Hi, my name is Richardo and I’m an alco…..sorry, wrong meeting….I handle the rest of season first base and third base rankings here at Razzball. Last week, in my first base article, I talked a little bit about getting out of a funk. I had been thinking too much of “what have you done for me lately”, which in baseball is a dangerous thing. It’s one thing to focus on the skills that a player is flashing like good or bad plate discipline, but it’s another to take a 45 plate appearance sample size from Joey Wendle and put stock in it for the rest of the season. So, this, like the first base article, represents a return to basics. I’m trying to take a long-term approach to these lists. Let’s take a look at this week’s list and then we’ll dive in.
| Ranks | Player | Position | Team | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Ramirez | 3B | Indians | – |
| 2 | Manny Machado | 3B | Padres | – |
| 3 | Rafael Devers | 3B | Red Sox | – |
| 4 | Alex Bregman | 3B | Astros | – |
| 5 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | Cardinals | – |
| 6 | DJ LeMahieu | 1B/2B/3B | Yankees | +1 |
| 7 | Kris Bryant | 3B/OF | Cubs | +3 |
| 8 | Anthony Rendon | 3B | Angels | -2 |
| 9 | Max Muncy | 1B/2B/3B | Dodgers | -1 |
| 10 | Yoan Moncada | 3B | White Sox | +1 |
| 11 | Justin Turner | 3B | Dodgers | +1 |
| 12 | Matt Chapman | 3B | Athletics | +2 |
| 13 | Eugenio Suarez | 3B/SS | Reds | -4 |
| 14 | Josh Donaldson | 3B | Twins | +1 |
| 15 | Tommy Edman | 3B/SS/OF | Cardinals | -2 |
| 16 | Mike Moustakas | 1B/2B/3B | Reds | +1 |
| 17 | Gio Urshela | 3B | Yankees | +2 |
| 18 | Austin Riley | 3B | Braves | – |
| 19 | Kyle Seager | 3B | Mariners | NR |
| 20 | Ryan McMahon | 1B/2B/3B | Rockies | +3 |
| 21 | Jean Segura | 2B/3B | Phillies | NR |
| 22 | Alec Bohm | 3B | Phillies | -1 |
| 23 | Cavan Biggio | 2B/3B/OF | Blue Jays | -1 |
| 24 | Eduardo Escobar | 2B/3B | Diamondbacks | -4 |
| 25 | Isiah Kiner-Falefa | 3B/SS | Rangers | NR |
No big movers up top until we get to Anthony Rendon. He’s been on the IL but there it sounds like he’ll be returning this weekend. The last time I wrote this article, I bumped up Kris Bryant out of respect to his performance, but he was also DTD at the time. I feel like this adjustment up is complete due to him being healthy. It’s pretty clear that his being healthy (fully healthy) has really affected his performance over the last three years.
The next big mover is Matt Chapman. Maybe two spots aren’t THAT big, but he’s continued to rise up this list as he’s shown that he’s recovered from his hip injury. He looked good in the field in April and has been mashing in May, telling me he’s good to go. Dropping further on this list is Eugenio Suarez. I’m trying not to let my previous love for Suarez get in the way of me hating his approach at the plate. Frankly, it stinks. He’s selling out for power without actually connecting with the ball. His contact rate (62.2%) and zone-contact rate (77.4%) have bottomed out and aren’t even close to his previous career lows – 70.7% and 82.7%, both last year. The pop is still there, but it’s going to take a major adjustment to get Suarez back to his glory days.
Suarez’s teammate, Mike Moustakas didn’t travel very much on the list, but I still wanted to talk about him. The projection systems are much higher on him for the rest of the season than I am. In fact, Steamer has Moustakas as the 6th best third baseman moving forward. I just have some concerns about his approach at the dish that I don’t think has caught up yet. The biggest issue so far is that his zone-contact rate has dipped to a career-low 79.1%. Combine that with his swinging strike rate rising to 13%, while his strikeout rate remains below 20% and I think we could see the strikeouts starting to pile up moving forward.
My apologies to my loyal readers for leaving Kyle Seager off his list last time it came out. That was a big mistake and Seager should always be on this list in the 16-23 range, barring injury. Speaking of injury, Jean Segura returned from the IL and has been hitting in the 2-hole for the Phillies. While he doesn’t have the upside that Alec Bohm does, he certainly has a higher floor.
Finally, the new addition on the list is Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The converted catcher has been a power-speed bright spot for the Rangers this year. He’s mashed five homers, while stealing six bases and, like Segura, has found himself batting second. That puts him in a prime position to pile up some counting stats and he won’t kill you in batting average.
If you have any questions or comments, leave them a comment below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!
