Third Base, High-End Spend
Early Slate
Anthony Rendon, $3,600
1.000/1.000/4.000 with 2 HRs in 2 at-bats
So this is clearly a small sample but Rendon has destroyed Reds starter Luis Castillo so far in their careers. Castillo has never retired Rendon as he’s also walked three times. Castillo relies on his fastball quite often and that plays directly into Rendon’s wheelhouse. I wouldn’t expect him to go bonkers, but third base is limited in its options as well.
All Day Special
Josh Donaldson,
.256/.293/.754 with 2 HRs in 39 at-bats
There’s a pretty solid chance I won’t pay up at this position during the early slate as the options aren’t great. Donaldson lands here sort of by default. He’s also experiencing some trouble with his arm at the moment. Manager John Gibbons characterized it as “dead arm”. The flip side of that is the Jays could play him at DH, which lets the former All-Star focus on one thing: hitting the baseball.
Main Slate
Jake Lamb
.368/.368/.421 with 0 HRs in 19 at-bats
When a player like Jake Lamb faces off against a righty that he appears to see well, it’s just a matter of time before he takes said pitcher deep. The humidor concerns still loom out in Arizona, but Lamb doesn’t need to hit the ball out of the yard to stack up some points. He’s going to be smack in the middle of a good offense against a pitcher that hasn’t had a lot of success against them. Count me in as very interested.
Mid-Range
Early Slate
Jeimer Candelario, $2,900
0 at-bats vs. Trevor Williams
I’m likely going up to Rendon in any contest but Candelario is about the only other viable option. Anything else would be a punt just to punt. Even Candelario is very much an unknown quantity. He held his own against righties in his limited action in 2017.
All Day Special
Evan Longoria, $2,800
0 at-bats vs. Kenta Maeda
The veteran third baseman isn’t in the best spot but he is under $3,000 and could be at least worth a look. To be clear, it’s not much to write home about. His OPS against righties last season was still close to .750. It’s similar to his teammate Brandon Belt. Maeda isn’t completely terrifying but I’m probably sticking with Lamb even on the all day slate.
Main Slate
Travis Shaw, $3,300
.000/.000/.000 with 0 HR in 3 at-bats
The Brewers third baseman had higher splits against righty pitchers last season and as an added bonus, he was also better on the road. He had an OPS of over .900 away from Milwaukee and faces a pretty poor pitcher today. Third base is bereft of many options so it appears it might be down to Lamb or Shaw.
Value
Early Slate – None
All Day Special
Matt Carpenter, $2,800
.214/.214/.429 with 1 HR in 14 at-bats
I wouldn’t make it a habit of trying to attack Jacob DeGrom, but Carpenter just feels a little too cheap not to at least mention. Again, I’m gravitating towards Lamb since he’s available to me. Carpenter just has too many ways to get on base. He fared much better against righties than lefties in 2017 as well.
Main Slate – None