Top 10 N.L. Third Basemen 2009
| # | Player | $ | Sal | +/- | AP | SW | 2008 |
| 1 | Mark Reynolds | $33 | $14 | +19 | $14 | $15 | $20 |
| 2 | Ryan Zimmerman | $29 | $22 | +7 | $18 | $22 | $13 |
| 3 | David Wright | $28 | $45 | -17 | $35 | $39 | $38 |
| 4 | Jorge Cantu | $21 | $15 | +6 | $21 | $15 | $25 |
| 5 | Casey Blake | $19 | $12 | +7 | $14 | $8 | $19 |
| 6 | Chipper Jones | $17 | $24 | -7 | $25 | $20 | $30 |
| 7 | Aramis Ramirez | $17 | $30 | -13 | $25 | $23 | $26 |
| 8 | Casey McGehee | $16 | $1 | -$0 | |||
| 9 | Martin Prado | $16 | $2 | +14 | $3 | $2 | $9 |
| 10 | Ian Stewart | $15 | $10 | +5 | $5 | $11 | $8 |
| Average | $21 | $19 | +2 | $18 | $17 | $19 |
Of the nine players auctioned on this list (the three expert leagues understandably passed on McGehee), not a single player comes within $4 of his market price. This is the polar opposite of the N.L. first basemen, where seven out of 10 players came within $5 of earning what they were paid.
From this standpoint, the touts do a little bit better. Patton's bid turns out to be a most excellent prediction for Cantu, while Sports Weekly's dim view of Chipper works out nicely, and their upbeat stance on Stewart was decent. If we were scoring 2008, they'd get props for hitting Casey Blake on the nose.
The market once again spends the most money per player here, but on a player-by-player basis, they're suddenly getting beat by Patton and SW quite a bit. Patton gets Cantu, Blake, Jones, McGehee, and Prado, while SW gets Reynolds and Stewart. The market only wins outright on Wright and Ramirez, while tying SW on Zimmerman.
This chart is a pretty good view into the how the tout leagues seem to be inching back toward Stage One. Wright's $7 raise and Ramirez's $4 raise aren't so much an expectation of career years but rather a fear of mediocre ones from some of the other players on this chart. This is what you're supposed to see when the top players get big raises...pay cuts elsewhere. Reynolds, Cantu, Blake and Jones all take some pretty big cuts so that Wright and Ramirez can get paid. The result is that someone walked away with some pretty good bargains while someone else got stuck holding the bag on David Wright.
Ten Most Expensive N.L. Third Basemen 2009
| # | Player | $ | Sal | +/- | AP | SW | 2008 |
| 1 | David Wright | $28 | $45 | -17 | $35 | $39 | $38 |
| 2 | Aramis Ramirez | $17 | $30 | -13 | $25 | $23 | $26 |
| 3 | Chipper Jones | $17 | $24 | -7 | $25 | $20 | $30 |
| 4 | Ryan Zimmerman | $29 | $22 | +7 | $18 | $22 | $13 |
| 5 | Garrett Atkins | $5 | $22 | -17 | $22 | $22 | $22 |
| 6 | Edwin Encarnacion | $1 | $18 | -16 | $15 | $16 | $14 |
| 7 | Jorge Cantu | $21 | $15 | +6 | $21 | $15 | $25 |
| 8 | Kevin Kouzmanoff | $14 | $15 | -1 | $15 | $11 | $15 |
| 9 | Mark Reynolds | $33 | $14 | +19 | $14 | $15 | $20 |
| 10 | Casey Blake | $19 | $12 | +7 | $14 | $8 | $19 |
| Average | $18 | $22 | -3 | $20 | $19 | $22 |
Reynolds saves this group from being a total disaster, but even with him only four of the 10 hitters here turn a profit.
Three of the four new hitters here - Atkins, Encarnacion, and Zimmerman - had down years in 2008. The market gives Zimmerman and Encarnacion raises in the hopes that they'll bounce back while holding the line on Atkins.
I'm intrigued by the fact that only Zimmerman's raise works out. Wright, Ramirez, and Encarnacion all burned their owners to varying degrees. Meanwhile, the pay cuts were sometimes justified (Chipper and Cantu) and sometimes not (Reynolds and Blake). If you simply followed 2008's lead, you would have avoided Encarnacion and scored big on Reynolds and Blake.
Of course, that's a mixed bag, too, as you would have been way off on Zimmerman and left holding the bag on Chipper.
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