MLB Showdown Cards

MLB Showdown 2011: Third Base

The league wide power outage extended to the hot corner. A-rod was not his usual impressive self for the second year in the a row. The on base machines Chipper Jones and Youkilis had rough injury prone years. Longoria had the foot injury all year which was only made up for by his end of the year freak streak, which yielded a play-off appearance. David Freese had a great play-off run but that doesn't count for much in the showdown world. The main issue was is no one stepped up to have a break out year. So how to be productive in mediocre year.

It would be nice for some of those nice big 6'4 245 pound monsters to hit some long balls. This class looks like Tarzan and hits like Jane. Let us start by saying that Joey Bats is under the Utility players since he qualifies for corner outfield as well. He is the choice for power players hands down. Youkilis may be a good 2 hitter with his cheap on base and +3. He is a 4-8 round player. He has as much power as anyone else. A-rod and Aramis Ramirez are old favorites and they can work. A-rod is the better of the two. They are both 10-15 round players. Longoria and Beltre are worthwhile lower on base options. Beltre for 200 points may be a good 7 spot hitter for 200 points and the +3 fielding is a nice bonus. These players may be 16-20 round options.

Believe it or not there is no power and there are no cheap on base with just a dash of power. The four 9 on bases in the class are 3 19-20 homers and a no homer in Callaspo. Youkilis is a good option for a 3-4 hitter. Sandoval, Ramirez and A-rod may also get some looks. Like power players Ramirez and A-rod are the best options. There will be a lot of hybrid picks here at third base. The cheapest of the cheap will pick Callaspo. Again these are 10-15 round players. Zimmerman and Freese are going to get some looks in the 10-15 range. Betimit and Chipper are choices for big time weenies in the 16-20 range. Money Ballers will love Headley and Callaspo. Headley is a 2-5 round pick for Money Ballers. They will not want to lose out on the chance to get Headley and Kotchman in the same draft. 2 10 on bases for 550 points. That will put some pressure on people mediocre pitching charts. Not that I like playing Money Ball. This is the year to do it though. No power anyway might as well give it a chance.

Small Ballers do not have a lot of put great picks but again this is a hybrid year. Youkilis walks far too much to make it useful. 14 or higher for a single is too much to ask. Headley may be an option here but he is not valued nearly as high by Small Ballers as Money Ballers. David Wright is not a bad 2 or 6 hitter here. His +0 is easier to swallow the a middle infielders. Beltre is a great 7 hitter for 200 points. 4 or higher is a single on his chart. The 7 is scary for some players but at the end of the order he will drive in some runs.

There are some bench players that are cheap. Eric Chaves as a 10 point discounted pinch hitter is not horrible. His +3 can be useful. This is unless someone takes him as a number 8 hitter. He will likely need to be the first bench player taken. Maybe even in the 10-12 round picks. Inge is also a cheap defender though I do not see him as worthy of being selected. Polanco is the maybe the most useful bench player. He may be a 7 hitter for someone. He is in the same category as Chaves.