I’m in a 5X5, MLB league with only nine participants. Question: I see eight
stud third basemen and don’t want to get stuck with the ninth-best if it’s a steep
drop-off. The top eight, as I see it, are Chipper, Pujols, Glaus, Nevin,
Rolen, Chavez, Koskie, Ramirez.
Question one: Can I really count on Ramirez & Koskie to perform as well as
last year and therefore be in the same league as the top six?
Two: If Beltre is #9, should I believe the hype about him about to break out
this year into a 30-30 guy. Is he really as young as reported? Can this guy
produce in a park and lineup not conducive to breakout offensive seasons?
I think it’s unlikely that Koskie or Ramirez will match last year’s numbers, but I think they’re both solid players. Ramirez should see a dropoff in batting average. Koskie is more of a production thing. Most guys don’t suddenly do all that more hitting without falling back a little bit. But some guys do. There isn’t really anything weird about Koskie’s performance except that the increase was so sudden.
Beltre is that rare Dominican player who actually said he was older than he was. The lie, and the Dodgers’ cover up of it, cost the team the right to sign South American players and some cash. It also got Beltre a nice fat contract.
He missed spring training last year because of illness. He is a totally first rate prospect who is being run down this year for reasons that aren’t apparent to me. I’d say you should consider him an equal of Ramirez, perhaps a few steals behind Koskie. If he goes much more cheaply than the other two he’s the one you want.