As promised I have returned from my sabbatical with some baseball talk on "Baseball Wednesdays." I have come back refreshed and ready to roll. Today's episode of "the stache" will be breaking down the Shortstop and 3rd Base positions. I hope everyone has been enjoying Championship Week, the big boys have all but started play this week. Pay close attention so you can fill out the brackets next week to the best of your ability, whether you have better results than me its up to you, but you are going to have to be crafty and most of all you got to be clever. So on we go to "Baseball Wednesdays"...... Once again as a reminder, parentheses equals the age on April 1, 2009, and these are based upon recent stats and gut feelings I have about how players are going to do this year.
Shortstop
1. Hanley Ramirez (25)- Florida Marlins
2. Jose Reyes (25)- New York Mets
3. Jimmy Rollins (30)- Philadelphia Phillies
4. Derek Jeter (34)- New York Yankees
5. J.J. Hardy (26)- Milwaukee Brewers
6. Johnny Peralta (26)- Cleveland Indians
7. Rafael Furcal (31)- Los Angeles Dodgers
8. Yunel Escobar (26)- Atlanta Braves
9. Miguel Tejada (34)- Houston Astros
10. Stephen Drew (26)- Arizona Diamondbacks
Hanley is clearly the best at this position this year and for the foreseeable future. There is not anything this guy cannot do on the ball field. He had 30 + home runs and 30 + steals last season while hitting over .300 for the season. The previous 2 seasons he had stolen over 50 bases. Impressive player who will only get better. The next two guys are switch hitters who serve as the catalysts for their teams, Reyes had 37 doubles, 19 triples (unreal), 16 HRs, and stole 56 bases, all while hitting .297 for the season. Rollins, the 2007 National League MVP struggled a little this year but still stole over 40 bases while hitting .277, hitting 38 doubles last season and winning his second consecutive Gold Glove for his defensive work. Next up is a future Hall of Famer who does not get enough credit for his offensive ability, while getting too much credit for his defensive skills which are below average. He has hit over .300 in all but 3 seasons since 1996 and the three seasons he did not reach .300 he did reach .290 or better. He has amassed over 2500 hits in his career while hitting over 200 HR so far. After Jeter it drops off a tad to Hardy who has established himself as a quality player the last couple seasons averaging 25 HR the last couple years while hitting around .280. The rest of the guys are all pretty close together, Furcal has been injured lately so it is hard to know where to put him. Tejada has been on a steady decline the last few years and I expect that to continue this year. With some more experience guys like Escobar and Drew could see some movement upwards. A trend to notice is that 8 out of the 10 guys on this list are from the National League, and they all are pretty young for the most part. Four SS are located in the N.L. East, the best division in baseball for 2009. Overall the quality of the position is average some really good players, some solid pros but not quite the level of the 1B position but a tad better than 2B.
3rd Base
1. Alex Rodriguez (33)- New York Yankees
2. David Wright (26)- New York Mets
3. Chipper Jones (36)- Atlanta Braves
4. Aramis Ramirez (30)- Chicago Cubs
5. Evan Longoria (23)- Tampa Bay Rays
6. Troy Glaus (32)- St. Louis Cardinals
7. Garrett Atkins (29)- Colorado Rockies
8. Micheal Young (32)- Texas Rangers
9. Mark Reynolds (25)- Arizona Diamondbacks
10. Mark DeRosa (34)- Cleveland Indians
First off we all know about the ARod steroid controversy that popped up over the last month or so, but it is hard to ignore 553 HR, 1606 RBI, and a .306 BA are hard to ignore. I feel that he should be playing at SS for the Yankees instead of Jeter but that is neither hear nor there. I think there is some strong potential for Mr. Wright to take over the top spot, especially with this hip surgery that Rodriguez has to have to start off the season. Wright led all 3B last year with 124 RBI and has won the last 2 Gold Gloves for the National League. He has hit over .300, has hit more than 25 HR, and driven in more than 100 runs his first four full seasons in the big leagues. If Chipper Jones cannot stay healthy, and he has not recently, than he may slip some this year, but his batting title last year has helped him to keep the 3rd spot for now. He has a .310 career BA and has hit over 400 HR for his career. Aramis Ramirez of the Cubs is Mr. Consistent at the hot corner. He has hit over 25 HR the last 6 seasons while driving in more than a 100 runs five out of the last six seasons. Longoria is an emerging player in this game, solid approach to the game who will continue to get better. In 122 games last year, he hit .272 with 27 HR and 85 RBI last season. I expect him to perform well this year for the Rays. Glaus is a pretty consistent offensive player, while the rest of the list are all either young players who have not established themselves or solid veterans who have not been great but solid, healthy players over their careers. Solid position, not a lot of young guys at the top and not many consistent options below the top tier of players in the league.
That concludes today's "Baseball Wednesdays," I will be back next Wednesday with some more baseball rankings, this time in the OF. Thanks for reading the blog, I'll be back tomorrow with some more enlightening information. Until then, hugs and handpounds.
mb
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