2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Third Basemen
Posted by Anthony Stalter (03/07/2010 @ 10:08 pm)
All 2010 Fantasy Articles | 2010 Position Rankings
Savvy fantasy drafters realize that the pool for third basemen this year isn’t as shallow as catchers and shortstops, but it isn’t as deep as second basemen either (which may sound surprising to some owners).
What does that mean to you? Well, if you don’t grab one of the top seven or eight third basemen in your draft, then good luck trying to figure out which player after that will exceed expectations.
Drafting third basemen is pretty cut and dry. If you don’t land one of the top 3 (Alex Rodriguez, Evan Longoria or David Wright), then focus on drafting one of the next five 3B’s available or you better hope that Gordon Beckham or Ian Stewart are the ultimate sleepers this season. We don’t need to sell you on why you should take A-Rod, Longoria or Wright, so we’re going to concentrate on the next five rated players on our list, which we’ve highlighted for you below.
Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
There’s a good chance that Zimmerman will plateau at around 30 home runs (which is nothing to scoff at), but it’s hard to argue with what he’ll bring to the table in terms of production across the board. He should hit around .300 (or maybe a little south of that number), with 100-plus runs and RBI, all while stealing 5-10 bases and hitting the aforementioned 25-30 home runs. That’s solid production for your third base position if you happen to miss out on one of the top three guys.
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Posted in: Fantasy Baseball, MLB
Tags: 2010 Fantasy Baseball, 2010 Fantasy Baseball Preview, 2010 fantasy baseball rankings, 2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Second Basemen, 2010 Fantasy Position Rankings, Alex Rodriguez, Best hitting second basemen in baseball, Chone Figgins, David Wright, Evan Longoria, Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Kevin Youkilis, Mark Reynolds, Pablo Sandoval, Ryan Zimmerman, Second Base Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2010
2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Second Basemen
Posted by Anthony Stalter (03/04/2010 @ 10:10 pm)
All 2010 Fantasy Articles | 2010 Position Rankings
Stop us if this scenario has ever played out during one of your drafts: You’re in the first round and Chase Utley comes off the board. With so many good players available at other positions, you don’t even blink an eye. But then Ian Kinsler is taken a few rounds later and then maybe even Brandon Phillips or Robinson Cano are selected and all of a sudden you start to feel the second basemen death grip on your shoulder.
“No problem,” you think to yourself. “I’ll just address other positions and figure out second base later. After all, what’s the difference now? The production will be roughly the same for anyone I draft from here out, so I might as well wait.”
The problem with that mindset is that you’re probably passing on players that are essentially locks for certain stats. Once those players come off the board, you run the risk of suffering through major bouts of inconsistency (think Dan Uggla) or unspectacular production (think Jose Lopez) at the second base position.
If you miss out on Utley or Kinsler, we recommend snagging one of these four second basemen and reaping the benefits of what should be locks for certain stats. These four might not give you the same production as Utley or Kinsler, but they’re safer bets to than ’09 heroes Aaron Hill and Ben Zobrist, who may not duplicate the success they had last year. We know they look like locks, but we value the four players below more.
(Side note: Depending on what stat you’re looking for, these four players might be interchangeable, so don’t get too hung up on where we have them ranked. They’re all solid options at second base.)
Brandon Phillips, Reds
Phillips has produced three straight 20/20 seasons and chances are, he’ll accomplish that feat again this year. If you’re hoping he’ll slug 30 home runs and steal 30 bases this season, you’re expectations are probably too high. But getting 20 dingers and 20 steals from your second baseman is nothing to scoff at. Phillips often gets overlooked because of his batting average, but at .275 he’s right around the league average – if not better. Plus, he should drive in 90-plus RBI again this year and score 80-plus runs. What else are you looking for out of your second baseman?
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Posted in: Fantasy Baseball, MLB
Tags: 2010 Fantasy Baseball, 2010 Fantasy Baseball Preview, 2010 fantasy baseball rankings, 2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Second Basemen, 2010 Fantasy Position Rankings, Aaron Hill, Ben Zobrist, Brandon Phillips, Brian Roberts, Chase Utley, Dustin Pedroia, Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Ian Kinsler, Robinson Cano, Second Base Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2010
