Fake Teams' early look at positional rankings continues this week with a look at third base. Check out the previous positional breakdowns:
Catcher: Initial, In-Depth with Profiles
First Base: Initial, In-Depth with Profiles
Second Base: Initial, In-Depth with Profiles
Third base was a very shallow position in 2011 and should continue to be so in 2012, but there is still value to be found in the back end of these ranks. One potential point of contention I see is my relatively low ranking of Brett Lawrie at #9. As I'll explain tomorrow, when the more in-depth version of this article is published, second year players that put up a good showing at the end of a previous year will almost always be overvalued in drafts. Lawrie looks like the real deal, but he represents a risk, so I've placed him behind several more established players.
Feel free to air grievances, lavish praises, or ask questions in the comment section, and I'll reply to them as best as I can. Early third base ranks are after the jump.
1. Jose Bautista, TOR
2. Evan Longoria, TB
3. Adrian Beltre, TEX
4. Ryan Zimmerman, WAS
5. David Wright, NYM
6. Aramis Ramirez, FA
7. Alex Rodriguez, NYY
8. Kevin Youkilis, BOS
9. Brett Lawrie, TOR
10. Pablo Sandoval, SF
11. Michael Young, TEX
12. Mark Reynolds, BAL
13. Ryan Roberts, ARI
14. Mike Moustakas, KC
15. Chipper Jones, ATL
16. David Freese, STL
17. Chase Headley, SD
18. Martin Prado, ATL
19. Edwin Encarnacion, TOR
20. Daniel Murphy, NYM