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.

Pablo Sandoval, Giants
There are some experts that are worried that Sandoval’s average will eventually fall off a cliff after he hit .330 in 2009. But we actually think the fun loving Panda can hit upwards of .320 again and finish with roughly the same amount of home runs (25) and RBI (90) as he did last season. Don’t confuse him with a true home run hitter, because he’ll probably top out at 25-30. But also don’t fall into the trap that some are in thinking that Sandoval was just a one-year wonder. We think he’s the real deal and his fantasy production will be there in the end.

Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks
Reynolds’ breakout 2009 campaign brought a smile to fantasy owners’ faces that snagged him late in their drafts last season. He finished with 44 home runs, 102 RBI, 98 runs scored and even swiped 24 bases. The problem is that Reynolds will probably come off the board sooner then he should. And it’s important to remember that he only hit .187 in September last year and stuck out a whopping 223 times. If he goes in the first four rounds, don’t fret because it’s clear that Reynolds was overrated by whoever drafted him. But if he falls to the middle of your draft, then snag him and reap the rewards of his power production.

Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
Youkilis is about as reliable as they come in terms of predicting what you’ll get from him. He finished with similar numbers the past two years, so it’s safe to say that you can bank on another .305/28/95/100/5 season out of Youk. And assuming he stays healthy, there’s a possibility that he could even improve on some of those areas, especially average, home runs and RBI. He also carries some extra value because he’s eligible at both corner positions in the infield.

Chone Figgins, Mariners
If you wind up with Figgins, hopefully you drafted power in the earlier rounds because you won’t get it here. He’ll hit for average, score 95-100 runs and steal 35-plus bases, but don’t expect anything in the home run or RBI department.

Below is our official ranking of third basemen. As we previously mentioned, we highly recommend snagging one of the top 8 players as your starter. But if you aren’t able to, there are a couple of players ranked lower that have upside, namely Beckham and Stewart. (If he can stay healthy, Aramis Ramirez wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize either.)

1. Alex Rodriguez, NYY
2. Evan Longoria, TB
3. David Wright, NYM
4. Ryan Zimmerman, WAS
5. Pablo Sandoval, SF
6. Mark Reynolds, ARZ
7. Kevin Youkilis, BOS
8. Chone Figgins, SEA
9. Aramis Ramirez, CHC
10. Gordan Beckham, CHW
11. Michael Young, TEX
12. Ian Stewart, COL
13. Chipper Jones, ATL
14. Adrian Beltre, BOS
15. Jorge Cantu, FLA
16. Chris Davis, TEX (May not be eligible for 3B in some leagues)
17. Jake Fox, OAK
18. Alex Gordon, KC (Out a month with a broken thumb)
19. Brandon Wood, LAA
20. Casey Blake, LAD

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Turns out, Alex Rodriguez won’t need that hip surgery after all. Shortly after admitting to steroid use in February, team doctors told Rodriguez to expect reconstructive surgery at the end of 2009 to repair his torn labrum. In a stroke of luck for both Rodriguez and the Yankees, he’s now escaped missing a potential ten weeks from the new season.

Rodriguez had surgery last March for torn cartilage and missed the first month of the season. At the time, Dr. Marc Philippon, who performed the operation, thought Rodriguez would need a more extensive procedure in the offseason.

But Philippon recently examined Rodriguez, and an MRI test helped show the three-time MVP had properly healed. The doctor told A-Rod that he was A-OK on Monday.

Otherwise, Rodriguez probably would’ve been “having surgery today,” he said at a Yankee Stadium news conference to formally introduce Curtis Granderson.

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if he was every really hurt. I’ve never heard of an athlete avoiding surgery on a torn labrum. Remember, Mike Lowell had the same problem. He desperately needed the surgery.

In other news, slugger Nick Johnson is returning to the Yankees after agreeing to a one-year, $5.5 million contract. Johnson began his career with the team in 2001.

Johnson must pass a physical for the agreement to be finalized. He can earn about $1 million more in performance bonuses next year, and the deal includes a 2011 mutual option for at least $5.5 million with possible escalators.

Johnson, a first baseman, will become replace Matsui as the Yankees’ DH and Melky Cabrera appears likely to take over from Damon in left. Johnson hit a combined .291 for Washington and Florida last season with eight homers, 62 RBIs, 99 walks, a .426 on-base percentage and a .405 slugging percentage. He figures to bat second for the Yankees behind Derek Jeter.

Nick Johnson, really? The guy has been hurt most of his career. The Yankees should have stuck with Hideki Matsui, a sure bet who signed with the Angels for only half a million more than what Johnson will receive.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

First and foremost, let me state for the record that I am neither a Phillies nor a Yankees fan. My team (the Giants) watched the World Series the same way I did – from my couch with one eye on the tube and the other on my laptop trying to improve my fantasy football roster. (What, you don’t think Pablo Sandoval cares about his fantasy team, too?)

After the Yankees won last night, I did an all-Bronx Bombers post and barely mentioned the Phillies. I talked about how New York found the pitching it needed to get over the hump and how homegrown players like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada once again stepped up in the clutch. If you’re a Yankee fan, do yourself a favor and stop reading this post immediately and skip right to the one I wrote last night.

If you’re a Phillies fan or a Yankee-hater: Enjoy.

Sure, the Yankees might have bought their 27th championship this year, but let’s take a moment to rain on their parade by keeping all this in mind:

- After stealing all the momentum in the 2001 World Series by winning three straight games against the Diamondbacks to take a 3-2 series lead, they embarrassed themselves in Game 6 by losing 15-2 and then allowed guys like Mark Grace, Tony Womack and Luis Gonzalez to beat them in Game 7…with their ace closer Mariano Rivera on the mound no less.

- They had the best record in baseball in 2002, yet lost to the Rally Monkey in the postseason. The Rally Monkey! (That said, let me take a moment to say “F” that stupid Ebola-infested Rally Monkey on behalf of my Giants.)

- In 2003, they again had one of the best records in baseball (the Braves had an identical 103-61 record), yet lost to the NL Wild Card-winning Marlins in the Fall Classic.

- In 2004…well, we all know what happened in 2004. It’s the reason why we have “Red Sox Nation” and why the term “epic fail” is used today.

- Despite their massive payroll, the Yankee$ choked in the Division Series not once, but three times in a row from 2005 to 2007. They also completely missed the playoffs in 2008 with the highest payroll in baseball. How does that happen?

On top of this, let’s not forget that the Yankees outbid themselves to acquire A-Rod and had four players that tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs: Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi and Rodriguez.

So ask yourself this, would you trade in nine years of embarrassment for one championship?

What a difference a year makes.

This time last year, the New York Yankees were at home on their couches watching as their 2009 World Series counterparts, the Philadelphia Phillies, defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to become world champions.

One of the big reasons the Bronx Bombers were at home during the Fall Classic and not participating in it was because their pitching wasn’t good enough. That’s why GM Brian Cashman opened George Steinbrenner’s fat checkbook to sign starting pitchers CC Sabathia (7-years, $161 million) and A.J. Burnett (five-year, $82.5 million). And just to make sure he had enough offense, Cashman also inked the top bat on the free agent market, Mark Teixeira, to an eight-year, $180 million deal.

The end result is that the Yankees got what they paid for.

With their 7-3 victory over the Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series, the Bombers won their 27th championship in club history. Hideki Matsui (who was later named Series MVP) went 3-for-4 with six RBI and a run scored, while Derek Jeter finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Long-time veteran Andy Pettitte earned the victory, yielding three runs on four hits over 5.2 innings of work.

The Yankees are clearly at an advantage because they’re willing to spend. But at least they spend their money the right way unlike clubs like the Mets, who spend widely only to miss the postseason every year. The Yankees want to win and they knew last year that they’re pitching wasn’t good enough to match their offensive firepower. So yes, they spent and spent big. But they spent to win and they accomplished their one and only goal: To win a World Series.

It’s easy to get caught up in how much the Yankees spent on free agents last winter, but let’s not overlook how homegrown players like Jeter, Pettitte (even though this is his second stint in the Big Apple), Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera continue to produce in pressure situations.

Stat geniuses love to boast about how Jeter is overrated defensively and how his numbers continue to drop offensively, but this guy continues to shine when it matters most. He continues to be the backbone of the Yankees’ offense and provided the top of the lineup with a spark night in and night out during the postseason. There’s a reason why so many Yankee fans love him: He produces when everything is on the line. And these idiots with all their numbers and calculations continue to miss what he does for his club in the postseason.

I imagine this will be a bitter night for a lot of baseball fans that hate to see the Yankees win. Personally, it’s hard night to root for guys like Jeter, Posada and Rivera. Guys who play the right way and who are natural winners. So congratulations, Yankees.

Lee will pitch Game 5 against the Yankees tonight in a do-or-die game for the Phillies, who trail 3-1 in the best of seven series. So far, Lee is 3-0 in the postseason and has only allowed two earned runs on 20 hits over 33.1 innings of work. He has also fanned 30 batters, has only walked three and has a sparklingly 0.54 ERA.

But even though he has been masterful so far, the problem is that this is the second time the Yankees will be facing Lee this week. Even though they lost, the Rockies fared a tad better against Lee in Game 4 of the NLDS than they did in Game 1. And Colorado doesn’t have near the offensive firepower as New York does.

If the Yankees are going to be crowned world champions tonight, the top of their order must come through, unlike in Game 1 of this series. Outside of Derek Jeter, who had three hits and scored a run, Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez combined to go 1-for-12 against Lee in their first outing. While A-Rod has been on fire since then, he looked lost in all four of his at bats against Lee in New York while striking out three times.

Time will tell if Lee can continue his dominance in the postseason, or if A.J. Burnett and the Yankees will put the final touches on their championship run.

Apparently all Nick Swisher needed was a fire lit under his ass.

Swisher, benched in Game 2, homered and doubled in the Yankees’ 8-5 win over the Phillies in Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday night. With the victory, New York takes a 2-1 lead in the best of seven series.

Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui also went deep for the Bronx Bombers. A-Rod’s shot was memorable because it was the first call overturned by replay in the history of the World Series. He finished 1 for 2 on the night with two RBI and a walk, while Swisher went 2-for-4 with two runs and a RBI.

The Phillies got two home runs from Jayson Werth and one from Carlos Ruiz to take a 3-0 lead in the second inning. But the Yankees answered with two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and one in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings on their way to victory. Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels was touched up for five runs on five hits in just 4.1 innings of work. He struck out three and walked two.

With this win, the Yankees have the Phillies right where they want them because CC Sabathia opposes Joe Blanton tomorrow night. But a win is vital for the Bombers because if they lose, not only will Philly even the series but it’ll also have the momentum with Cliff Lee (who beat the Yankees in Game 1) starting Game 5.

Tomorrow is critical for Joe Girardi, who decided to start Sabathia on only three days rest. If the Yankees can’t take a 3-1 series lead, then Girardi’s gamble could wind up costing his club.

Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has decided to start Joe Blanton in Game 4 of the World Series instead of ace Cliff Lee on short rest.

What this means is that Lee won’t be available for a possible Game 7 because he’ll pitch Game 5 now. Considering Lee has never started on short rest in his career, Manuel may have had little choice but to pitch Blanton in Game 4.

Blanton started Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays in last year’s World Series and combined with four relievers on a five-hitter in a 10-2 Philadelphia win. So he has World Series experience and shouldn’t be fazed by the pressure, although he did allow four runs in six innings against the Dodgers in his only postseason start this season.

It’ll be interesting to see how New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi counters the move. There was talk that CC Sabathia would start Game 4, but Girardi may decide to save his ace to face Lee again in Game 5. Considering several Yankees (including Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez) have had success off Blanton in the past, Girardi might want to save Sabathia in order to go toe to toe with Lee.

The chess game begins…