But speed comes at a premium at third base, because once Alex Rodriguez and David Wright are off the board in the first or early second rounds, Reynolds is the only true 20-plus-steal threat remaining.
If you?re looking for a combination of the two, the Padres? Chase Headley — a 20 homer, 10-plus stolen-base threat — might be your favorite sleeper.
Whatever the case, NESN?s rankings of the third-basemen for the coming season are sure to help you determine what you can count on from your starter at the hot corner.
See our position-by-position rankings here: C
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300
| Name | Team | 2009 Stats | 2010 Projection | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Rodriguez | Yankees | .286 AVG, 30 HR, 100 RBI, 78 R, 14 SB | .294 AVG, 36 HR, 121 RBI, 103 R, 19 SB | Twelve consecutive seasons with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs — hard to find anyone more consistently phenomenal than that. |
| David Wright | Mets | .307 AVG, 10 HR, 72 RBI, 88 R, 27 SB | .297 AVG, 26 HR, 103 RBI, 99 R, 23 SB | Power plunge is scary and may be related to Citi Field dimensions, but Wright has too much talent not to rebound. |
| Evan Longoria | Rays | .281 AVG, 33 HR, 113 RBI, 100 R, 9 SB | .289 AVG, 39 HR, 122 RBI, 100 R, 7 SB | Longoria's ability to hit both lefties and righties, at home and away, suggests potential for continued improvement. |
| Ryan Zimmerman | Nationals | .292 AVG, 33 HR, 106 RBI, 110 R, 2 SB | .291 AVG, 32 HR, 107 RBI, 103 R, 1 SB | The NL's Longoria has just a tad less power, but may hit for a higher average. |
| Mark Reynolds | Diamondbacks | .260 AVG, 44 HR, 102 RBI, 98 R, 24 SB | .251 AVG, 37 HR, 105 RBI, 95 R, 19 SB | Reynolds' 40 homer, 25 stolen-base potential is truly unique, making the strikeouts and low average forgivable. |
| Pablo Sandoval | Giants | .330 AVG, 25 HR, 90 RBI, 79 R, 5 SB | .316 AVG, 23 HR, 88 RBI, 80 R, 3 SB | Power is real, but .350-plus BABIP may be unsustainable, leading to a small slip in batting average. |
| Aramis Ramirez | Cubs | .317 AVG, 15 HR, 65 RBI, 46 R, 2 SB | .310 AVG, 24 HR, 97 RBI, 86 R, 2 SB | Recovered from dislocated shoulder to bat .300 with four home runs and 18 RBIs in 22 games last September. |
| Adrian Beltre | Red Sox | .265 AVG, 8 HR, 44 RBI, 54 R, 13 SB | .279 AVG, 23 HR, 83 RBI, 78 R, 10 SB | Fenway Park worked wonders for Mike Lowell in 2006 and could do the same for Beltre in 2010. |
| Michael Young | Rangers | .322 AVG, 22 HR, 68 RBI, 76 R, 8 SB | .317 AVG, 15 HR, 64 RBI, 71 R, 8 SB | Could lead all third basemen in average, but last year's power surge was due to a 14.9 percent home run/fly ball rate that may be unsustainable. |
| Jose Lopez | Mariners | .272 AVG, 25 HR, 96 RBI, 69 R, 3 SB | .269 AVG, 23 HR, 91 RBI, 74 R, 4 SB | Value drops with move to third, but Lopez retains second-base eligibility and is a good bet for 25 home runs and 90 RBIs. |
| Chipper Jones | Braves | .264 AVG, 18 HR, 71 RBI, 80 R, 4 SB | .288 AVG, 19 HR, 80 RBI, 79 R, 3 SB | Chipper's .287 BABIP suggests that he was unlucky last season, so expect a nice rebound in average. |
| Jorge Cantu | Marlins | .289 AVG, 16 HR, 100 RBI, 67 R, 3 SB | .277 AVG, 17 HR, 85 RBI, 73 R, 3 SB | Although Cantu's power numbers slipped, don?t forget that he hit 29 homers as recently as 2008. |
| Chase Headley | Padres | .262 AVG, 12 HR, 64 RBI, 62 R, 10 SB | .282 AVG, 18 HR, 71 RBI, 70 R, 10 SB | Posted an .803 OPS away from PETCO Park in first full season last year, and only figures to improve. |
| Ian Stewart | Rockies | .228 AVG, 25 HR, 70 RBI, 74 R, 7 SB | .261 AVG, 21 HR, 76 RBI, 75 R, 6 SB | Stewart hit more grounders and fewer liners last season, but his batting average will rebound if he can reverse that trend. |
| Kevin Kouzmanoff | Athletics | .255 AVG, 18 HR, 88 RBI, 50 R, 1 SB | .260 AVG, 21 HR, 75 RBI, 72 R, 2 SB | Kouzmanoff can't catch a break, moving from one tough hitting environment at PETCO to another at the Coliseum. |
| Alex Gordon | Royals | .232 AVG, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 28 R, 5 SB | .263 AVG, 19 HR, 69 RBI, 69 R, 11 SB | Gordon was arguably the top prospect in baseball in 2007, and there's still plenty of potential left in his bat. |
| David Freese | Cardinals | .323 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R, 0 SB | .267 AVG, 18 HR, 60 RBI, 58 R, 2 SB | Owns a .308 career average in the minors, and hit 26 homers in 464 at-bats for Triple-A Memphis in 2008. |
| Scott Rolen | Reds | .305 AVG, 11 HR, 67 RBI, 76 R, 5 SB | .281 AVG, 14 HR, 66 RBI, 73 R, 5 SB | Rolen's average slipped from .320 to .280 after deadline trade to Cincy, but Great American Ballpark could revive his long-lost power. |
| Mark Teahen | White Sox | .271 AVG, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 69 R, 8 SB | .270 AVG, 16 HR, 63 RBI, 67 R, 7 SB | Moving into a better hitter's environment and a superior lineup should lift Teahen's home run and RBI numbers a bit. |
| Brandon Wood | Angels | .195 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 R, 0 SB | .244 AVG, 17 HR, 59 RBI, 56 R, 4 SB | Wood has nothing left to prove in the minors, but it's hard to say if he's a Quad-A talent or a right-handed Ian Stewart. |
| Edwin Encarnacion | Blue Jays | .225 AVG, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 35 R, 2 SB | .257 AVG, 15 HR, 55 RBI, 55 R, 2 SB | Ed-E has two issues: playing defense and staying healthy. He's a fantasy backup third baseman with upside, assuming he's on the field. |
| Casey Blake | Dodgers | .280 AVG, 18 HR, 79 RBI, 84 R, 3 SB | .263 AVG, 19 HR, 73 RBI, 79 R, 2 SB | A good source of pop for your fantasy bench, but his batting average is likely to slip. |
| Casey McGehee | Brewers | .301 AVG, 16 HR, 66 RBI, 58 R, 0 SB | .274 AVG, 13 HR, 61 RBI, 58 R, 0 SB | McGehee likely played over his head last year but could be a decent insurance policy for a quality starting third baseman. |
| Jhonny Peralta | Indians | .254 AVG, 11 HR, 83 RBI, 57 R, 0 SB | .263 AVG, 15 HR, 62 RBI, 66 R, 0 SB | Dwindling lineup support is bad news for Peralta's RBI numbers. |
| Pedro Alvarez | Pirates | MLB Debut | .296 AVG, 9 HR, 44 RBI, 37 R, 0 SB | Alvarez is an elite hitting prospect, and should offer excellent power numbers immediately after arriving in the Show. |
