Staff Post: Third Basemen to Avoid in 2019

As a group we offered up our favorite building blocks at third base on Friday. It is only a list of four, but those four are of high quality. Now we turn our attention to the underbelly. The dark side. The guys you don’t want on your team, for one reason or another. Brace yourselves.

Okay, it’s not that dire. But each guy was chosen by at least one writer, for one reason or another.

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Wil Myers, Padres (Punk Is Dead)

NFBC ADP: 111.75

When is the last time Wil Myers had an OPS over .800? His rookie season! Sure, he could be a 20/20 guy. But he is not a Top 100 player, let alone Top 80 like his current ADP on FantasyPros suggests.

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Rafael Devers, Red Sox (Mark Abell)

NFBC ADP: 148.93

Since Devers entered the league he is looking worse each month, not better. Maybe he turns it around this year, but typically you see some promising months—and I saw very limited things to believe in last year. His regression continued despite being on one of the best MLB teams I’ve seen in YEARS!

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Moustakas, Free Agent (Zack Waxman)

NFBC ADP: 159.01

I want nothing to do with Mike Moustakas. He is not a good fantasy player. Forget the fact he’s being drafted at 152 and does not have a team. If you are at that point in the draft and don’t have a third baseman, allocate resources to other positions. I’d rather grab Ian Happ or even Jake Lamb way later on. Let’s say Moustakas does sign, and he does get an everyday gig...what’s he going to get you? 30 homers? 80-90 RBIs? That’s your ceiling. That can be found much later on in the draft than pick 152. He doesn’t steal, he’s going to hit around .250, and the most runs he has scored in a season is 75. The 75 runs came in his 38-homer campaign. His career 160-game average for runs scored is 66. Some managers assume that RBIs and runs come with homers. This is not the case and Moose is a “run killer” much like we have average killers. He’s no good for fantasy. He’s a reserve round pick in my books.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Joey Wendle, Rays (Heath Capps)

NFBC ADP: 206.08

Joe Wendle had an awesome campaign in 2018, slashing .300/.354/.435 over 139 games. He hit seven home runs and stole 16 bases. Problem for me is, there’s not much to get excited about. A double-digit HR/SB scenario is about the best I can hope for, and it’s likely that Wendle would barely accomplish such a feat with Tropicana Field as his home backdrop. His minuscule 2.7% Barrel% isn’t encouraging, either. For reference, Wendle barreled only 11 balls on 403 batted ball events. Yikes.

Just ahead of that same juncture I can snag guys like Jorge Polanco or Marcus Semien, who I like much better. I can also wait for Ketel Marte a solid round later. To me, there are just more exciting ways to go than banking on a repeat from a guy who broke out in his Age-28 season. And if you want a straight up third base name I’d prefer instead, I’ll say Miguel Sano. Sano has eligibility at third (and first in some leagues) and is a quality depth bat in my opinion. His NFBC ADP is 224. Ian Happ around 260 is another pick I’d prefer to Wendle, and he’s obviously being drafted a solid 50+ picks later.

And that’s all we wrote for third base! Next week is all about the outfield. Our last hitting position, which is crazy. For easy reference, you can find every positional week so far right below.