Fantasy Baseball Geeks

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It’s been two weeks since we last checked in on the third base position. Time to see how’s hot, how’s not and how the rankings have changed.

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(Stats based on last 2 weeks)

5-4-3 Double Play (players who are hot and making a nice impact)

Gordon Beckham, Chicago White Sox…After starting his big league career 0 for 13 and 2 for his first 28, Beckham is starting to live up to the hype. Over his last 41 AB, he is hitting 0.415 with 10 runs, 2 HR, 10 RBI, with an OPS of 1.099. He’s regarded as a line drive hitter with slightly better than average power, making him a decent option for fantasy owners looking for a 3B with some pop. The biggest knock on him heading into the draft was whether he had the size (6 feet, 185 lbs) to be a big league shortstop for an extended period of time. The debate seems to be over, as he’s spent all 23 games of his career thus far at 3B. Before his call-up, he was hitting a combined 0.326 with 4 HR, 25 RBI and 29 runs in 45 games between AA and AAA. As a 22 year old, he’s making an impact early and there’s no reason to think he won’t be a solid contributor for the remainder of the season – or the rest of his career for that matter.

Scott Rolen, Toronto Blue Jays…After fighting through injuries in 3 of the past 4 years, Rolen finally seems to be healthy and has really turned it on the past few weeks. Over his last 49 AB, he’s hitting 0.367 with 2 HR an 8 RBI. He’s not a great option, seeing how he’s had more than 410 AB just one time over the last 4 seasons, but he’s hitting 0.333 on the year and on pace to score 87 runs. His power is all but gone, but there are far worse options at the position.

Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees…0.314, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 1.135 OPS over his last 35 AB. Looks like the days off seemed to help and he’s back to being himself.

Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers…Even though his average dipped in May (he hit 0.235), he’s been remarkably consistent in the power category, hitting at least 5 HR and driving in at least 15 runs in all three months this season. He’s hitting 0.317 with 4 HR and 10 RBI over his last 41 AB and with catcher eligibility in all leagues and OF eligibility (15 games last year) in some leagues; he is providing tremendous value to owners. Also, he set career highs in HR (27), runs and RBI (both 83) in 2006, so he has shown power potential in the past – he’s a must start in all leagues at this point.

E-5 (players who are cold and have been disappointments over the last few weeks or more)

Adrian Beltre, Seattle Mariners…His lackluster season has now been put on hold after he had surgery to remove bone spurs in his left shoulder. Reports have him out for 6 to 8 weeks, leaving him all but worthless in most leagues.

Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox…Another injury case; as soon I heard he needed to get a shot of lubricant for his hip, you knew he wasn’t getting a run of the mill day off. Even though all reports indicate the injection went well, he still landed on the DL. He’s scheduled to return after the All-Star Break, but as history has shown, hip injuries can be very troubling (see: Rodriguez, Alex; Utley, Chase; Delgado, Carlos). I’d be cautiously optimistic of his return and whether he can come close to his production prior to the pain.  My bet is that he’s closer to his second half numbers of last year (34 games, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 0.225 average) than his first half numbers of this year (68 games, 10 HR, 41 RBI, 0.282).

On the Mend:

Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs…Rehab starts on Friday; probably get about 20-25 AB before he returns. He’s scheduled to be back in the Cubs lineup early next week, so fantasy owners can rejoice knowing their slugging 3B is on his way back (barring any setbacks, of course).

Edwin Encarnacion, Cincinnati Reds…Currently rehabbing at AAA; should be back in the Reds lineup in a week or two.

Adrian Beltre and Mike Lowell: see above.

On the Farm:

Pedro Alvarez, San Francisco Giants…Alvarez recently was promoted to AA after hitting 0.247 with 14 HR and 55 RBI in just 66 games at A+. He’s only had 7 AB at Altoona, but already has 2 HR (accounting for 2 of his 3 total hits). The average is also low (0.120), but with a limited sample size (25 AB) and the power he’s shown, it shouldn’t be much of a concern at this point.

Josh Vitters, Chicago Cubs…Only 19 years old, he was recently promoted to A+ after hitting 0.312 with 15 HR, 46 RBI and 12 doubles in 72 games at A. He was the #3 overall pick in 2007 draft out of high school where he hit 0.352 his senior season. Obviously a few years away from making an impact at the big league level, he appears to be great prospect and is worth having in all long term keeper leagues.

You can check out both of these players when they suit up for the U.S. team during the Futures Game taking place on Sunday, July 12.

Rankings for the remainder of the season:

As always, feel free to send me any thoughts/comments about these players or any others via email: draftguru@fantasybaseballgeeks.com or post a comment below.

draftguru Articles, Draft Guru Adrian Beltre, Alex Rodriguez, Aramis Ramirez, Brandon Inge, Edwin Encarnacion, Gordon Beckham, Josh Vitters, Mike Lowell, Pedro Alvarez, Scott Rolen