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Today we continue our positional tier rankings. Last offseason, Derek Carty tackled the tiers by himself; this spring, we've decided to attack them as a team. Players at each position will be divided into five tiers, represented by the number of stars.

Five-star players are the studs at their respective position. In general, they are the players that will be nabbed in the first couple of rounds of the draft, and they'll fetch auction bids in excess of $30. Four-star players are a cut below the studs at the position. They will also be earl- round selections, and they're projected to be worth more than $20 in most cases. Three-star players are the last tier in which players are projected to provide double-digit dollar value in auctions, and two-star players are projected to earn single digits in dollar value in auctions. One-star players are late round sleepers and roster placeholders. As was the case with our positional rankings series, the positional tiers aren't simply a regurgitation of the projected PECOTA values.

We retained last year's roster requirements for the positional tier series. Dollar values come from our PFM using a 12-team, standard 5×5 scoring format, with 23-man rosters and the following positions: C (2) 1B (1) 2B (1) 3B (1) SS (1) CI (1) MI (1) OF (5) UT (1) P (9). The minimum bid for players is $1, and, as we did last year, we'll allocate $180 of a $260 budget to hitters. Players needed to play in 20 games at a position to qualify there. The PFM is customizable, so if your league uses a different format, you can adjust it to match your league settings and see how it impacts players’ dollar values.

You can find the previous Fantasy Tier Rankings posts here:

Now, here are our third-base tiers.

Five Stars

Player

Team

Mixed $

AL/NL $

PA

R

HR

RBI

SB

AVG

Miguel Cabrera

DET

$36.03

$31.43

690

100

35

114

3

.313

With the Mike Trout regression possibilities and the Ryan Braun PED rumors that won’t go away, Miguel Cabrera is the top player on my board this year (followed by the aforementioned Braun and Trout, of course). And, when you look across the third-base landscape, there’s no one who can even hold a candle to his upside and consistency. Of course, this is what happens when you win a Triple Crown. Cabrera has hit above .320 in each the last four seasons. He has driven in at least 100 runs each of the last nine seasons. He has scored at least 109 runs in each of the last three seasons. He has missed only 22 games due to injury in his 10-year career, and he’s never been on the disabled list. No one is 100 percent safe in fantasy, but Miggy is as close as they come.

Four Stars

Player

Team

Mixed $

AL/NL $

PA

R

HR

RBI

SB

AVG

Adrian Beltre

TEX

$13.96

$19.59

615

74

25

88

3

.284

Evan Longoria

TBA

$19.57

$21.85

655

86

29

95

7

.261

David Wright

NYN

$20.88

$26.13

645

85

22

83

17

.278

Hanley Ramirez

LAN

$30.57

$30.99

640

89

23

83

27

.278

This is the best Four Star tier you’re going to find in the entire infield. All of these players, assuming no further injury news for Wright or H. Ramirez, should go off the board within the top 30 picks. In fact, based on the latest NFBC data, they were all going in the top 25.

If you’re going for safety in this tier, Beltre is your man. Over the last three years, a composite of his worst seasons in each of the three major categories in which he will contribute shows a .296 average, 28 homers, and 102 RBI. Longoria has been inconsistent, both in terms of health and performance, but one of these years, he’s going to have an MVP-type season. Will it be 2013?

Wright’s fantasy outlook hinges on two numbers—his strikeouts and his steals. His 16.7 percent strikeout rate in 2012 was in line with his early-career days as a .300 hitter, but if it looks more like his 21-24 percent rates from 2009 through 2011, that batting average is going to suffer. Hanley is more valuable as a shortstop, but unlike Buster Posey or Joe Mauer at first base, there are legitimate reasons why you would play him at third base. I really like his chances to have a much-improved season in Los Angeles, so hopefully this thumb injury from the WBC final is merely a minor ailment.

Four-Star Value Pick: Considering that I’ve taken Ramirez is just about every draft (mock and otherwise) this preseason, he’s my guy here. Of course, this is assuming that there’s not something more seriously wrong with his thumb [as of writing this, there still is not]. He is a near lock to go 20-20, and his batting average can rebound into the .270-.280 range. Plus, there’s always the chance that he just pulls out a vintage Hanley season and goes crazy (though I’m certainly not counting on it).

Three Stars

Player

Team

Mixed $

AL/NL $

PA

R

HR

RBI

SB

AVG

Aramis Ramirez

MIL

$13.10

$20.59

595

75

26

86

4

.274

Ryan Zimmerman

WAS

$16.51

$22.51

646

80

25

89

4

.283

Pablo Sandoval

SFN

$8.20

$18.43

577

67

19

77

3

.294

Brett Lawrie

TOR

$11.09

$19.74

590

70

16

70

19

.270

 

Just like the Four Star group, this tier is strong—although it lost a name when Chase Headley’s injury news came out, reducing it to a party of four. You’re really going to want to have your third baseman by the time this tier ends, as the biggest dropoff at the position comes after Lawrie.

A. Ramirez just keeps on hitting. He gets a bad rap as being an older, more injury-prone player, but in reality, he has only been on the disabled list twice in the last five years. Just don’t be the guy who drafts him and trades him in mid-May—his career OPS is below 800 in both April and May, but after that, it’s 863, 912, 910, 890, chronologically by month.

Zimmerman did his best Aramis Ramirez impression by just going off in the second half of 2012, hitting .319 with 17 homers and 55 RBI in only 298 at-bats. If his shoulder holds up, he could return great value. The talk of Sandoval’s weight has at least died down over the past couple of weeks, and it was never that important to begin with. He was tearing it up before his hamate bone injury last year, and now that he has had both of them removed, it’s one less thing to worry about going forward. Lawrie is still the same player he was last preseason, just with a slightly more reasonable price tag.

Three-Star Value Pick: I’m agreeing with PECOTA here and taking Zimmerman from this group. By all indications, his shoulder is up to snuff, and he has the potential to do the exact same thing that Longoria could do, but three to four rounds later in the draft (or $5-10 cheaper, whichever suits your fancy). The offense in Washington should be very good, and there’s a real chance for both 100 runs and RBI from the still 28-year-old third baseman.

Two Stars

Player

Team

Mixed $

AL/NL $

PA

R

HR

RBI

SB

AVG

Chase Headley

SDN

$5.70

$17.33

579

67

14

66

13

.267

David Freese

SLN

$1.00

$13.67

520

60

17

66

2

.278

Martin Prado

ARI

$7.76

$18.60

647

68

13

72

9

.284

Todd Frazier

CIN

$6.59

$17.42

547

67

22

73

12

.242

Manny Machado

BAL

($2.06)

$9.66

519

57

14

57

8

.245

Mike Moustakas

KCA

$5.06

$14.09

587

65

21

77

3

.262

Will Middlebrooks

BOS

$8.55

$16.44

589

68

24

81

6

.258

Kyle Seager

SEA

$0.53

$11.74

617

62

11

63

8

.259

Pedro Alvarez

PIT

$0.50

$12.33

548

62

22

73

2

.233

This group is all about picking your poison. There is really only one low-risk/low-reward option here, as the tier is filled to the brim with potential. Unfortunately, potential busts are just as likely as potential studs.

Headley is going to miss the first month of the season, at least, and thumb injuries can be tricky even when players return. He’s dropping outside the top 125 in almost all leagues at this point, which is about right considering he was lower than Curtis Granderson on draft boards when they were both healthy (and he should be once again). Freese and Prado are relatively boring, but at least Prado doesn’t have the health risk that Freese carries. The thin air of Arizona may help Prado a little, but don’t expect huge upticks in his power numbers.

The rest of the tier is filled with players who are question marks because of contact issues (Frazier, Middlebrooks), youth- and inexperience-related risks (Machado), an unwillingness to live up to their billings as a top-three overall picks (Moustakas, Alvarez), or a supposed lack of upsde (Seager). Any one of them could end up in the top 10 at the position, or they could fizzle out and end up on the waiver wire in July.

Two-Star Value Pick: It’s no secret that I’m a huge Machado supporter—and if I’m going after one of the upside guys (which I likely am, because Prado/Freese are going way too early for my liking), I’m grabbing him outside the top 200. Right now, he has the highest ADP of this entire tier at 214 overall, which isn’t shocking given his lack of experience. However, he’s made adjustments very quickly at each level he’s reached in professional baseball, including the majors (he went from 9.5 strikeouts per walk in August to 3.0 strikeouts per walk in September, taking those strides during a pennant race, no less). He’s going to be a star, and I’m willing to pay the price to see if his ascent starts this year.

One Star

Player

Team

Mixed $

AL/NL $

PA

R

HR

RBI

SB

AVG

Kevin Youkilis

NYA

$5.17

$13.57

538

69

21

75

3

.262

Jedd Gyorko

SDN

($1.59)

$8.88

460

56

15

52

1

.252

Jeff Keppinger

CHA

$1.59

$9.78

553

62

10

52

2

.282

Michael Young

PHI

($1.62)

$12.15

569

56

10

60

4

.276

Matt Carpenter

SLN

($4.87)

$9.08

508

56

10

52

3

.261

Lonnie Chisenhall

CLE

($8.03)

$5.57

459

48

12

51

2

.249

Josh Donaldson

OAK

($10.96)

$4.32

370

41

13

47

4

.236

Trevor Plouffe

MIN

$0.53

$10.88

522

62

21

67

4

.240

Juan Francisco

ATL

($1.24)

$12.29

461

54

20

64

2

.263

Alberto Callaspo

ANA

($2.37)

$9.33

577

59

8

55

5

.268

Maicer Izturis

TOR

($0.38)

$9.92

462

52

7

43

15

.266

Chris Nelson

COL

($11.96)

$4.85

311

34

8

35

3

.276

Chris Johnson

ATL

($7.62)

$8.26

426

46

12

49

3

.263

Alex Rodriguez

NYA

($15.59)

$2.57

246

33

11

35

4

.261

There is some upside buried in this bottom tier, but it’s unreliable at best. Some of these players won’t even have starting roles and Rodriguez won’t be back until three months from now (at the earliest). Also, a few of these guys are multi-eligibility cases, and Keppinger, Carpenter (a week into the season), Izturis, and Nelson are all going to be more valuable at middle-infield spots.

Youkilis and Young are potential bounce-back candidates, but they’re not going to repeat their 2007 seasons. Gyorko is having a great spring, but can he carry it forward into the regular season, while playing half of his games at Petco Park? Chisenhall and Donaldson both have shown some glimpses of viability, but both also carry sizable flameout risk (along with their limited upside).

Plouffe was a great pickup last year, when he carried that “SS” next to his name—but now that he’s a 3B-only option, he’s just one of many potential 20-home-run hitters who would have to put a dent in your batting average just to get there. Francisco, who has power for days, also fits into that group, because he may never make enough contact for that to matter.

One-Star Value Pick: Donaldson is currently being taken 390th overall in NFBC drafts, which probably sounds about right for a 27-year-old with a career 666 OPS. But, something happened to Donaldson on the way to becoming a career minor-leaguer. Over the last three years, he has decreased his Triple-A strikeout rate from 22.3 percent to 19.9 percent to 14.5 percent (in 2012), and in the last fourth of the 2012 season, he finally brought that development to the major-league level. From August 14 through the end of the season, Donaldson got his third shot in Oakland after Brandon Inge went on the DL, and he hit .290/.356/.489 with eight homers, 26 RBI, three steals, and (most importantly) an 18.3 percent strikeout rate in 176 at-bats. It looks like Donaldson will be the Opening Day third baseman for the Athletics at this point, and if he can pick up anywhere near where he left off, he can provide a huge return on investment.

 

Thank you for reading

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boatman44
3/21
Again ,a nicely put together tier list Bret, thanks.The only question I would have about your summations would be not having Adrian Beltre as your four star value pick, to my mind there is something to be said for safety picks so early in a draft ,and Beltre is almost bombproof here.
bretsayre
3/21
Thanks - I agree that Beltre is the safest of that group, but he's also the oldest of the group as well. With that said, he was a very close second to Hanley for value pick, and I definitely understand the argument for it. I'm just a big Hanley supporter (who is anxiously awaiting hopefully good news this morning..)
BurrRutledge
3/21
Surgery. 2 months.
bretsayre
3/21
Don't remind me. Ugh..
boatman44
3/21
Old is good Bret,I'm 48 and have'nt had a day off in at least 3 weeks :)
spiderweb311
3/21
Nice Job.... Although I still fail to see why Brett Lawrie is ranked ahead of Moustakas or even Middlebrooks..... They both have shown better power. With everyone at roughly equivalent BA, is Lawrie speed that much more valuable?? In addition he really has not shown anymore at the MLB level than Middlebrooks or Moustakas....

Just one mans opinion...

bretsayre
3/21
Thanks - and here's my reasoning for each:

I like Moustakas long-term, and I do think he has more power potential than Lawrie, but he also owns a 145 ISO in the majors versus 168 for Lawrie, so he's not showing it yet. Add 20 steal potential and a career batting average that's 30 points higher at this point, and I think you get a pretty sizeable gap.

For Middlebrooks, it was a really impressive 75 game sample on the surface, but that 70-13 K/BB gives me great pause that he'll be able to continue that type of production. The 25 homer potential is real, but I think he's more of a .265 hitter (with downside risk). I'll take my chances with a potential 20-20 guy who should hit for a solid average over that.
cgittleman
3/21
Thanks for the information. I have a questions for you related to Matt Carpenter. I have him in a NL-only, auction, keeper league from last year. He was a $10 DL pickup and finished the year on my roster. We allow a player to fill a position if he is slated to play that position starting the year, meaning I don't have to wait for a minimum of games for him to qualify at 2B, I can keep him at 2B. What do you think of Carpenter at $10 in a 2B/MI role? Thanks!
bretsayre
3/21
I think in an NL-only, that price is probably right about where I'd feel comfortable going. He doesn't do anything particularly well, but he should be able to return some profit at that price if he can keep his head above water on defense. Of course, that's still a question that's yet to be answered.
cgittleman
3/21
Thanks, that's sort of what I was thinking. My decision is whether to keep Carpenter at $10 or Scutaro at $7. Scutaro's probably a safer play but I think Carpenter has more upside. What do you think? Thanks!
bretsayre
3/21
Given the few extra dollars, I'd rather have Scutaro. Carpenter doesn't have huge upside and I'd prefer the safety that Scutaro brings. Plus, he should be in a more advantageous lineup spot for counting stats than Carpenter.
joshtatum92
3/21
Adjustment for Hanley? He really just screwed me pretty good in a money league keeper... Bastard..
bretsayre
3/21
Me too - he was the most expensive player I bought in one of my jellybean home leagues over the weekend. I'd just slash that projection by a third and hope for the best. Think .275-16-18 with 55 runs and 60 RBI. Still good, but just not what we paid for. Hanley plus a replacement level player can still get you 20-20 for 2013, so no one's screwed yet.
joshtatum92
3/21
If I keep him, Rd 2 is attached.. If I don't keep him, I can probably get him later in draft, but pedroia and Hamilton slide up a spot.. Your input? I've got:

Braun (1)
Hanley (2)
Pedroia (3)
Hamilton (4)
Kuroda (12)
Yadi (14)
Ike Davis (20)
Doug Fister (21)
Dylan Bundy (22)
Jurickson Profar (23)
joshtatum92
3/21
14 tm
swarmee
3/21
I would drop him; you might still end up with him in the 4th round (since it's a keeper), but then you can keep him next year at that, expecting a full season of production.
bretsayre
3/21
I'd still keep him, if you'd only gain back your 4th rounder in a league where 10 players are kept. He's a top-140 guy for me, and I'm assuming that some teams will have those Round 1-3 picks to use.
swarmee
3/21
They just updated it. He dropped from a $32.50 player in my NL-only 4x4 to a $16.25 guy.
sebaker
3/21
Matt Dominguez is a zero star player? I suppose but I think he does have some upside, no?
bretsayre
3/21
Sure, he has a little upside, but I'd rather have everyone in that bottom tier over him. His best case scenario looks pretty much in line with a lot of the One Star player projections.