could move up this list in 2010 are the Giants Pablo Sandoval and White Sox Gordon Beckham. Sandoval has the power to hit 30 HRs in 2010. His power and BA could move him up a few spots on this list. GBeck played third base last year, but will move to second base in 2010. I rank him here as he does not yet have the minimum games played eligibility at 2B to be ranked there for 2010 fantasy drafts. He does, however, have the talent to go 20-10 in 2010, while ESPN's Jason Grey thinks he could hit 25 HRs with a .288 BA.

A couple guys coming off injuries are the Braves Chipper Jones and the Red Sox Adrian Beltre. Both will be undervalued in 2010 drafts, and could have bounce back seasons. I could see both approaching 25 HRs and 90 RBIs in 2010. Jones, if he proves healthy, should hit .300 again.

One guy who could play as a "post hype" sleeper is the Pirates third baseman Andy Laroche. Laroche was the Dodgers #1 prospect a few years ago, but his power and plate patience displayed in the minors never translated at the big league level in Los Angeles. Laroche is in his second year as the Pirates starting third baseman, and could begin to show the 25+ HR power he had in the minors this year. If not, he will be replaced by third base prospect Pedro Alvarez.

Poll

Does David Wright's power return in 2010, or will Citifield sap the power from the Mets lineup?

Yes, Wright won't hit 30, but he will hit 20 HRs this year.

60 votes

No, they will be moving in the fences at Citifield in 2011.

23 votes

83 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Reynolds

I thought I had Reynolds high. The key with him is the batting average though. If he can get his average up into the .280 range, I think he can meet that ranking. The power and speed both seem legit.

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by Jason Hunt on Mar 18, 2010 9:02 AM EDT reply actions