Catchers, 1st basemen, 2nd basemen and shortstops for 2009 have been accounted for. Up now, the top 20 3rd basemen for 2009 fantasy baseball. Lots of surprises in the top 20 for 3rd basemen. On top, Mini-Donkey, Figgy, Longoria and Kung Fu Panda, which sounds like an anime cartoon that has a 75% chance of giving you a seizure. (BTW, anyone ever watch anime? It’s about giant robots that want to be loved. That shizz is depressing.) Then when you get to around the halfway mark-o, the drop off is precipitous. Anyway, here’s the top 20 3rd basemen for 2009 fantasy baseball and how they compared to where I originally ranked them:
1. Mark Reynolds – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen post. Preseason Rank #14, 2009 Projections: 75/31/100/.255/7, Final Numbers: 98/44/102/.260/24
2. Chone Figgins – He’s actually right in line with the stats I predicted for him in the preseason. So I knew exactly what he’d give you/me and I ranked him 15th. This seems like crazy talk from a mental patient. I’ve said it before, I’m obviously about to say it again. I don’t like owning steals at 3rd base. It puts you at a major disadvantage in the power department. If you get 5 homers from your 3rd baseman, you better have Utley, Hill or Tulo giving you major power from your middle infield spots. And, even then, I’d prefer to get 40 steals from a waiver wire pickup like Rajai Davis. Preseason Rank #15, 2009 Projections: 95/5/55/.295/35, Final Numbers: 114/5/54/.298/42
3. Evan Longoria – He was right in line with my preseason predictions, but for some reason his season felt disappointing. Not disappointing where he would be dropped in rankings for next season. Not disappointing where he actually performed below expectations. Disappointing in that he didn’t completely blow away expectations. Kinda like how I felt after watching the first two seasons of Mad Men on DVD. Solid, but wasn’t it supposed to be even better than that? Preseason Rank #2, 2009 Projections: 85/30/110/.275/7, Final Numbers: 100/33/113/.281/9
4. Pablo Sandoval – Went over him in the top 20 Catchers post. Preseason Rank #13, 2009 Projections: 60/14/65/.300, Final Numbers: 79/25/90/.330/5
5. Ryan Zimmerman – Zimmerman could’ve easily fell into the Alex Gordon, Delmon Young class with a poor season in 2009. Luckily for him and his owners, he finally took the next step with his power. Unfortunately, somewhere between Jim Bowden riding his Segway out of town and the Nats having another terrible season, Zimmerman stopped running. Preseason Rank #10, 2009 Projections: 80/20/90/.285/7, Final Numbers: 110/33/106/.292/2
6. Kevin Youkilis – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen post. Preseason Rank #4, 2009 Projections: 95/27/110/.290/5, Final Numbers: 99/27/94/.305/7
7. David Wright – If I would’ve told you in March that you’d get 27 steals from Wright, I imagine you would’ve been over the moon, or whatever that old-timey expression is. In 2009, Wright pulled his best impersonation of Alex Rios circa 2008. Numbers aren’t necessarily terrible. They’re just not at all what you expected. If you wanted 10 homers and 25+ steals in the first round, you would’ve taken Victorino with the third pick of the draft. Preseason Rank #1, 2009 Projections: 110/33/120/.310/14, Final Numbers: 88/10/72/.307/27
8. Alex Rodriguez – A-Rod ended giving a lot more steals than I thought he would. Now, for the first time in a long time, he might actually be underrated going into next season. Preseason Rank #5, 2009 Projections: 70/24/75/.295/4, Final Numbers: 78/30/100/.286/14
9. Michael Young – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops post. Didn’t have 3rd base eligibility in the preseason so was unranked. 2009 Projections: 100/10/85/.310/10, Final Numbers: 76/22/68/.322/8
10. Marco Scutaro – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen post. Final Numbers: 100/12/60/.282/14
11. Adam Kennedy – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen post. Final Numbers: 65/11/63/.289/20
12. Chris Coghlan – Knowing I’m against Figgins as your third baseman, you can imagine how I feel about Coghlan. The fact he ranked so high on this list really tells you all you need to know about the state of the hot corner. If you take nothing away from this, know you want a 1st baseman in your corner infidel spot, not a 3rd baseman. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 84/9/47/.321/8
13. Jorge Cantu – This was a classic terrible season that can absolutely kill your team. I’ll explain. You watch him come out of the gates in April on fire (7/22/.365). You’re aware that he hit 29 homers the year before. You’re psyched. You just drafted Cantu later than most and now he’s going to have a career year. May comes, he’s bad. You know he’ll get better because April was so good. June comes and he’s hitting for average again, but no pop. You’re starting to get worried. Was April a fluke? July comes and he hits for average and still no power. You’re officially sick of him. August comes and the bottom falls out. Finally, you’ve had enough. You drop him. Then, in September, he hits again on someone else’s team. Finally, you find out Cantu impregnated your sister. Preseason Rank #9, 2009 Projections: 80/25/90/.270/5, Final Numbers: 67/16/100/.289/3
14. Scott Rolen – Member back in the day when 85/20/95/.285 were “Injured Scott Rolen” numbers. Well, get a load of what “Healthy Scott Rolen” numbers look like now… Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 76/11/67/.305/5
15. Casey Blake – When I went back to see where I ranked Blake in the preseason, I was actually kinda surprised I didn’t. I think what happened was I started figuring out his predictions then I fell asleep. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 84/18/79/.280/3
16. Alberto Callaspo – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen post. Final Numbers: 79/11/73/.300/2
17. Russell Branyan – Here’s a guy that is the exact opposite of Jorge Cantu. He gave you all the stats you needed from him then went to the DL. Preseason Unranked, though he did appear in the first Buy/Sell of the season listed as a Buy. Then he appeared in a late summer Sell column right before he disappeared into the abyss. Net-net, natch. Final Numbers: 64/31/76/.251/2
18. Mike Lowell – In January, I said, “‘Hip surgery on an old doode,” my trepidation says.” And that’s me quoting my trepidation! Preseason Rank #19, 2009 Projections: 75/20/85/.275, Final Numbers: 54/17/75/.290/2
19. Chipper Jones – This was the year the Glass Chipper shattered. Preseason Rank #6, 2009 Projections: 80/20/85/.320/5, Final Numbers: 80/18/71/.264/4
20. Aramis Ramirez – Not only did the two month DL stint murder his numbers, but even when he returned he didn’t always look like himself. I blame Milton Bradley. Preseason Rank #3, 2009 Projections: 105/30/115/.295, Final Numbers: 46/15/65/.317/2
