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August 1, 2007

Future Shock

Positional Rankings - Third Base

by Kevin Goldstein

We’re living in a bit of a golden age for third baseman. Beyond the historically great Alex Rodriguez, young talents like Miguel Cabrera, David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman should leave the position stocked with MVP candidates for years to come, and Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun has been arguably the best hitter in the majors since getting called up at the end of May. Also, if you’ve written off Alex Gordon, you’re making a huge mistake. This year’s list can’t match that of previous years, but it’s still pretty good, and the usual caveats apply: prospects only, in the minors as of this writing, and ’07 draftees are ineligible, yet covered separately.

1. Evan Longoria, Devil Rays
Age: 21.8
Hitting: .307/.403/.528 at Double-A (105 G)

When sharing these rankings with one scout, he asked, “Is there any way to rank him higher than one?” Longoria is that good, playing at Double-A in his first full season and leading the league in home runs, RBI, and runs scored while ranking fifth in on-base percentage and third in slugging. There’s no reason not to expect .300/.400/.500+ seasons from him in the majors, and he’s a good defender to boot. The Royals not taking him with the first pick in the draft last year, already having Alex Gordon in the system, makes sense. The Rockies' last-minute decision to pass over him in order to take Stanford righty Greg Reynolds does not.

2. Andy LaRoche, Dodgers
Age: 23.9
Hitting: .317/.402/.606 at Triple-A (60 G); .211/.463/.263 at MLB (18 G)

LaRoche got off to a slow start this year, and struggled in a brief big league debut before going on the disabled list with some more shoulder woes. However, since becoming healthy, he’s been as hot as anyone in the minors, batting .414 in July with 12 home runs in 87 at-bats. Offensively, LaRoche has the rare combination of plus power and a very high contact rate, striking out just 27 times in 221 at-bats. Defensively, he’s acceptable, rarely making the spectacular play, but converting nearly every ball he gets to into an out. With Wilson Betemit moving to the Yankees on Tuesday, LaRoche’s minor league career has likely come to an end, and the Dodgers will become a better team down the stretch because of it.