I don’t do 1st baseman sleepers because there are none. If you’re drafting a 1st baseman sleeper, you’re losing your league. Who are you putting at 1st? Yonder Alonso? That’s cool. Don’t pay your league fees until the end of the year and then duck out of the country. You feel me? Okay, now stop. 3rd basemen are more or less in the same boat, and that boat is the Titanic and if you draft a sleeper 3rd baseman that doesn’t pan out, you’re gonna sink while holding until to a lady named Rose who gets real old looking, but some of youse have corner men in your league, so may as well look at a few 3rd basemen for s’s and g’s. Good? Good. These are all 3rd basemen that being drafted after 150 overall. Now, this is a (legal-in-all-countries-except-Indonesia) supplement to the top 20 3rd basemen for 2014 fantasy baseball. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2014 projections. Anyway, here’s some 3rd basemen to target for 2014 fantasy baseball:
David Freese (Yahoo 250, ESPN 273, MDC 278) Freese is just all right. His name value with casual fans is probably higher than his actual value. Well, I mean, it can’t be worse, he’s projected for, like, 13 homers this year by most reputable sources. I’m more bullish on him at 16 homers, but even I don’t think he’s going to do much else. Way to start off this list with some excitement! Thanks, Random Italicized Voice. I was being sarcastic. I know, so was I. I was being sarcastic first.
Todd Frazier (MDC 182, Yahoo 234, ESPN 245) I already went over my Todd Frazier sleeper post. If you read it drunk, it’s like a straight mule kick to the noggin.
Will Middlebrooks (ESPN 150, Yahoo 222) I wish I wrote a sleeper post about Middlebrooks. There’s still time, but it’s running out and I probably won’t get around to it. Maybe I’ll sic one of our other writers on it. Whatever was f*uling (wait, I didn’t need to asterisk that) up Middlebrooks prior to his demotion last year looked like it was fixed and he looked like a 20+ HRs, .270+ hitter when he returned. That means he’ll probably be better than Alvarez. Seriously, draft Middlebrooks…and Arenado…and Asche. Okay, I absolutely love a few third basemen this year. Sue me! I have nothing anyway, except some Benihana drink Buddhas. They’re collectible!
Xander Bogaerts – (ESPN 160, Yahoo 191, MDC 214) One of the few guys on this list that I actually have ranked way after the mainstream fantards. I’m pretty all right with that since I’m concerned about playing time and his projections for me are kinda Martin Prado-ish.
Nolan Arenado – (ESPN 223, MDC 212) What is a man to do when he wants five third basemen on every team? Damn me and my Cousin Larry, I really want Arenado on every team. Shorthand for you: A Rockies hitter on your fantasy team = Pearl Jam. Dah! So close on that equation. One integer off and I would’ve had the right Seattle grunge band. And, of course, I wrote a Nolan Arenado sleeper post.
Matt Davidson – (Yahoo 286, ESPN unranked, MDC unranked) Bit of a deep league special, but could see him surprising. Here’s what I’ve said previously on that matter, “Went the other way in the Addison Reed trade and is currently slated to start at 3rd base for the White Hose. Davidson does sound like a game show host, so come on down, you’re the next contestant on the White Sox depth chart. Plouffe-like isn’t just fun to say, it’s also what Davidson looks like. Yo, man, you are Plouffe-like! He’ll have some power, maybe 20-ish homers, but struggle to hit for a decent average. Here’s what I said previously about him, “Here’s what Prospect Scott said, “Davidson’s power is legit, as evidenced by the .208 ISO he posted at Double-A last year. The 21-year-old projects to hit 25+ homers annually, but an aggressive approach will likely keep the AVG down. Still, he looks like an above-average 3B, and he’s not too far off. Or as Grey would say, ‘I’m a big dummy.’” What? Why would I say that? I like Davidson a lot in AL-Only leagues, and deep mixed ones for upside.” And that’s me quoting me quoting Scott quoting me in a Möbius strip of quoting! And that’s me quoting me like a mothereffin’ broken record!” And that’s me quoting me quoting Scott quoting me quoting Scott quoting me! I’m exhausted.
Mike Moustakas (Yahoo 252, ESPN 286, MDC 302) Rudy looked at my 3rd basemen rankings and said, “Grey, your third basemen rankings are screwed up. You like 2nd and 3rd tier 3rd basemen too much. And don’t quote this back to me every day during the season if these 3rd basemen pan out.” Okay, Rudy, will do! He’s right, of course. My 3rd basemen rankings are bizzonkers compared to most sources. I’m about 100 picks better on most of these guys than others. Probably how I ended up with three 3rd basemen in my last draft. Well, you all have a corner and utility slot, right? So, draft away, snitches! Oh, and I wrote a Mike Moustakas sleeper post too. This is probably why there was no Middlebrooks post, I covered so many sleeper 3rd basemen already this year.
Cody Asche (MDC 336, ESPN unranked, Yahoo unranked) I figured I’d like him a bit more than others when I wrote my Cody Asche sleeper post. Then Others called and said, “You’re crackers on Asche. He’s a platoon player with Kevin Frandsen.” Then Kevin Frandsen called and said, “I shouldn’t be playing in the major leagues.” Then the Major Leagues called and said, “Let’s look into this.” So, you see your questioning led us down a rabbit hole of epic proportions. You know what? Screw it, I’m out on this Cody Asche limb dangling my twig and berries and it feels great! I know about Maikel Franco and how he’s going to be wonderful and how his first name sounds like he’s Natalie Portman’s Israeli father and how he’s going to push Cody Asche to the bench. We just need one season of Cody Asche for fantasy. That’s it. A guy that hit 15 homers, stole 11 bases and hit .295 in 104 Triple-A games last year is a guy that I’d put in my corner infidel slot. You don’t need to draft him as high as I have him ranked. Shoot, you can take a flyer on him in the next to last round (last round is your catcher). This is a trust exercise to see if you’ll let me and Cody Asche get to third base on you.
