Now that we’re four positions in we can get a sense of how deep each position is. Our thermometers? Jedd Gyorko and Wilmer Flores. If Wilmer cries, the thermometer has gone too deep. So, on the top 20 1st baseman for 2017 fantasy baseball, Gyorko and Wilmer were 26 and 41, respectively. Here, they’re 24 and 38, so we have less depth in the top 20 3rd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball. At the top 20 2nd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball, they are 22 and 37. So, 3rd base and 2nd base are fairly close, but, they’re all crazy close. Finally, the top 20 shortstops for 2017 fantasy baseball, only has Gyorko where he is 19th overall. So, depth rankings on infield are shortstops, 2nd base, 3rd base and 1st base, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Carpenter is 12th here, but 21st on the 1st basemen, and Villar is 5th here and at the 2nd basemen. There are areas where each infield position has its strengths and weaknesses and relative equality like I’m not sure we’ve seen before, which is what everyone says about everything. People say now we have more things we’ve never seen before than any other time in history. Any hoo! My projections are noted for every player and all positions are at the 2017 fantasy baseball rankings. Anyway, here’s the top 20 3rd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball:
1. Kris Bryant – Went over him in the top 10 for 2017 fantasy baseball.
2. Nolan Arenado – Went over him in the top 10 for 2017 fantasy baseball.
3. Manny Machado – Went over him in the top 10 for 2017 fantasy baseball.
4. Josh Donaldson – Went over him in the top 10 for 2017 fantasy baseball.
5. Jonathan Villar – This is a one person tier. I call this tier, “*shrugs*” Villar has been ranked twice before (2nd base and shortstops) and he just doesn’t fit into the next tier and, for my money, he doesn’t fit in the above one either. My money is the peso, by the way. As for Villar, went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
6. Kyle Seager – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Carpenter. I call this tier, “Safe isn’t just the most uninspired safe word, it’s also this tier.” This tier has very little flash. You more or less know what you’re getting, and what you’re getting is more or less solid. More or less is my favorite phrase to hedge with, more or less. Frazier will have more highs and lows in his expected outcomes, Beltre will have less, but they are all relatively what they are. As for Seager, he gives plusses and minuses a good name. Every year he is ‘plus or minus three homers from projections,’ ‘plus or minus .05 on average,’ ‘plus or minus 10 runs and RBIs,’ ‘plus or minus one sibling from my favorite Seager.’ 2017 Projections: 84/27/92/.269/4 in 591 ABs
7. Anthony Rendon – For those smart guys out there who are like, “Rendon’s safe? Didn’t he hit negative four homers in 2015 and make me promise to never draft him again? I require answers to my hypothetical questions!” Yes, Rendon wasn’t great in 15 after 20, but I’m talking relatively safe. You could pick apart everyone in this tier as being hot garbage not that long ago. Rendon’s actually got me most excited in this tier. Seager, Frazier, et al (not the Israeli airline) are all kinda exactly what you expect, Rendon I think has some upside. His HR/FB% was only 10% last year and Rendon hits a ton of fly balls (16th most in majors). If you’re looking for a guy that can outperform his ranking while also being safe, I’m gonna say Rendon. 2017 Projections: 84/25/96/.268/9 in 551 ABs
8. Justin Turner – Here’s what I said this offseason, “(Turner) re-signed with the Dodgers. Another great signing by the Dodgers for real baseball, that isn’t that confusing for fantasy. Grab my hand, I’ll walk you through it. Metaphorically! Let go of me! Turner is exactly what he appears to be, a 22-homer, .270 hitter with plus or minus five home runs depending on how many fly balls he hits. Last year, he hit a ton of fly balls and played a full season for the first time. That was his ceiling, and, while it’s obviously possible, I wouldn’t expect the same. I.e., that was Justin Turner Overdrive, wouldn’t expect it Bachman, even if he’s takin’ care of business.” And that’s me quoting me! 2017 Projections: 81/24/92/.271/5 in 510 ABs
9. Adrian Beltre – He had a huge year last year (32 HRs, 300) after looking like his career was winding down. Good boy, Beltre, let me pat your head. SORRY! I’m guessing Beltre will be somewhere between his resurgence last year and his career tail-off the year before. 2017 Projections: 85/25/97/.289/2 in 575 ABs
10. Evan Longoria – If you would’ve told me four years ago, Longoria hit 36 homers in 2016, I would’ve guessed he’s easily a top three 3rd baseman, because he must’ve done it at least three of the past four years. Well, then I’d be *pinkie to mouth* Wrongoria! 2017 Projections: 77/29/89/.271/1 in 617 ABs
11. Todd Frazier – Maybe I’ll see if someone wants to write a post dedicated to Frazier, because I think he deserves it. Someone call up Son! There’s a lot to dig into with Frazier. His Ks went up, which could cause his average to plummet, but he also had a BABIP that was almost forty points off his career average going into last year. He became much more patient, for better and worse. He swung at a lot fewer pitches inside and outside the strike zone, and, when he did swing, he missed more. When he did connect, it wasn’t good contact, which explains the lower BABIP. What this could be: bad BABIP (unlucky) caused him to second guess his approach, so he stopped swinging, and became tentative. Or what it could be: he’s lost a millisecond on his swing, so he guessed a lot, which is why he pulled so many pitches and rarely hit anything up the middle. I’m very concerned, and I’m having a hard time spinning this into a positive. So, why in the safe tier? Well, I still can’t figure out how to get him projected for less than 30/12, so that’s safe. 2017 Projections: 72/31/91/.235/13 in 582 ABs
12. Matt Carpenter – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
13. Jake Lamb – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Healy. I call this tier, “Sugar packets on Nicole Kidman’s thigh.” Like Tom Cruise demonstrated how to draft with sugar packets on Nicole Kidman’s thigh in Days of Thunder, I want to demonstrate to you why to draft these players. As for Lamb, already gave you my Jake Lamb sleeper. It was written all over your face! 2017 Projections: 76/26/81/.258/7 in 495 ABs
14. Maikel Franco – Already gave you my Maikel Franco sleeper. It was written in an elevator while I held my nose. 2017 Projections: 79/30/95/.277/2 in 591 ABs
15. Alex Bregman – Looks like he’s about a year to half year away from being a top five 3rd baseman for years to come. Here’s what I said days before Bregman came up, “Craig Biggio. It’s a sloppy, imperfect comparison, but that’s who Alex Bregman looks like. I watched three minutes of video of him. So, that’s like saying there’s smoke emitting from every New York City manhole because underneath are old Filipino women making hot pretzels, who then transport them to the above ground vendors, because you found an old Filipino woman underneath one manhole cover making pretzels. Luke, small is your sample size, said Yoda. Now, if you buy into the Biggio comparison, which you should because Filipino women are making pretzels below New York City manholes, Biggio had three homers, six steals and hit .211 in his first 50 games. Ya know, Hall of Famer, Craig Biggio. And Biggio was older then than (stutterer!) Bregman is now.” And that’s me quoting me! I don’t throw around Hall of Fame comparisons. The only thing stopping me from putting Bregman even higher in these rankings is he hasn’t done it yet, so there’s risk. If he has a huge 1st half this year, you’ll never be able to touch him outside the top 25 again. 2017 Projections: 73/23/81/.259/8 in 525 ABs
16. Miguel Sano – Frazier without the speed? It’s a rough and tumble comparison, but it feels about right. Frazier could hit 40+ homers; Sano could too. Frazier could hit .215; Sano same same. Frazier has a weak sister team around him; Sano has the Twins; don’t get more weak sister than that; semicolons are fun. 2017 Projections: 69/31/78/.231/1 in 498 ABs
17. Jose Ramirez – He was tantalizing close to having 2nd base and shortstop eligibility, and maybe with Yahoo’s facacta fly-by-night eligibility, he will be eligible there. On top of that, Ramirez was hard to rank. I’m still not sure if I want to buy into him. The positive is speed doesn’t slump. Worst case scenario, maybe he gets only 5 homers and steals 20+ bags. That’s not great, but I’m not convinced he can’t be Altuve at 3rd either. He doesn’t strike out, he walks a ton, he will hit near-.300 and he stole 38 bases in Double-A. Everyone’s going negative on Ramirez, but when they go low, we draft them high! Hmm, that didn’t work as I intended it. 2017 Projections: 75/8/69/.295/25 in 541 ABs
18. Ryon Healy – Third basemen get less interesting after Healy. Gurriel might be something, but I see nothing, and I’m sure some will be wild for Baez and be wildly disappointed by him. Healy? He looks like he’s a 30-homer guy waiting to happen. Allow me to masturbate you–I mean, demonstrate to you:
Looks downright Donaldsony (Donaldsoney? Donaldsonny?). Healy’s always hit for power and average all through the minors (6 HRs, .318 in 49 Triple-A games; 8 HRs, .338 in 36 Double-A games). Could he be Donaldson? Yeah, on a better team and out of that godforsaken park. To pop the helium, he might just be an everyday Danny Valencia, but I like the flyer a lot. I may still even do a sleeper post on him too. And, if I don’t, I will point to this blurb when Healy breaks out saying I wanted to write a sleeper post about him. (If Healy crashes and burns, then we’ll never speak of this again.) 2017 Projections: 77/25/84/.287/1 in 577 ABs
19. Yulieski Gurriel – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Perez. I call this tier, “Gotta love upside!…Except these guys only feel like they have upside.” By the tier name I mean, there’s a perception the guys in this tier could be dynamic finds. I’d say you’re gonna want to drop them in the landmark case of sooner vs. later. That some think there’s something to these guys though is worth noting. Why you want to trust someone other than me, I’m not sure. Now, I’m hurt. Thanks! *sniffles* Jerk! As for Gurriel, if he were a prospect in the states without that Cuban refugee narrative, no one would even be thinking about him. It’s Raftee Better Than Draftee Syndrome (RBDS). 2017 Projections: 74/15/81/.277/4 in 545 ABs
20. Nick Castellanos – I know what you’re thinking, “But, Fantasy Master Lothario, you always loved Castellanos!” Thank you for not abbreviating the moniker. Yeah, Castellanos is okay, but a 22 HR, .275 hitter with no speed? That’s okay in deeper leagues, but, my excitement for him went from crescendo to crescend-no. That may or may not be cribbed from Mozart in the Jungle, one of the worst shows Cougs makes me sit through, and we still watch Homeland, which is hideously terrible. 2017 Projections: 65/22/72/.276/2 in 535 ABs
21. Eduardo Nunez – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2017 fantasy baseball.
22. Javier Baez – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
23. Jedd Gyorko – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
24. Ryan Schimpf – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
25. Hernan Perez – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
26. Mike Moustakas – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Garcia. I call this tier, “God of Language, why does marginal sound like margarine, but it’s so far from butter?” This tier is dominated by guys with marginal power and/or marginal speed and your fantasy team is going to be marginal owning one of them. As for Moistasskiss, if the UN announced that there could be no more third base settled in the 20-25 HRs, .260-ish, zero speed territory, then there would be some serious fines levied. 2017 Projections: 71/22/79/.251/1 in 512 ABs
27. Matt Duffy – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2017 fantasy baseball.
28. Travis Shaw – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
29. Brandon Drury – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
30. Eugenio Suarez – When kids talk about the juiced ball era of 2016, they’re going to say, “Eugenio Suarez had 21 homers and 11 steals.” Those kids won’t have friends. 2017 Projections: 60/18/72/.241/7 in 540 ABs
31. Pablo Sandoval – You ranked him so low?! But he’s skinny now! More attention is paid to this guy’s weight than Kristie Alley. He’s skinny! Great! Who cares! Why does he magical powers when he’s skinny? He still averages about 15 homers a season, abnormally fat or an oddly looking skinny. 2017 Projections: 61/15/69/.254/3 in 512 ABs
32. Yoan Moncada – Already gave you my Yoan Moncada fantasy. It was written before the trade from the Red Sox to the White Sox, but if you do a Find for Red and Replace with White, it essentially stays the same. One other note, if Moncada does not make the White Sox roster out of spring, I will dock him 175-ish at-bats and drop him out of this tier. Sadly, there’s a better than 90% chance of that happening if Frazier stays where he is. UPDATE: Was sent down, see previous note in this blurb. You should’ve Yoan better! 2017 Projections: 56/8/59/.232/17 in 356 ABs
33. Howie Kendrick – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
34. Danny Valencia – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
35. Yangervis Solarte – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
36. Jose Reyes – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2017 fantasy baseball.
37. Trevor Plouffe – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
38. Wilmer Flores – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
39. David Freese – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
40. Tyler Saladino – Went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2017 fantasy baseball.
41. Jung Ho Kang – He had a solid year last year, if you played in a league with the categories: Homers, Sexual Assault Charges, Drunk Driving Incidents and Illegal Use of Hands. UPDATE: May not be able to play this season because he flew too close to Mr. Tippler and his Merry Band of Alcoholics and had his work visa revoked. I’m sure no matter the country, he will retain his POS eligibility. 2017 Projections: 65/16/72/.277/5 in 466 ABs
42. Adonis Garcia – His name, Adonis, feels a bit misleading. His stats feel more like he should be named Skippy Garcia. Or Dweezil Garcia. 2017 Projections: 61/15/71/.267/3 in 515 ABs
43. Martin Prado – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until the end. I call this tier, “Why did you quit before the season even started?” I will say, if nothing else, there’s a ton of everyday starters at 3rd base. A lot fewer platoon shituations than other positions so the end is less “Well, he might get 329 ABs and steal 25 bases, but will only play three days a week.” The negative to that is everyday starters like in this tier are just not great. As for Prado, he gets a bad rap. Dot dot dot. If someone writes a diss track about him. 2017 Projections: 63/9/70/.290/2 in 535 ABs
44. Chase Headley – Hopefully, Chase Headley’s biggest fan, JayWrong, doesn’t see where I’ve ranked him. I can’t handle a mutiny! 2017 Projections: 60/13/66/.244/5 in 491 ABs
45. David Wright – The news out of New York states Wright’s already begun simulating baseball activities. Thankfully, not in Taiwan, or he would get arrested. “You simulate, you get busted!” That’s the ‘Just Say No’ of Taiwan. 2017 Projections: 42/4/46/.238/4 in 267 ABs
46. Jurickson Profar – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball.
47. Yunel Escobar – The Sciosciapath is just crazy enough to start Yunel for 517 at-bats again this year. Now, is he crazy enough to hit him leadoff for 515 ABs again? I got a dollar that says he is. Though, my dollar has a picture of Alfred E. Neuman on it. 2017 Projections: 63/7/51/.282/2 in 527 ABs
