Kyle Seager: Get the Big Numbers without the Name

Sep 19, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager (15) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a home run during the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Seager is one of the best hitting third basemen in all of baseball, but no one seems to pay attention.  Maybe it is because he plays in a pitcher’s park up in Seattle or that Robinson Cano is the face of the offense, but there is no reason that you should continue to overlook the secret slugger.

Check out this table of high-performing third base eligible players and see how Seager stacks up against a couple of the bigger names at his position.

[table id=1291 /]

I probably would take Kyle Seager’s 2014 season over any of those upper-tier third basemen except for Josh Donaldson.  In fact, only Miguel Cabrera, Anthony Rendon, Todd Frazier, and the aforementioned Josh Donaldson likely outperformed Kyle Seager this season at the hot corner.

However, I can all but guarantee that Evan Longoria will be drafted higher than Kyle Seager next year even though they will produce similar stats.  The difference between Longoria and Seager is the name and that truly is it.  I have no preference for one over the other next season.  They are two very good third basemen who could and maybe should be within the top five of their position.

When it comes to draft day, I can all but guarantee that Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays will not make it out of the third round.  On the other hand, there is a very strong chance that Kyle Seager will fall outside of the first 50 draft picks. For example, you could draft Corey Kluber and Kyle Seager in rounds 3 and 6 or you could take Evan Longoria and Julio Teheran in those same rounds.  I certainly prefer the former because you get the superior starting pitcher.

Kyle Seager is one of many undervalued fantasy baseball players that can be taken at a very reasonable price because there is no hype surrounding his production.  On the other hand, the best case scenario for Evan Longoria is to live up to his high draft pick.  If Longoria exceeds his selection, then he is a strong MVP candidate.

I think we should see more of the same from Kyle Seager in 2015.  He has gotten slightly better in each of his three seasons as the full-time third baseman of the Seattle Mariners.  Seager has increased his single season total of home runs, ISO, batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ every year since 2012.  It certainly would be nice if those trends continued, but it could be asking a lot to expect even more production in 2015.

Aside: Corey Seager is the brother of the Kyle Seager.  Corey is a shortstop and highly touted prospect in the Dodgers’ system.  Expect him to have serious fantasy value in future seasons.