Next, we’re addressing the corner infield slots. As of now, both positions are facing considerable mix-ups from last season. Lessard will be breaking down the hot corner, with all it’s glitz and glamour (look up Manny Machado’s last few web gems), and I’ll be discussing first base which is a little unsung on defense but means big bat on the other side of the ball. Since I’ll be discussing first base, which as you may already know has a top 5 rookie, a new franchise player, and someone who just got moved from behind the plate to play both the corners, I’ll first give you last year’s top 5 so you can see just how things have changed.
2013’s top 5 according to WAR:
1. Chris Davis, 6.9
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 6.4
3. Joey Votto, 6.1
4. Freddie Freeman, 4.7
5. Brandon Belt, 4.1
The top five breaks down as follows:
5. Carlos Santana, Indians (WAR: 3.0)
Previously an everyday catcher, the Indians welcomed a new face behind the plate which has led to Santana spending the bulk of 2014 between the corners and the DH slot. Durable behind the plate, he’s managed to appear in 102 games this year amassing his second lowest single season batting average but still managing 20 homeruns and slightly more than 50 runs and RBI. He’s posting the 3rd highest strikeout rate of his career but walking more than he has in the previous three seasons.
4. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
3. Anthony Rizzo, Cubs
(WAR: 3.6)
It’s a pretty even split between the two this year offensively, Miggy takes average, k% and RBI, while Rizzo takes OBP, Runs, Homeruns, and BB%. Defensively the nod goes to Rizzo, but not by much, he scores better in DRS (2 compared to -1), Miggy takes UZR but we’re ignoring in this case based on the subjectivity of it’s “eye test” aspect. Rizzo is on the rise, Miggy might be on the decline (for more read Lessard’s previous post: http://lessardtpnb.blogspot.
2. Jose Abreu, White Sox (WAR: 4.1)
A rookie, though he’s 27, he might be the most valuable asset at first base right now. He’s hitting .307, has 86 RBI, and currently has 31 homeruns. He’s putting the ball out of the park more easily than everyone but possibly Giancarlo (If you didn’t see the homerun derby google it, Stanton smashes), and has over 50 less plate appearances than Rizzo and Goldschmidt who have 25 and 19 homeruns respectively. He’s a power hitter beginning his prime and slugging .628 in his first season. He most definitely will be a player to watch for this upcoming generation, who fans will remember for a long time.
1. Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks (WAR: 4.2)
Per the gold glove post, Goldy is having a bad year on the other side of the ball, offensively however he’s been pretty good on a team that’s got a few holes. Seriously, try and name 5 players on the Diamondbacks roster who aren’t Patrick Corbin (currently out due to Tommy John). He’s got a K% that isn’t particularly good at 23% which may be a product of trying to do too much, he was at 20% last year, he’s still getting on with a .396 OBP. At just shy of 27 years old there is still a lot of time for him to develop but he’s likely amidst his peak. In any case, a .300 bat and at 30+ homeruns a year means Goldschmidt is going to be a staple on top 10 lists for another five years at the very least.
In closing, when compared to last season, only one player on this year’s top 5 was in last year’s (Miguel Cabrera was #2 at 3b). Of the other players on last year’s list only two of them are in the top 10, and the other two are outside of the top 15. Granted, Joey Votto is playing for the disabled list more than he is the Reds, and no one (Probably not even Buck Showalter) thought Chris Davis would repeat his performance last year.
It is now my duty to share the power rankings and analysis for the hot corner, third base, position. Again, I reiterate that my analysis and selection for the power rankings is determined upon the versatility and well-roundedness of the player. Thus, some of the dominant offensive powers might not make the cut if their defensive abilities are inferior. Similarly to the previous power rankings article, I will implement the statistics of IOR and dWAR, for the analysis. These statistics enable me to make the proper judgements for who are the better individual offensive and defensive players. Please refer to Power Rankings: MLB Middle Infielders for further explication on the basis of my analysis. With all that being said, I will now commence the analysis. I have prepared a chart containing all of the pertinent statistics for the rankings. The chart includes the top 28, MLB third basemen, in terms of at-bats.
IOR +
dWAR Rk
|
dWAR Rk
|
IOR Rk
|
Name
|
IOR
|
dWAR
|
5
|
1
|
4
|
Josh Donaldson
|
0.444
|
2
|
11
|
9
|
2
|
Adrian Beltre
|
0.459
|
0.8
|
11
|
10
|
1
|
Matt Carpenter*
|
0.471
|
0.6
|
12
|
4
|
8
|
Kyle Seager*
|
0.432
|
1.5
|
17
|
8
|
9
|
Anthony Rendon
|
0.431
|
1
|
18
|
3
|
15
|
Pablo Sandoval#
|
0.400
|
1.7
|
18
|
15
|
3
|
Todd Frazier
|
0.456
|
0.3
|
19
|
5
|
14
|
David Wright
|
0.408
|
1.5
|
21
|
2
|
19
|
Nolan Arenado
|
0.379
|
1.8
|
23
|
7
|
16
|
Manny Machado
|
0.391
|
1.1
|
23
|
18
|
5
|
Evan Longoria
|
0.443
|
-0.1
|
25
|
19
|
6
|
Casey McGehee
|
0.442
|
-0.1
|
28
|
6
|
22
|
Juan Uribe
|
0.368
|
1.4
|
29
|
12
|
17
|
Trevor Plouffe
|
0.384
|
0.5
|
30
|
20
|
10
|
Yangervis Solarte#
|
0.422
|
-0.2
|
30
|
23
|
7
|
Pedro Alvarez*
|
0.438
|
-0.5
|
32
|
11
|
21
|
Chase Headley#
|
0.370
|
0.6
|
33
|
13
|
20
|
Brett Lawrie
|
0.372
|
0.4
|
34
|
21
|
13
|
Aramis Ramirez
|
0.413
|
-0.2
|
36
|
25
|
11
|
Conor Gillaspie*
|
0.417
|
-0.9
|
38
|
26
|
12
|
Luis Valbuena*
|
0.415
|
-1.2
|
40
|
16
|
24
|
Martin Prado
|
0.362
|
0.1
|
42
|
14
|
28
|
Mike Moustakas*
|
0.330
|
0.4
|
42
|
24
|
18
|
David Freese
|
0.383
|
-0.5
|
44
|
17
|
27
|
Matt Dominguez
|
0.331
|
0
|
47
|
22
|
25
|
Cody Asche*
|
0.361
|
-0.3
|
51
|
28
|
23
|
Nick Castellanos
|
0.367
|
-1.9
|
53
|
27
|
26
|
Chris Johnson
|
0.345
|
-1.2
|
Just as in the Middle Infielders power ranking, these players are ranked in ascending order, in terms of their IOR + dWAR rank. The lower the value the better. As far as underwhelming performances, Chris Johnson transcends above all others in this category. Last season, Johnson posted terrific statistics all season for the Braves, however it appears that that performance was too good to be true. Through the analysis of his career and last seasons statistics, I actually made the conjecture in The Inaugural Post that Johnson is overrated. I hate to say I told you so, but I literally told you so and do not feel sorry for you if you drafted him in fantasy baseball. He is more of a complimentary player for a line-up, rather than an offensive instigator. Another surprise comes from Pittsburgh Pirate Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez is coming off of an All-Star performance in 2013, yet does not even come close to breaking into the top 5 ranks. His overall performance has taken a decline this season, however he still has managed to obtain the 7th best IOR for third basemen. The defensive performance for Alvarez has been abysmal to say the least. He has managed to accumulate a -0.5 dWAR, which is not great. In addition to these two players, one of the games best third basemen, Ryan Zimmerman, has managed to be persistently plagued with the injury bug this season, precipitating a significant loss in playing time. This lack of playing time has therefore removed Zimmerman from contention for the third base power rankings. With the illumination of this seasons disappointments for the hot corner position, I now will transition to a more positive light and acknowledge the top performers for the 2014 campaign thus far.
Best Offensive Third Baseman: Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
Best Defensive Third Baseman: Josh Donaldson, Oakland Athletics
Third Baseman to Watch: Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies
2014 Power Rankings MLB Third Basemen:
5) Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals- This promising youngster has to thank the injury ridden Ryan Zimmerman for his opportunity to regularly start at third base for the Nats. Rendon has fully seized and taken advantage of this opportunity, accumulating an IOR of 0.431 along with an incredible dWAR of 1.0. His laudable performance this season has even made the Nationals begin to consider Zimmerman as an outfielder.
4) Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners- A rejuvenated Seattle Mariners team has to be very pleased with the performance of their all-star third baseman. Seager currently ranks in the top ten for third basemen in terms of both IOR and dWAR. The baseball bloodlines in the Seager family run strong, for his two younger brothers Justin and Corey both have been drafted. Corey, a 2012 first-round pick, is a top ten prospect in the Dodgers farm system and currently is proving his worth at the Double-A ranks.
3) Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals- After a tremendous 2013 breakout season and World Series run, Carpenter continues to impress. Carpenter is this seasons IOR leader for MLB third basemen and displays no apparent signs of slowing down.
2) Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers- Beltre has once again managed to elude the grasp of father time and perform at a high caliber. He has been a bright spot for a significantly ailing Texas Ranger squad, within a very talented AL West division.
1) Josh Donaldson, Oakland Athletics- One of the primary reasons for this seasons domineering performance by the Oakland Athletics has been the leadership and play of Josh Donaldson. Not only is Donaldson the top player at this position, but also he ranks as one of the top overall players in the game toting a 5.4 WAR.
As you can see, for both of the Corner Infield positions, there has been significant change in terms of the MLBs top performers. The emergence of "young" (loosely used, for many of these new stars are in their late 20's), talented players have overwhelmed the corner infield positions. However, this influx of young, high-ceiling corner infielders should yield many exciting players for us to follow within this generation of the MLB.
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