With the top 20 3rd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball, we’ve gone through the infield, we can see how deep each position was in the most undeepest (totally a word!) of seasons. 1st base was deep. Oddly so since coming into this year (and last), it felt like 1st base was not as deep as it had been going back two or three years. The guard has changed, and 1st base was deep again. At least in a two-month season. Next up, shortstops and 3rd basemen were equally deep on the backend — Willi Castro was exactly the 20th ranked for both. However, shortstops were far and away deeper up top, and it wasn’t close. Didi Gregorius, the 10th ranked shortstop, was worth about twice as much as the 10th ranked 3rd baseman, and Didi was way more valuable than the 10th ranked 1st baseman. Finally, 2nd basemen were easily the worst infield position outside of catchers. So, infield ranked from deepest to shallowest in the undeepest of seasons: 1B, SS, 3B, 2B, and catchers. However, ranking the top 10 of each position: SS, 1B, 3B, 2B, catchers. With SS and 1B, 1A and 1B. That’s not confusing at all. I’ll begin outfield tomorrow, they are the deepest in the undeepest. To recap my recap before the recap, this final ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. This is not for next year. Anyway, here’s the top 20 3rd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
1. Jose Ramirez – “Please let me have a little taste.” Sure, Mr. Prorater, go for it. “In 162 games, Jose Ramirez would’ve had a 47-homer, 29-steal season.” I’m gonna need a bucket and mop to wipe the drool off that WAP — Wet Ass Prorating. Pick my jaw up off the floor, otherwise I can’t continue. I have that nagging voice in the back of my head, let’s call it Medulla, and Medulla keeps telling me Jo-Jo-Ram was awful in the 1st half of last year, and played during his favorite time of the season in 2020, but, wow, what a 60-game season Jo-Jo-Ram had. Preseason Rank #1, 2020 Projections: 33/10/36/.263/10 in 213 ABs, Final Numbers: 45/17/46/.292/10 in 219 ABs
2. Manny Machado – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
3. DJ LeMahieu – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
4. Kyle Seager – Seems like every position has at least one guy in the top five that would’ve been a guy I screamed you should sell if the season was longer, but Seager would’ve been one of those guys I said to sell and you would’ve been like, “Who the hell is buying him? By the way, nice hair.” It’s goofy Seager ranked this high for any position since his stats don’t even appear that great, but 75 total runs and RBIs in 60 games blows away even a guy like LeMahieu. Preseason Rank #43, 2020 Projections: 23/9/26/.232/1 in 199 ABs, Final Numbers: 35/9/40/.241/5 in 203 ABs
5. Rafael Devers – Glancing at preseason projections and end-of-season stats, it would appear that offense was down, since Devers finished 5th for 3B, where he was ranked, and his projections are so much better than his final numbers. Also, as mentioned in the opening, 3rd base wasn’t great, without fully getting The Gas Face. Preseason Rank #5, 2020 Projections: 40/12/42/.303/3 in 219 ABs, Final Numbers: 32/11/43/.263 in 232 ABs
6. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
7. Eugenio Suarez – Kinda want to ignore all hitters who hit for a terrible average if they had a bad BABIP with nothing really standing out in their batted ball profile. Doesn’t take an eugenius to see Suarez was on pace for 40+ homers, and the only problem was his average, but a .214 BABIP will do that. It’s especially eugregious when you see he was hitting the ball even harder this year. Preseason Rank #7, 2020 Projections: 30/14/39/.274/1 in 215 ABs, Final Numbers: 29/15/38/.202/2 in 198 ABs
8. Brian Anderson – Reverse 180 from Devers and Eugenio while having a similar issue. Anderson’s projections were pretty close to his final numbers and his ranking was way off. I don’t think this had anything to do with me being dumb (though, that is possibility). I think all projections were close for everyone, and why a guy who had a final good week, could’ve shifted dramatically in the recap rankings. Every player ranked around 5th to 20th overall for a position was one great or terrible three-game series away from switching places. Preseason Rank #30, 2020 Projections: 27/9/30/.271/1 in 205 ABs, Final Numbers: 27/11/38/.255 in 200 ABs
9. Maikel Franco – This schmohawk’s final ranking reminds me of one of my July preseason strategy tips I gave you, try to get as many at-bats as you can. This was one season where you were going to struggle to provide value if you didn’t play in every game. Unless of course you were in the Cubs’ lineup. Didn’t matter if those guys played or not. Prolly was better if they didn’t. Preseason Rank #44, 2020 Projections: 19/8/24/.241 in 186 ABs, Final Numbers: 23/8/38/.278/1 in 223 ABs
10. Anthony Rendon – If I had to play another 60-game season again, and, please, let me emphasis this with all my mustachioed might, I do not want to play another 60-game season again, but, if I had to, I’d bump all guys that could hit five homers and steal five bags vs. ten homers and zero steals. It’s one thing in a full season to have a guy who can go 30/3 vs. 15/15, but in a short season each stat and category matters so much more. Preseason Rank #3, 2020 Projections: 39/12/41/.312/1 in 194 ABs, Final Numbers: 29/9/31/.286 in 189 ABs
11. Jeimer Candelario – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
12. Hanser Alberto – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
13. Gio Urshela – Just had a good laugh thinking about how the most at-bats in a month is prolly close to how many at-bats some of these guys had in a “season.” I tried to find the “most at-bats in a month in the history of the MLB” on the Google, but I couldn’t. If you can, please share. If my earlier mention of “most at-bats in a month in the history of the MLB” interferes with your Google search, my bad. Preseason Rank #31, 2020 Projections: 24/7/26/.302/1 in 181 ABs, Final Numbers: 24/6/30/.298/1 in 151 ABs
14. David Fletcher – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
15. Joey Wendle – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
16. Tommy La Stella – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
17. Alec Bohm – He was a top 20 3rd baseman for the year with the same number of homers as Hard Hittin’ Mark Whiten hit in one game. That’s 2020, guys and five girls, that’s 2020! Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 24/4/23/.338/1 in 160 ABs
18. Jean Segura – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
19. Donovan Solano – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
20. Willi Castro – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
