Throughout this position-by-position recap of last year's best players by position, I have been strongly advocating on spending your funny money as aggressively as you can. Last year's A.L. third basemen turn this idea on its head.
Ten Most Expensive A.L. Third Basemen, 2011
| # | Player | $ | Sal | +/- | CBS | LABR | TW | PK | 2010 |
| 1 | $20 | 38 | -18 | 44 | 37 | 33 | 24 | $30 | |
| 2 | $16 | 35 | -18 | 34 | 37 | 33 | 31 | $25 | |
| 3 | $34 | 29 | 5 | 32 | 29 | 27 | 27 | $34 | |
| 4 | $26 | 26 | 1 | 30 | 23 | 24 | 23 | $30 | |
| 5 | $19 | 19 | -1 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 17 | $15 | |
| 6 | $30 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 19 | $24 | |
| 7 | $17 | 16 | 1 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 12 | $12 | |
| 8 | $12 | 12 | 0 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 12 | $11 | |
| 9 | $22 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 11 | $13 | |
| 10 | $2 | 11 | -8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | $12 | |
| | Average | $20 | 22 | -2 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 19 | $21 |
Longoria and Rodriguez get clobbered. Take them out of the equation and the other eight guys turn a small profit. Young and Peralta are the big winners here. I argued in late October that Young wasn't even the MVP of the Rangers, but he's my kind of player in Roto: a guy who earned $30 while earning a paltry $4 in HR/SB combined.
Coming into the season, this was a much stronger crop than last year's third basemen. But the market paid the same price as they did last year for a far more superior group of players.
In the four-way battle with the three expert leagues and Rotoman, CBS gets half of the players here (Longoria, Bautista, Beltre, Reynolds, Valencia) and tied Tout Wars on Encarnacion. LABR got A-Rod and tied Tout Wars on Peralta and Kouzmanoff. Tout Wars only got Young outright. Rotoman, once again, was shut out.
Rotoman's $3 price difference versus the market doesn't seem like a lot, but for a boring, predictable group that performed about as well as the market hoped it's a relatively steep pay cut. Some of this is Longoria (Rotoman's price is the only one adjusting for Longoria's early injury), but there are some pretty conservative prices across the board. Player by player, it doesn't make much of a difference. Across groups of 10, it adds up.
Top 10 A.L. Third Basemen, 2011
| # | Player | $ | Sal | +/- | CBS | LABR | TW | PK | 2010 |
| 1 | Jose Bautista | $34 | 29 | 5 | 32 | 29 | 27 | 27 | $34 |
| 2 | $30 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 19 | $24 | |
| 3 | Adrian Beltre | $26 | 26 | 1 | 30 | 23 | 24 | 23 | $30 |
| 4 | Jhonny Peralta | $22 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 11 | $13 |
| 5 | Evan Longoria | $20 | 38 | -18 | 44 | 37 | 33 | 24 | $30 |
| 6 | Mark Reynolds | $19 | 19 | -1 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 17 | $15 |
| 7 | Edwin Encarnacion | $17 | 16 | 1 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 12 | $12 |
| 8 | Alex Rodriguez | $16 | 35 | -18 | 34 | 37 | 33 | 31 | $25 |
| 9 | $14 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 8 | $13 | |
| 10 | $13 | | | | | | | $3 | |
| | Average | $21 | 22 | -1 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | $20 |
Callaspo and Nunez replace Kouzmanoff and Valencia, but this chart is once again bad news for owners trying to get cute and win the game in the end game.
The seven most expensive hitters are also seven of the eight best hitters at the position. There isn't much in the way of bargains here. If you want production, you've got to pay for it.
Does this mean that we should pay more at the position next year?
Top 10 A.L. Third Basemen 2010 IN 2011
| # | Player | $ | Sal | +/- | CBS | LABR | TW | PK | 2010 |
| 1 | Adrian Beltre | $26 | 26 | 1 | 30 | 23 | 24 | 23 | $30 |
| 2 | Evan Longoria | $20 | 38 | -18 | 44 | 37 | 33 | 24 | $30 |
| 3 | Alex Rodriguez | $16 | 35 | -18 | 34 | 37 | 33 | 31 | $25 |
| 4 | Michael Young | $30 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 19 | $24 |
| 5 | $1 | 18 | -17 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 18 | $19 | |
| 6 | $2 | 10 | -8 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 10 | $13 | |
| 7 | Kevin Kouzmanoff | $2 | 11 | -8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | $12 |
| 8 | Edwin Encarnacion | $17 | 16 | 1 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 12 | $12 |
| 9 | $0 | 7 | -7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | $11 | |
| 10 | Danny Valencia | $12 | 12 | 0 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 13 | $3 |
| | Average | $13 | $19 | -6 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 17 | $18 |
Not necessarily.
Third base has not historically been a stable position; and last year's erosion was masked well by Figgins' 2B eligibility to open the season, Hall's defection to the National League, and the market's conservatism on Inge. These guys were kryptonite in 2011. If you avoided this group on the whole, you probably did fine.
Unless you can buy corner infielders only and skip 3B all together, though, you need to buy at least one of these guys. But I'd spend carefully here regardless of 2011's relative success. It is a demanding position, and injuries and/or age take their toll a little quicker here than they do on the other side of the diamond.
2 comments:
These are my favorite writeups each year. They remind me of alex's books.
This is why I do not interrupt with my own pieces...Mike does a tremendous job with these.
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