1. Evan Longoria
2. Alex Rodriguez
3. David Wright
4. Mark Reynolds
5. Chipper Jones
6. Aramis Ramirez
7. Pablo Sandoval
8. Mark DeRosa
9. Ryan Zimmerman
10. Chone Figgins
11. Michael Young
12. Hank Blalock
13. Garrett Atkins
14. Edwin Encarnacion
15. Ian Stewart
16. Casey Blake
17. Brandon Inge
18. Scott Rolen
19. Mike Lowell
20. Emilio Bonifacio
Huge call on Mark Reynolds. Takes guts, and I like it.
I don’t want to overreact to just three months, but b/c he’s running so much, hard not to rank Reynolds high. Especially with not too many great options after the first tier, although I do recognize his BA should be a liability.
Oh come on about Reynolds. He’s just as likely to hit 210 the rest of the way as anything else. Ian Stewart should likely be higher up. I can see Zim higher as well, though just 1 tier up. I know you didn’t count it, but Sandoval, if catcher eligible, is way up there.
I hear what you’re saying about Reynolds. I admit, I was actually way down on him entering the season, but the power is for real, and all those bags are such a nice bonus. But I totally agree there’s a real risk he hits something like .230 from here on out. It’s just that Chipper and Aramis are so shaky health wise, and none in the other tier are true studs.
As for Sandoval, I’ll include him in my catcher rankings. And he’s actually fast approaching “stud” status.
I’m a little surprised Blalock is on this list…
He’s almost exclusively a DH; he’s played 1 game at 3B this year. If playing 1 game at the position qualifies a player for these rankings, shouldn’t, for example, Youkilis be on this list? If basing current eligibility on last year, shouldn’t Miguel Cabrera be here?
All that aside, I’d much rather have a guy like Blake than Blalock. Nevermind that Blalock’s performance has been declining like he was Mike Lowell (2 HR this month after 6 in each of the previous 2, for starters)… Blalock’s now losing playing time (and not just during inter-league play).
Peter – Fair enough. I guess my basis for where to place players isn’t scientific. But M. Cabrera played just 14 games at 3B last year – he’s not even 3B eligible in Yahoo leagues, and Yahoo is extremely liberal with their eligibility. Blalock, meanwhile, is 3B eligible in just about all leagues, and he’s obviously more valuable there than at just Util. That’s why I’ll also rank Sandoval at catcher.
I just didn’t want overlap guys like Youkilis, who I just ranked as a first baseman.
I still like Blalock’s upside more than a Casey Blake type, and fully expect a big jump in BA. And playing DH has kept him mostly healthy. And he’s hitting in the middle of a loaded lineup in a terrific hitter’s park. But he’s more valuable in daily leagues where you can sit him against southpaws. And I will admit Blake has certainly been a nice surprise and exceeded my expectations.
What I’m taking away from this list is “next year get a top 3b, because the position is damn shallow.” Got it.
Exactly.