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| TODAY: Monday, May 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player ratings: Third base | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Welcome to the ESPN.com player ratings. Our panel of baseball authorities will rank the top 10 players at each position. The basic question is this: Which player do you want at that position for the 2000 season?
For more about our panel, check the the catchers page. The numbers used in the chart below are explained at the bottom of the page.
Other positions: C | DH | 1B | 2B | SS | LF | CF | RF | SP | CL
Position comments Graham Hays: As deep as the pool at second base is, third base has the most interesting competition for the final few spots in the top 10. Eric Chavez, Troy Glaus, and Adrian Beltre all possess superstar ability but haven't yet accomplished enough to separate themselves from experienced hands like Travis Fryman, Joe Randa and Cal Ripken. Mix in a handful of question marks like Tony Batista and Mike Lowell and the selection process is that much more difficult. Batista narrowly missed the cut in my top 10 due to a .330 on base percentage and average defense at his old position of shortstop. His .518 slugging percentage made up for those deficiencies last season, but he'll need a repeat of that performance to claim a spot in the upper echelon of third basemen. Underrated: An offseason move to Coors Field means Jeff Cirillo won't remain unappreciated for long, but Cirillo never got the credit he deserved while serving time in Selig's Wisconsin gulag. The 30-year-old represents a significant defensive upgrade over the departed Vinny Castilla, and while Cirillo won't match Castilla's power numbers, he could easily add 50 points to an already impressive OPS (.862). Overrated: Ken Caminiti. Sure his teammates probably love to play with such a committed competitor, but Caminiti is incapable of remaining completely healthy for even 120 games. Keith Law: Dean Palmer: In a time when even mediocre power hitters slug .500, Dean Palmer has just barely passed that mark for the past two years after missing it for the two years before '98. At the same time, the wretched defense he always provided has barely improved (at least he turned over 20 DPs last year), despite the presence of an incredible shortstop to his left. All this for just $20 million dollars over the next four years? Underrated: Adrian Beltre's stats are even more incredible when you realize he's a year younger than we all thought. Overrated: The Orioles have been claiming that Ryan Minor was a prospect for about five years and they're still the only ones who believe it. David Schoenfield: Jeff Cirillo is likely to go from one of the most underrated players to most overrated -- especially after he battles Larry Walker for the NL batting crown. But Cirillo is a legitimately good player. What will he hit at Coors? Over the last three years, Coors has increased batting average by about 58 points, so we can expect Cirillo to add 25-30 points to last year's .326 mark. OK, that's purely rough math -- the Baseball Prospectus folks project him at .359. Underrated: Joe Randa was bad in 1998, but he's hit over .300 in three of his four seasons in the majors and provides above-average defense. Overrated: Cal Ripken. Rany Jazayerli: Aramis Ramirez was considered a huge disappointment by the Pirates when he hit just .235 in 1998, as they somehow didn't cut him any slack for being the youngest regular (he turned 20 during the season) in the majors other than Adrian Beltre. After a monster year in Triple-A (.328/.425/.546) last season, Ramirez should have the everyday job in Pittsburgh again, and by the end of the year he should be one of the five best third baseman in the NL. And he'll still be only 23. Underrated: Tony Batista. He hit 31 homers last season, but the Diamondbacks thought so little of him that they traded him and John Frascatore for Dan Plesac. How many games would the Diamondbacks have won if they had kept him? Overrated: Scott Brosius. So he's got a pair of World Series rings. So does Pat Borders. Brosius' mediocre 1999 season is a lot closer to his real ability than 1998, which makes him nothing more than adequate. Brandon Funston: The Expos brought in Lenny Webster and Charlie O' Brien as back-up catchers, affording Michael Barrett the opportunity to play third base full-time. Considering the plate maturity he showed as a rookie last season, the fact that he no longer has to shuffle between positions should let Barrett further blossom as a hitter. Expect power to be his next area of improvement in 2000. Underrated: Joe Randa -- a poor man's Jeff Cirillo. Has hit over .300 in three of his four major league seasons. Developing power and fielding is an even more encouraging sign. Overrated: Scott Brosius will never live up to the standards he set for himself during the '98 season. He's easily fooled on breaking pitches, draws few walks and generates just average power for a third baseman. You rarely see teams bat their third sacker at the bottom of the order as often as the Yankees did in '99. The numbers We've avoided most of the traditional numbers in favor of "sabermetric stats": Pts: Total points from our panel (10 for first, etc.) G: Games played OBP: On-base percentage SLG: Slugging percentage OPS: On-base + slugging RC: Runs created. Using all of a player's offensive statistics, tells how many "runs" a player was responsible for. Added together, individual runs created match closely with a team's overall run total. OW%: Offensive winning percentage. The percentage of games a team would "win" with nine of that player in the lineup, given average defense and pitching. |  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||