Archive for Third Base

The first two-and-a-half weeks of the season have been a struggle for Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts. Last year, the shortstop excelled in the Eastern League and earned his place as one of baseball’s elite prospects. But his return to Double-A Portland has been underwhelming thus far. Against New Britain, Bogaerts went 0-for-6 with a strikeout, a walk and a groundball double play. His frustration was palpable. But there were still plenty of positives too.

Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing our series of looking at the free agents to be, by position, we move from the backstop to the hot corner, checking out the third basemen who will be available this off-season. Eight third basemen of note are going to be free agents, which include three pairs from the Rangers, Brewers, and Dodgers, a productive when healthy player, and a player only in the major leagues for his ability to play each and every position with league average skills. Here are the eight:

Name                  Age        G            Slash        WPA/LI
Hank Blalock           28       65   .287/.338/.508          0.21
Willie Bloomquist      31       71   .279/.377/.285          0.32
Joe Crede              31       97   .248/.314/.460         -0.57
Ramon Vazquez          32      105   .290/.365/.430         -0.10
Russell Branyan        33       50   .250/.342/.583          1.21
Nomar Garciaparra      35       55   .264/.326/.466          0.26
Casey Blake            35      152   .274/.345/.463          0.89
Craig Counsell         38      110   .226/.355/.302         -0.29

Blalock has an option on his contract for 2009, which should be exercised given that, despite the small sample size, he looked more like the 2003-2004 version of himself than the 2005-07 version. His ISO, OPS, and BB/K all returned to their 2003-2004 ranges, back when he was an all star. He also hit 12 home runs in 258 at bats and was a league average defender. His -3 and -4 defensive ratings in 2006 and 2007 support that he is probably average or slightly below average, but if he can produce for a whole season what he did in 1/3 of the 2008 season, he will definitely be worthwhile for the 6.2mm option.

Willie Bloomquist is a player that actually lives up to the oft-used example of why batting average does not tell the whole story. The example compares a player who hits in the .270s but with no extra base hits to someone in the .250s but with plenty of extra base power. Bloomquist had one double, and everything else was a single. He played all over the place this year, generally ranging from -2 to +2 wherever he found time. He may find a home somewhere as a utility player, but he does not have much value.

Crede was worth about a half win less than an average player in just 97 games, but managed to be the fourth best fielding third baseman, at +13 in the field. He did hit 17 home runs in 335 at bats and has established himself as a capable performer, so if he can stay healthy, he could be a nice addition. Ramon Vazquez was the opposite in the field, at -10, and despite a nice .290/.365/.430 line, it was more of a mirage than an accurate performance indicator. Ironically, his 2007 and 2008 seasons were eerily similar in terms of playing time: he played 104 games last year and 105 this year; he amassed 300 AB in both seasons; he stepped to the plate 345 times in 2007 and 347 times in 2008. He walked more, struck out less, and added more hits to improve his overall numbers. Unfortunately, this hinged upon an unsustainable .355 BABIP. He may have had a nice season, but Blalock is the much better bet here.

I cannot speak enough about Russell Branyan and it pains me that he does not play more. Yes, he strikes out, but he walks and absolutely mashes as well. In 132 at bats this year he hit 12 home runs, and managed to play +2 defense when he found himself at third base. Three true outcome players usually decline around the 35 years old mark, so the Bran-man should have a couple more productive years in him.

Nomar’s career reminds me a lot of Grant Hill’s: they were megastars for six or seven seasons, well on their way to the respective halls of fame, but injuries slowed them down and turned them into nice role players but nowhere near go to guys. Casey Blake was a nice pickup by the Dodgers to solidify the position down the stretch, but I would not expect him to be re-signed by Ned Colletti. I would expect Nomar to land himself a 1B/3B job somewhere, and Blake to be a starting third baseman for at least one more season.

Craig Counsell, however, has probably reached the point where he hangs up the cleats and becomes a bench coach. From what I have heard, he is destined to be a manager, and it might be time to start that process. He was not awful with the bat, but is a below average hitter still hanging on due to his ability to play multiple positions and do “the small things.” Blalock is the real catch here, and so it is likely the Rangers will keep him for at least 2009.

Third base is nicknamed “the hot corner” due to the screaming liners or lightning-fast grounders that find their way to this position on the left side of the infield. Since the rest of the infield has been covered, we now turn to this hot corner to see which players stood out in a variety of different ways. While the discussion at third base usually begins with Alex Rodriguez, this year the position belonged to David Wright of the New York Mets. Wright produced a 5.20 WPA/LI, which ranked third in baseball behind Albert Pujols and Manny Ramirez, let alone atop the list of third basemen.

In fact, Rodriguez did not finish directly behind Wright, either, as Chipper Jones put together quite the stellar season resulting in a 4.23 WPA/LI, about a win less than Wright. Rodriguez did come in third, on the heels of a 3.59, with Aramis Ramirez a half-win behind at 3.01. After these four, however, a wide gap separates them from the rest of the pack. In fifth place is Troy Glaus of the Cardinals, at 1.73, with Evan Longoria right behind at 1.71. Lastly, I am not quite sure how Jorge Cantu did not win the Comeback Player of the Year Award, but he produce a 1.35 WPA/LI for the surprising Marlins.

Third base is traditionally a solid-hitting position, and this year was no different than years past. Amongst those that qualified for the leaderboards, only Chone Figgins and Marco Scutaro were legitimately below average with the stick. In Scutaro’s defense, he only played 46 games at the hot corner this year, though his playing time was almost equally split between third base, shortstop, and second base. If we remove the qualifier, Andy LaRoche finished last at -1.82, with former hot prospect Andy Marte barely in front at -1.81. Jose Castillo (-1.44), Mike Lamb (-1.23), and Pedro Felix (-0.98) rounded out the bottom.

Feliz has been the best fielding third basemen in baseball over the last few years, but time missed to injuries and starts given to the more offensive-prone Greg Dobbs resulted in his fall from the top ten. Adrian Beltre, much maligned for falling short of expectations, led the way by a vast margin with a +32. Beltre has been very productive for the Mariners and it simply is not fair to compare him to the 48 HR version of him on the Dodgers prior to signing. Behind Beltre is Jack Hannahan of the Athletics, at +21. Hannahan is an interesting case as he was very adept defensively, but average or slightly below average at the plate closer to replacement level at the dish.

Behind Hannahan are a pair of third basemen that missed significant time yet performed well enough while healthy to finish with a +13. Scott Rolen, who played in just 115 games, and Joe Crede, in just 97 games, tied for third place. Fifth place brought with it a three-way tie between Evan Longoria, Blake DeWitt, and Chone Figgins, at +11. Figgins may have been below average with a bat in his hands, but his fielding was solid, and his baserunning topped all other third basemen. According to Baseball Prospectus’s EqBRR, a form of runs contributed due to base advancements, Figgins finished 8th in baseball at 7.66, with no other third basemen finishing in the top thirty. Next closest was Alex Gordon, 33rd, at 3.37.

Figgins also led with 34 stolen bases. Three players hit 40+ doubles, with Aramis leading the way with 44; David Wright‘s 42 and Jorge Cantu’s 41 were right behind him. The triples crown is split five ways between the scary quintet of Martin Prado, Jamey Carroll, Brandon Inge, Jose Castillo, and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Alex Rodriguez clouted 35 longballs, slightly ahead of Wright’s 33. But Chipper Jones took the OPS crown among third basemen, with a gaudy 1.044.

One player of note is Russell Branyan, who, in 50 games, produced a .230/.342/.583 line, a .925 OPS, complete with 12 home runs and 8 doubles in 132 at-bats. For anyone wondering why he is consistently given work, look no further. He may strike out a ton but the man gets on base and absolutely mashes. I know I was thrilled when the Phillies acquired him last year, and there are few lefty threats off the bench like him. You need not be a superstar to produce significant outputs at the major league level, and Branyan should be appreciated a bit more.

UPDATE: Apparently, Jack Hannahan looks better than he should due to a park adjustment. Regardless of his offense, he was the second best defensive third basemen this year.