For those looking for pictures of ballplayers taking off their ballcap and recapping themselves, you’re in the wrong place! Something I’ve noticed from recapping each position is not every hitting position was deep. Outfielders? Crazy deep. 1st basemen? Deep, dawg. 2nd basemen? Not bad. Shortstops? Awful. 3rd basemen? I’ve seen better. Travis Shaw was the 8th best 1st baseman, here he’s 4th. Yeah, not that deep. Scooter was the 9th best 2nd baseman, here he’s 8th. Okay, 3rd basemen suck. This recap ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. The Player Rater allows me to be impartial while looking at how I ranked players in the preseason. Now, let’s get this, young money. Anyway, here’s the top 20 3rd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
1. Nolan Arenado – I’m just going to leave this copy of the Declaration of Independence here for Nic Cage to come by and read to find a hidden treasure map–NOOOOO!!! Torenado!!! You know Arenado, so quick anecdote. My friend’s friend went to Nic Cage’s house to install a stereo system. He said Cage sat in the room while he installed it and only spoke to him through an assistant. They were all five feet from each other, but Cage would wait for the assistant to say the exact same thing to him. So, Friend’s Friend, “Does Mr. Cage want me to make a hole in this cabinet?” Assistant, “Do you want a hole in this cabinet?” Cage to assistant, “Yes, a hole.” Assistant to Friend’s Friend, “Yes, a hole.” This went on for three hours! A hole indeed. Preseason Rank #2, 2017 Projections: 103/38/123/.291/2, Final Numbers: 100/37/130/.309/3
2. Jose Ramirez – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
3. Kris Bryant – Six (!) RBIs in the final week helped propel Bryant all the way up to 86th for RBIs last year. He was tied with Tommy Pham, who had 105 less at-bats and also hit 2nd, and Eduardo Escobar, who had 92 less at-bats, and hit sixth or lower for 219 ABs, i.e., you can’t spell Kris Bryant without RBIs. Preseason Rank #1, 2017 Projections: 106/34/113/.288/10, Final Numbers: 111/29/73/.295/7
4. Travis Shaw – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen.
5. Anthony Rendon – Imagine what he would’ve done if he didn’t take April off. Imagine my ulcer if I didn’t bench him for his 3-homer game this year. It would be nothing, but a bit of indigestion. Now that I think about it, I benched Scooter for his 4-homer game too. The third basemen alone are the reason why I need to see my GP for a bowel checkup. Preseason Rank #7, 2017 Projections: 84/25/96/.268/9, Final Numbers: 81/25/100/.301/7
6. Manny Machado – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops.
7. Jake Lamb – I wrote a sleeper post for Lamb last preseason. I was proud of that piece. Only 27 Lamb-related puns. Not overdone at all, otherwise it would be mutton. In that post, I said, “Let’s talk about the so-called smarter leagues first, and those disqualifying Lamb due to his 2nd half. These people aren’t smarter. I mean, they might be, I haven’t seen all of their individual Sporcle test results, but they consider themselves smarter, so we will too. In the 1st half, Lamb had 20 HRs and hit .291. In the 2nd half, he hit 9 HRs and .197. Maybe Lamb is a 1st half player.” And that’s me quoting me! Oh, and Lamb is a 1st half player. This year, his 2nd half: 10 HRs, .204. That’s pretty baaaahd. Preseason Rank #13, 2017 Projections: 76/26/81/.258/7, Final Numbers: 89/30/105/.248/6
8. Scooter Gennett – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
9. Freddie Freeman – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen.
10. Chris Taylor – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
11. Alex Bregman – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops.
12. Marwin Gonzalez – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen.
13. Mike Moustakas – Surprised Moistasskiss is ranked this low at the end of the season. His season was anything but a failure. Shows you how much is out of a player’s control. His runs and RBIs were pathetic for a 38-homer hitter. Audience refrain, “How pathetic were they?!” Thanks, audience! Logan Morrison this year, Chris Davis last year, Frank Robinson in 1956 and Joey Gallo this year. That’s all the players of the last 117 years that had 38 homers and 85 or fewer RBIs. Kinda crazy how many recent ones there are. People don’t do the whole OBP thing anymore, huh? Preseason Rank #26, 2017 Projections: 71/22/79/.251/1, Final Numbers: 75/38/85/.272
14. Nicholas Castellanos – Conspiracy Theory Alert! At some point, Exitolas Velocitous realized he wasn’t hitting balls out of the yard even though he was hitting the ball hard, so to subconsciously psyche himself up to go long he changed his name from Nick to Nicholas. Preseason Rank #20, 2017 Projections: 65/22/72/.276/2, Final Numbers: 73/26/101/.272/4
15. Joey Gallo – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen.
16. Justin Turner – The Gingerbeard Man rode on the back of the fox for the 1st half of the season, then the fox started eating his legs in the 2nd half. I think I have that fairy tale right, though it’s been a while and I’m childless, so I ain’t learning that shizz any time soon either. What does the fox say? Don’t know, don’t care. I remember Turner was hitting .377 in the 1st half, which means I also must’ve told people to sell him, because, he’s not, ya know, a .377 hitter. 2nd half: .266 with 11 HRs. Yeah comma doodie. Preseason Rank #8, 2017 Projections: 81/24/92/.271/5, Final Numbers: 72/21/71/.322/7
17. Eugenio Suarez – You know how you win deep leagues? Draft top hitters who don’t disappoint (yea, well, dur), but just as importantly are the cheap picks made late of guys like Eugenio, Galvis and Jose Reyes. While everyone was taking guys like J.P. Crawford and Ryan McMahon last preseason, I drafted these boring guys then just demolished the competish. By the way, don’t ever say competish in real life or someone has the right to punch you. Preseason Rank #30, 2017 Projections: 60/18/72/.241/7, Final Numbers: 87/26/82/.260/4
18. Javier Baez – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
19. Eduardo Nunez – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
20. Josh Donaldson – The other day Ralph, Halp and I did our 2018 mock draft (clickbait!), and Donaldson caused much consternation (no idea what consternation means). I hate Donaldson, have for a long time. It’s been so long I don’t even know why, did he insult my moms? Maybe, no idea! But this last season didn’t assuage my Donaldson feelings, and assuage is not me misspelling sausage (I don’t think). Preseason Rank #4, 2017 Projections: 95/32/101/.287/6, Final Numbers: 65/33/78/.270/2
Where would Sano slot in here? Thanks.
What do you mean? He did have 3B eligibility
Grey you got literary chops (your good at writing and spelling and stuff), and a great ability to write with a Boston accent. I need help coming up with a clever name for my fundraiser to run the Boston Marathon, something wicked smaht.
Thanks! What’s your fundraiser’s name? Who’s it helping?
@Grey:
Running for cover is the New England chapter of the Melanoma Foundation. My name is Nate, two time cancer ass kicker, with advanced staged Melanoma. Thank you for responding. Coolness Park
That’s awesome, man! Happy to hear it!
Here’s a few that come to mind: We Put The No In Melanoma — Tanning Beds Aren’t Even Cool On The Jersey Shore — Leave Tanning To Snooki — New England Says Noma To Melanoma — Melanoma Sounds Like Nomah But It Sucks — Melanoma Sahks Worse Than Mah Accent — Easier than applying sunscreen is staying inside to watch the Pats — New England Is Here To Say Noma Melanoma — Okay, I could go on for days….
@Grey: Melanoma sounds like Nomah but it sucks. Classic. My wife and I got engaged in fort meyer’s in ‘03. Sat in front of Mia hamm. I like to think our presence that spring training that catapulted them all the way. Thanks again, very much appreciated.
No problem, good luck! I realized afterwards, none of these had to do with the marathon, so if you want more, I can write off this work as charity…
Thanks for pointing out how crappy my dynasty team is at 3b, Grey! I traded Lamb for Bogaerts and Suarez in the preseason and thought I was robbing the guy. I could always rely on my starter, the Toddfather, who needs to be put out to pasture apparently. At least I have Devers for next year…
On another note, thinking about the SS recap… I believe MLB changed something about the ball this last offseason. I wonder if they tinker with it again to reduce some of the gains. Thoughts?
Ha, ouch… I doubt it about the ball, people love offense, right?
Hi Grey!
12 keepers. Head-to-head with categories for OPS, QS, and Saves+Holds (as one category).
Need to pick my final 2 spots, who do you like from: Scooter, Berrios, Broxton, Jon Gray, Rich Hill, Paul DeJong?
If it matters, my other keepers are: Bryant, Seager, Murphy, Rendon, Hoskins, Yelich, AGarcia, Archer, Nola, & KHendricks.
Tough call, I’d prolly go Broxton, Berrios, could change further into preseason
@Grey:
So you think Scooter regresses and Broxton improves? This year’s stats seem to be telling me to keep Scooter over Broxton…
Yeah, I do think that
@Grey:
Thank you! :-)
No problem
I still feel really bad for my Laura omission yesterday. I’m going to go put myself in the Joey Gallos where I belong. I’m a home run hitter with lots of other parts to hate.
Sometimes you knock them out of the park, other times you strike out with the bases loaded on a pitch down the middle…
@Grey: @Grey: I fouled it off my ankle, broke it and then while going down the nob of the bat caught my left nut.
Pretty sloppy on defense too… game to forget…
@Grey: get your ass down and your body in front of the ball Dorn
Knock it down at least, geez
Think Devers will go relatively under the radar with the abbreviated Sox playoff run? Really excited to see what he does with a full season and a manager who isn’t afraid to start him everyday.
@Duda Want to Build a Snowman?: Hit submit too early. I see a Castellanos 2017 type line, with more upside and better average, maybe some more SB.
Definitely more upside… I think Puig
Yeah, I’m gonna like him, and think he’ll be pretty forgotten in the preseason
@Grey: I like the Puig comparison. Or Frazier except . . . (memba that?)
Agreed – his 2017 numbers don’t jump off the page even though they’re all very good.
Assface Todd Frazier or Clint?
@Grey: assface
Haha
You watch Sneaky Pete on Amazon? I started it the other day and I like it. I also like movies about grifters and what not
Rudy liked it a lot… recommended it to me and I just haven’t watched yet but it’s likely next
@Grey: A lot of good performances and good actors in it. I like the con man, grifter, confidence man type stuff. It’s bad ass
Yeah, I might start it this weekend, actually… I really hate Ribisi usually tho, which is why I’ve been hestitant
@Grey: I’m not a big fan either but he plays his part well and Cranston is great and so is the grandmother. She’s played by *looking it up* Margo Martindale. Even the black guy from King of Queens is in it . I’m not done with season yet but I’m 4 in and I can’t wait to get back in there
Cranston’s in it? Wow, had no idea… That’s a good plus…. Margo Martindale is awesome too… Speaking of which, you should watch The Americans
@Grey: He’s co-creator and executive producer. Good stuff in this article about it. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/sneaky-pete-bryan-cranston-amazon-move-963803
Oh! Wow! I really had no idea about that… My life for Cranston almost completely outweighs my dislike of Ribisi
@Grey: Tim Whatley is the man. I want to become Jewish for the jokes too.
Ha! Nice…
We fell in love with him on Malcolm in the Middle. He was amazing there. …..truth, I still never finished breaking bad. I’m getting there….I know I know
Oh cmon! You have to watch it!
Joe Buck is the worst
The worst, ha
I also enjoyed Sneaky Pete.
Cool gonna start it this weekend…
@Grey: Vins seal of approval. Boom!
Yeah, now I’m really excited
I have Lamb, Bryant, and Donaldson for my ESPN keeper league. Obviously I can play all 3 at once, but I’m weak in pitching and hitting is loaded. Do you think Lamb is going to continue to improve, or should I try and sell high in some type of deal to get a top pitcher?
I’d take a top 20 SP for Lamb if I could get it
Sup Grey, wanted to stop in to say “thanks ” for a great season.
Won 3 ships, finished 3rd in my big $ league (went against a Hoskins, JD Martinez, Matt Olson squad in round 1…nothing I could do do except sit and watch my season go down in flames).
Thanks again, loving the off season notes.
That’s awesome, man! Congrats!
Tho, sucks about the big $ league…Figures, right?
Grey love the projections and recaps…but AB’s would add a lot of context. Keep up the good work.
Thanks!
Hey Grey,
Thanks for helping me win my league this year (e.g., Bellinger, Merrifield, Rhys were all KEY)! We run a 14-team auction 10-category league though our stat categories are little different than normal (e.g., W-L, S-BS, etc.). What website or tool do you recommend for forecasting auction values where I can customize the league stats to (mostly) match our own league?
We have that here
Oh, fully customizable? I’m not sure
Here is a sheet that includes ABs.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1k-rY3vpOI3ykMkp0xe8G6jGxwfXpZkYa5Alc1BclLss/edit?usp=sharing
@VinWins: The fact that trout missed all that time and still finished 21 is just amazing
@J-FOH: No doubt. And only 4 fewer HRs that projected.
@VinWins: I should mention those are overall ranks, including pitchers.
@VinWins: that’s doubly amazing because he came back from a thumb/hand injury. Guys don’t do that
So true
Thanks, Vin!
@Grey: No problem. I’ve also updated the Position Eligibility page for 2018: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YJxsg85QkCdO5m3l5p2xqzq-ZMwtV4IuhlTjeuIkyXs/edit?usp=sharing
You’re awesome, Vin, truly!
I hope you are watching sneaky pete. I made some monte cristos today…. so good
Watching the Cubs/Dodgers first
I’m so freakin’ hungry… Monte Cristo sounds wonderful, I’m having sole for dinner, how fun does that sound?!
@Grey: who’s?
Me and Cougs had sole… Or Cougs and I if the guy from Halp’s comments is reading…
@Grey: hahaha, proper police suck ass. My joke should of rad whose, as in whose sole?…like soul…haha…get it
Please don’t remind me anymore I ate sole for dinner on a Saturday… this is supposed to be my eating out night!
@Grey: I had this miso sea bass by my house the other day that was pretty good for a mediocre sushi spot
Honestly don’t think I’ve ever had a bad piece of miso cod/sea bass
@Grey: I want to marinate all my seafood in white miso….Im going to have to try this one day, shrimp, scallops, trout, all of it
I wonder how it would work with shrimp, never seen that anywhere… Trout is just nasty… not Mike!
You’re smoking crack, trout is delicious if you know how to cook it
It’s okay, doesn’t do a ton for me
Im a Dodger fan and that Posey rule is such bullshit. I hate Sabean and Bochy for their lobbying to change that rule.
It’s legit stupid… I want the Dodgers to win, but he was moving his leg to catch the throw!
@Grey: we can disagree on that leg thing. He’s a smart player, he got caught. I want to see them drop the shoulder again.
I hope you enjoy Sneaky Pete, I tried talking about the show with my buddy last night but he refuses to watch any new shows because according to them they all contain liberal narrative social justice warrior leftist agenda messages. This is not the case. It’s just a show, a really cool story that is just a show
I didn’t start Sneaky Pete yet, hard with games on all day… Maybe today I can… I did watch Out of Thin Air on Netflix which was great (documentary about false confessions)….
@Grey: I want to see a documentary on false equivalences. I hear them all the time lately
Haha, let’s see a doc on the difference between false equivalences and false equivalencies!
@Grey: maybe some meta false equivalences
My favorite false equivalence is any time Antifa is mentioned
@Grey: I’m not a fan of those guys
It’s when keepin it real goes wrong
They are more like when being opportunistic goes wrong
Totes
Just finished Sneaky Pete. It was worth the watch. They actually set it up well for season two and don’t make you feel like an asshole
Cool, I might not start until tomorrow now b/c of The Deuce, Mr. Robot and Curb…
@Grey: I haven’t watched the deuce yet. I’m waiting til it’s done so I can power watch
It’s solid, it’s no Wire, which you prolly still haven’t finished… shame!
@Grey: I did finish the wire. Let’s just say it’s not in my top 25.
Wow! What? Cmon!
@Grey: kinda a cluster fuck, last scene was a three minute montage because of all the story lines. The best people on it are the street kids and the ones who were legit peeps. The main characters were kinda weak. I wasn’t buying it. Snoop and Chris were dope as fuxk and Marlow did absolutely nothing. Some seasons were not that good while others were great
Yeah, you’re legit on your own with all of this… it’s a top 5 show of all time… ALL TIME!
Just commenting about how excited you probably are to get to see John Lackey for the second game in a row! For the first time in his career!