Now, this was a hard one for me. There were so many good third baseman in the league last season and there were some players that should be on this list but you can’t have multiple players on the same ranking board. Now we will be going over my list of players who will be playing 3B for the 2015 season. So kicking it off at #10 is a guy who has only been in the league since 2012 but has seen the Playoffs every year he has played, and this player is:
Matt Carpenter (St. Louis Cardinals)
2014 Stats– (8 HR, 59 RBI’s, .272 BA) (16 E, .959 FPCT)
Carpenter has been in the league for 5 seasons and every year, he ends up improving at something. He has been the Cardinals leadoff hitter for the past few years and has been very successful at it. Last season he had his best in Walks with (95) on the season, but his batting average dropped a little but it wasn’t bad (.272 BA). You can expect him to bounce back with a better average as all the Cardinals do is win.
#9) Casey McGehee (San Francisco Giants)
2014 Stats– (4 HR, 76 RBI’s, .287 BA) (7 E, .979 FPCT)
McGehee has been with 4 different teams over the past 3 seasons he played in (The Pirates, Yankees, Marlins, and Giants) but hopefully finding a new home in San Francisco, with the departure of Pablo Sandoval. The Giants did lose a good hitter in Sandoval but its about the same for the defensive side. McGehee is a good defender but is no switch hitting third baseman like Pablo was. Expect McGehee to improve his hitting in 2015.
#8) Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay Rays)
2014 Stats– (22 HR, 91 RBI’s, .253 BA) (13 E, .967 FPCT)
Winning the Rookie of the year Award in 2008 and making 3 consecutive all-Star games (2008 thru 2010), Longoria looked to be the next big thing. He still is a great player but as the Rays got worse over the years. Longoria’s numbers dropped a little, but not much. Look for Longoria to keep putting up numbers as the Rays try to rebuild.
#7) Kyle Seager (Seattle Mariners)
2014 Stats– (25 HR, 96 RBI’s, .268 BA) (8 E, .981 FPCT)
Signing a 7 year -$100 million dollar deal, will keep Seager in Seattle for a long time. In 2014, Seager had his best season in the majors. Making the All-Star game and winning a Gold Glove Award and placing 20th in the MVP voting, looks like Seager has developed into a solid player. Seattle hopes he can keep it up. With Seattle adding Nelson Cruz to the line-up, you can expect Seager to see more pitches.
#6) Josh Donaldson (Toronto Blue Jays)
2014 Stats– (29 HR, 98 RBI’s, .255 BA) (23 E, .952 FPCT)
Donaldson has proved to be a power hitter and a good middle of the line-up guy for his team. This offseason, Oakland traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays in a deal that send Brett Lawrie to Oakland. Look for the Blue Jays to fight for the Division this season, cause Donaldson could be the guy to watch for them. Having him bat behind Bautista and Encarnacion, could make his number get better than what they all ready are.
#5) Todd Frazier (Cincinnati Reds)
2014 Stats– (29 HR, 80 RBI’s, .273 BA) (9 E, .970 FPCT)
Frazier joined the 20/20 club in 2014. 29 Homeruns and 20 Stolen Bases. He had his best season of his career in 2014. If Jay Bruce and Joey Votto can bounce back, Expect Frazier to have a monster year. The guy can play multiple positions but he is the Reds everyday starting 3B now. Last season he showed the power that the Reds were expecting and gave them a bonus with the speed.
#4) Pablo Sandoval (Boston Red Sox)
2014 Stats– (16 HR, 73 RBI’s, .279 BA) (11 E. .971 FPCT)
Having three World Series rings (2010, 2012, 2014) makes him look very special to any team out there. But the Boston Red Sox got the best of it when the signed Pablo in the offseason. The guy is very unique. He’s not a tiny guy but can move around like its nothing to him. Being a switch hitter makes him very important to teams and he make most opposing managers dislike him. Being in Boston should help improve his power, by playing in Fenway, as its a hitters park.
#3) Josh Harrison (Pittsburgh Pirates)
2014 Stats– (13 HR, 52 RBI’s .315 BA) (15 E, .984 FPCT)
In his first full season as a Pirate, Harrison proved to be the everyday third baseman. With Pedro Alvarez moving to first bae, it opens up more playing time for Harrison. The guy came out in 2014, showing his speed and the ability to play all over the field. Last season he played in Left Field, Right Field, Third Base, Shortstop and Second Base. That helped figure out what they were going to do in the 2015 season. With Harrison focusing on one position, expect him to come out and improve those good numbers from 2014.
#2) Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals)
2014 Stats– (21 HR, 83 RBI’s, .287 BA) (15 E, .958 FPCT)
For only being 24 years old and coming into the big league and producing number like he did in 2014, is very impressive. The Nationals are a very young team with tons of talent. Signing Max Scherzer in the Offseason and having this young team come together. Expect to see them go far in October. Rendon can help provide this offense with good power and scare most pitchers.
Finally we have made to our number 1 guy. He has been the most productive and consistent third baseman over the past five seasons. Any baseball fan knows who he is, and our number one Third baseman is:
#1) Adrian Beltre (Texas Rangers)
2014 Stats– (19 HR, 77 RBI’s, .324 BA) (25 E, .967 FPCT)
What can I say about this guy? He has been so consistent over his entire career. 18 seasons of greatness. The Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers all got to see a guy who more than likely will be in the Hall of Fame. The sad thing for Beltre is, that he has only been to the World Series once and lost to the Cardinals in 2011. If he decides to play a few more years, he will hit the 3,000 hit marker. He is only 389 hits away. All I can say is, That i’m glad I got to see this man play the game of Baseball.
- I could have played another year, but I would have been playing for the money, and baseball deserves better than that. – George Brett