Are David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman good buy low guys?

Well my trusty old (and I do mean old) laptop finally went to the big Silicon Valley in the sky.  Ten years, two hard drives, and one battery later, it finally suffered something I can’t fix.  Therefore, the next installment might not be up for a couple of days because typing this on a tablet SUCKS!.  But this one is still here.  Enjoy!

Over the next week, we will be going over the buy low and sell high options for each position. We will follow the positions the way that the powers that be in baseball decided.  Since this is the fifth installment, we will focus on position 5, which is third base!

The starting pitchers are here.  The relief pitchers are here.  The catchers are here.  The first basemen are here.  The second basemen are here.

As with each baseball season, there are plenty of players that are well over or well under their career averages. Finding the players that will either shed their horrid slumps, or cool off after hot starts can be the difference between winning and losing your league.

How does one go about finding the overachievers and underachievers? Season numbers vs. careeer numbers are a good place to start. But everyone has to have a breakout season sometime. What if a players is in the midst of one of those? Sometimes you just have to go with your gut…….and hope you are reading the right column!

Machado (13) walks off the field prior to the game against the Boston Red Sox. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Buy low candidates:

David Wright, Mets: Wright is having a disappointing season, causing some naysayers to throw dirt on his major league career.  Wright is 31, but his skills have not diminished that much.  Wright has double digit homers and steals every year except for his 69 game rookie season when he stole only six bags.  His days of 25+ home runs are gone, but there is no way that he will only hit the ten bombs that he is on pace for.  He should be somewhere near 20.  His steals are right in line with the last few years, but you can bet the power will increase, and maybe even the batting avrerage.  While his .271 mark is still good, He is a career .300 hitter.  He could get close to that once again.

Manny Machado, Orioles: Machado has gained more notoriety for his off field antics and injuries than anything he has done on the few.  That is like because  a .218 average, four home runs, and 11 RBI is nothing to brag about.  Machado has not developed a lot of home run power like owners had hoped, but that could happen once he gets going.  He was a career .279 hitter before the season, so his average will likely rise significantly.  He also clubbed 51 doubles last year in his first full big league season.  Even if ten percent of those go over the wall instead of into it, that could put him at 20 homers.  His upside is immense, even in redraft leagues.

Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals: The trouble with Zimm has always been the injuries.  Well, maybe he got that out of the way for this season already.  His two home runs in 73 at bats is well below his career output, but I chalk that up to some rust.  The fact that he is about to gain outfield eligibility will help his value out a lot in standard leagues.  His .275 average is right in line with his career numbers, but I expect the power numbers to climb as he settles in.  The caveat with Zimmerman is the same as always: don’t pay much for him, because he has proven to be quite injury prone.

Cleveland Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall (8) bats in the game against the Texas Rangers. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Sell high candidates:

Todd Frazier, Reds: He has 14 home runs already this year.  He has hit 19 in each of his last two years.  While I’m not going to sit here and tell you that his career year is a fluke, I will say that his pace of 35 home runs is unlikely to continue.  He has always had decent power, and he has definitely outperformed where he was drafted.  Still, I think he has a hard time hitting 30.  25 is probably a safe plateau for Frazier.  He is outperforming some much bigger names at third base, so I would see if you can’t use Frazier to get one of them.

Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians: His career night on Monday made headlines all over the place.  He has hits in 10 of his last 11 games.   Even the most optimistic Chisenhall fan must concede that he can’t keep up the .393 average.   He will still be a strong candidate to hit 15 or so home runs, but keep in mind that three of his seven – nearly half of his season total – game in one career game.  His value will never be higher, so it might be worth seeing what you can get for him.

Adrian Beltre, Rangers: He has been hurt once already this year, and I am skeptical that he will finally slow down at age 35.  Of course, slowing down for Beltre likely means hitting only 20 homers instead of 30 and driving in 80 instead of 100.  So don’t give him away by any means, but you can likely capitalize on his tantalizing .323 average and eight home runs so far.

Come back tomorrow for position 6, the shortstops!