It did not hurt the depth of the top 20 3rd basemen for 2019 that nearly all of them had other position eligibility. There’s only nine new names from the other recap posts, so it’s no surprise someone like Hunter Dozier barely made this top 20 for 3rd basemen, but was 15th on the 1st basemen. Nearly all of those 1st basemen also ended up here. Makes it less exciting for you to read this post, but makes it an absolute joy for me to write it! 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 2019 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
1. Rafael Devers – Again, this is about this past year and not future years, but, from early mocks and drafts, no one seems to believe Devers — bunch of non-be-Devers! Maybe it’s just a backlash because I’m also seeing it with Just Dong, Mookie and Bogaerts. The Sawx pitching sucked, not their hitting. Funny that I’m leading the charge on Devers, because I didn’t love him coming into this year. Questioned his average; his power; his speed; if he would even play every day with that glove, and I wasn’t briefly working as a quality control inspector at Rawlings — I didn’t think the Red Sox could afford the errant fielding ability. All of those concerns turned out irrelevant. Ya know who his final numbers remind me of? I’ll charades it to you…*touches my own head, then punches myself out* Five minutes later, picks up head, “Get it? No? It was Beltre.” Preseason Rank #26, 2019 Projections: 63/23/69/.244/5 in 471 ABs, Final Numbers: 129/32/115/.311/8 in 647 ABs
2. Anthony Rendon – Ya know, some of these top 3rd basemen do worry me a bit. Here’s what I do with stats. Throw out runs and RBIs. You can’t count on them. Average is fickle, but you can get close to what a player is. So, Rendon is a 34-homer, five-steal, .300 hitter. Not trying to be the bad guy here, and I know it goes for Devers too, but, without runs and ribbies, well, it’s okay. I mean, still solid. But caps lock yay? Hmm, not sure about that. Preseason Rank #7, 2019 Projections: 94/25/101/.295/4 in 536 ABs, Final Numbers: 117/34/126/.319/5 in 545 ABs
3. Alex Bregman – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2019 fantasy baseball.
4. Nolan Arenado – Obviously, it was idiotic that I was worried about Arenado’s shoulder in the preseason. I’m just going to place my brain on this open window sill–NOO!!! Torenado! Now hopefully Arenado never leaves the Rockies, because road Arenado is “just okay” Arenado. Call him Arenadokay. Preseason Rank #3, 2019 Projections: 97/35/112/.284/2 in 595 ABs, Final Numbers: 102/41/118/.315/3 in 588 ABs
5. DJ LeMahieu – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball.
6. Eugenio Suarez – If you’re like me, the juiced ball fades from your memory until something triggers it. Eugenio Suarez hitting 49 homers triggers me. I’m triggered, y’all! I liked Suarez a lot in the preseason, and drafted him, but I’d be lying if I told you I expected anything close to this. Eugenio Suarez’s friends and family didn’t expect anything close to this. Preseason Rank #8, 2019 Projections: 81/27/94/.281/3 in 538 ABs, Final Numbers: 87/49/103/.271/3 in 575 ABs
7. Eduardo Escobar – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball.
8. Yuli Gurriel – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball.
9. Javier Baez – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball.
10. Max Muncy – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball.
11. Yoan Moncada – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball.
12. Josh Donaldson – If you stepped in crap and drafted Donaldson and got this year, then you should’ve been made to stand in that crap all year for as lucky as you ended up. Sure, he’s played 155 games before. Dot dot dot. Three years ago with two total junk seasons in-between as he creeps into his mid-30’s. I’m no longer fighting against Donaldson, I’m just going to ignore him. Preseason Rank #22, 2019 Projections: 54/22/63/.263/2 in 422 ABs, Final Numbers: 96/37/94/.259/4 in 549 ABs
13. Kris Bryant – Think the big takeaway from Kris Bryant’s year is I predicted him almost exactly right, but I didn’t expect his stats to only be worth the 13th overall 3rd baseman, i.e., there was a ton of 3rd basemen providing value. I before E except after C, he was good, but I can also run to my car and find you a “meh” for Bryant. Preseason Rank #6, 2019 Projections: 102/29/71/.284/9 in 561 ABs, Final Numbers: 108/31/77/.282/4 in 543 ABs
14. Jose Ramirez – I not only nailed Jo-Ram’s overrated post in the preseason, but I’m proud of myself that I nailed the reason why he would fail. It seemed obvious to me that he was hitting too many fly balls, and I was a bit surprised I was the only one seeing it. Much like the problem with Rhys Hoskins in 2019, you cannot hit nearly 50% fly balls and have them all be 365-foot bingos to the left fielder. Of course, the other takeaway from Hoe-Zay’s year is if a guy gets power and speed, it’s gonna take a total loss of speed for him to completely bottom out. Preseason Rank #5, 2019 Projections: 104/25/82/.288/24 in 582 ABs, Final Numbers: 68/23/83/.255/24 in 482 ABs
15. Matt Chapman – His name should be the Wildly Underrated Matt Chapman. Not Matt W.U. Chapman, because then he’s a serial killer. Through a very unscientific method of simply skimming 2018 and 2019’s average exit velocity, Chapman was one of only four guys in the top 12 for both years: Joey Gallo, Aaron Judge, Nelson Cruz and Chapman. I think if you were to ask 100 ‘perts who are knowledgable on average exit velocity, all of them would be able to name Gallo, Judge and Cruz, while only maybe a handful knew Chapman. Now you do too! You giant effin’ nerd! Preseason Rank #16, 2019 Projections: 91/29/93/.263/2 in 561 ABs, Final Numbers: 102/36/91/.249/1 in 583 ABs
16. Jeff McNeil – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball.
17. Mike Moustakas – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball.
18. Manny Machado – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2019 fantasy baseball.
19. Hunter Dozier – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball.
20. Justin Turner – I can’t dislike a guy more than Justin Turner. Not on a personal level. I think his Gritty-like looks are hilarious. He seems like he has a good attitude about looking like Animal from The Muppets too. He does not seem to care that he looks like Toomgis from AM/PM commercials. But woofy woof woof his actual stats. In shallower leagues, where you can replace him with a solid replacement off waivers, he’s not bad, until you realize whoever you pick up is likely better and you just drop Turner. Seriously, how many of you out there drafted Turner and, when he went to the IL, grabbed someone who you just wanted to keep? That’s right, every one of you. How do I know? I’m hiding inside your rec room beanbag. BOO! Nah, seriously, unzip it a little, it’s getting hot in here. Guys? Hello? Hey, where you going? Come back! Preseason Rank #20, 2019 Projections: 73/20/77/.304/3 in 434 ABs, Final Numbers: 80/27/67/.290/2 in 479 ABs
