Year in and year out, third base bring some of baseball's brightest young stars to the forefront. With big leaguers Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Zimmerman and Alex Gordon leading the way, Evan Longoria, Andy LaRoche and Brandon Wood not too far behind, and the likes of Josh Vitters and Pedro Alvarez on the horizon, this year's class of third basemen is as coveted as any.
Notes: The level that appears following each player's name is the highest level where the player has registered over 100 plate appearances. We used an age cutoff of April 1st, 2008.
1. Miguel Cabrera, DET (4/18/83) - MLB
There's seemingly endless reasons to be enamored with Miguel Cabrera — well, 153,300,000 reasons to be exact. While it seems like he's been dominating baseball for ages, Cabrera is still just 24 years of age. The Maracay, Venezuela native went an impressive .320/.400/.565 for the Marlins last season, and has a .313/.388/.542 vital line in his five-year big league career. Cabrera's power is undeniable, and he's making strides with his plate discipline, too — Cabrera has raised his BB% in each of the last three seasons (9.3% in '05 vs. 14.5% in '07). Listed as a 6-foot-4, 240-pounder by most sources, Cabrera spent the offseason getting in shape — yet another reason for those outside of Detroit to be afraid of this phenom.
2. Ryan Zimmerman, WSH (9/28/84) - MLB
Playing as a 21-year-old major league rookie, Ryan Zimmerman became one of the most intriguing young third basemen in the game by going .287/.345/.471 — he regressed a bit to .266/.330/.458 last year. He's still just as intriguing, but for some slightly less optimistic reasons. A 6-foot-3, 210-pounder, Zimmerman had surgery to repair his hamate bone this offseason — twice. While the current state of his wrist may be a tad unsettling, it doesn't take anything away from the former first rounder's (2005, No. 4 overall) long-term potential. As good a hitter as the University of Virginia product is, his defense may be better, making Zimmerman one of the top all-around third basemen in the game.
3. Evan Longoria, TB (10/7/85) - AAA
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2006 draft, Evan Longoria needed just one full season as a professional to cement his name among baseball's best prospects. A product of Long Beach State, Longoria went .299/.402/.520 in 580 combined plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A last year. A strong combination of power (.221 IsoP in '07) and patience (12.6% BB rate in '07), Longoria will open the 2008 season in Triple-A, but we wouldn't be surprised if this stay in Durham is a relatively short one.
4. Alex Gordon, KC (2/10/84) - MLB
After going .325/.426/.588 — collecting 69 XBH and netting a 12.5% BB rate — in Double-A as a first-year pro, the sky was the limit for Alex Gordon's potential. Then it wasn't. Taken No. 2 overall in the 2005 draft, Gordon could muster only a .247/.313/.411 line with the Royals last season. His IsoP fell from .263 to .164 and his once impressive walk rate dropped to 7.5%. Despite finishing the season with zero homers to the opposite field, the Lincoln, Nebr. native showed some of his power potential to close out the season, slugging .490 and .456 in August and September, respectively.
5. Andy LaRoche, LAD (9/13/83) - MLB
When Nomar Garciaparra went down with a microfracture in his right hand on Mar. 19, there was finally a slot open at third base for Andy LaRoche. Too bad LaRoche had gone down with a torn ligament in his right thumb 11 days prior. A 6-foot-1, 215-pounder, LaRoche is expected to miss the first two months of the season — a season after dealing with a torn left labrum. When healthy, however, LaRoche is one of the top hitting prospects in baseball. Playing through injury, the Fort Scott, Kans. native posted a .309/.399/.589 line with a .417 wOBA (311 plate appearances) in Triple-A last season. If LaRoche can ever stay healthy, it'll be major league pitchers who are doing the hurting.
6. Brandon Wood, LAA (3/2/85) - AAA
In case you missed it, the 2007 season didn't exactly go as Brandon Wood hoped it would. Expected by many to make an impact with the Angels last season, 488 of Wood's 521 plate appearances came in Triple-A. While he did improve his LD rate (19% in '07 vs. 14% in '06) and cut down on his strikeouts (24.5% vs. 28.5%), the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder finished with just a .272/.338/.497 line — he went .152/.152/.273 in his 33 plate appearances with the Angels. We still expect the former first rounder (2003, 23rd overall) to hit for power (.225 Triple-A IsoP) at the next level, but everything else is still up in the air at this point.
7. Josh Vitters, CHC (5/4/89) - HS
Taken 3rd overall by the Cubs last June, Josh Vitters posted a .118/.164/.118 vital line in 51 plate appearances last season. And that's where we expect his struggles to end. A 6-foot-3, 210-pounder out of Cypress (Calif.) High School, Vitters was one of the most polished high school hitters in the 2007 Draft class. Projected to hit for both power and average, we expect Josh Vitters to be mentioned among the Top 25 prospects in all of baseball by season's end.
8. Pedro Alvarez, VAN (2/6/87) - NCAA
Projected by many to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 Draft, Pedro Alvarez broke his hamate bone on Feb. 22 in Vanderbilt's opener against Oregon State. The injury shouldn't hurt his draft stock, but it is going to make it hard for him to improve it. The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder went .385/.463/.684 for the Commodores last season before posting a .315/.399/.551 line for Team USA over the summer in a pitcher-friendly format. If the New York, N.Y. native returns to the lineup mashing at a similar rate, it will be hard for the Tampa Bay Rays to pass on him with the first overall pick this June.
9. Mark Reynolds, ARZ (8/3/83) - MLB
In 1,216 career MiLB at-bats, Mark Reynolds posted a .279/.349/.495 vital line. In his first 418 plate appearances as a major leaguer last season, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder went .279/.348/.495. How's that for consistency? Reynolds really started coming along in the high minors, netting .400 wOBA in 155 Double-A plate appearances last season to earn a trip to the Diamondbacks lineup. His .386 BABIP in the majors leaves some questioning his success, but his 20% LD rate suggests that he's simply hitting the ball really, really hard. Reynolds struck out a ton with the D-Backs (30.9% overall, 38.8% in August), but has the power potential — and developing patience — to become one of those classic "Three True Outcomes" types: he'll simply homer, walk and strikeout.
10. Billy Rowell, BAL (9/10/88) - A
Oblique injury during spring training: check. Playing time at one of MiLB's tougher parks to hit in: check. A serious comeback season on the horizon: check. The new poster child for Murphy's Law's "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" philosophy, Bill Rowell finished out the 2007 season with a .271/.335/.424 vital line in 293 plate appearances. Now healthy and playing his home games outside Delmarvia, we expect to see what Rowell is really capable of as he rebounds this season.
11. Chase Headley, SD (5/9/84) - AA
It's hard to find anything wrong with Chase Headley's .330/.437/.580 vital, .250 IsoP and 15.3% BB rate last season. Well, here goes nothing. Headley, who turns 24 in a little over a month, has yet to play a game at the Triple-A level. And while that 2007 line is certainily impressive, a .411 BABIP for a below-average runner suggests that Headley was more than a tad lucky. In short, Headley was impressive last season — we just want to see him be impressive in Triple-A before we get too excited.
12. Matt Dominguez, FLA (8/28/89) - HS
The second high school third baseman taken in last year's draft (No. 12 overall pick), Matt Dominguez did his best Josh Vitters impression after begin drafted. After playing alongside Mike Moustakas at Chatsworth (Calif.) High School, Dominguez went .158/.183/.246 in his first 60 professional plate appearances. A good defender with power potential, we expect Dominguez's early stuggles to become a distant memory this season.
13. Mat Gamel, MIL (7/26/85) - A+
Saying that Mat Gamel's offensive showing last season was impressive would be an understatement. A 6-foot, 205-pounder, Gamel posted a .300/.376/.472 vital line. As if those numbers weren't impressive enough, Gamel put them up with High-A Brevard County of the Florida State League — a league known for limiting power. He then went .333/.410/.608 in 33 Hawaiian Winter League contests. However, Gamel is a 22-year-old without a single plate appearance above High-A, meaning he'll have to start slugging in the upper minors — and fast — to project as an above-average big league hitter.
14. Neil Walker, PIT (9/10/85) - AA
If it feels like Neil Walker has been around forever, well, he kind of has been. A former first round pick (2004, 11th overall), Walker has 1,542 MiLB at-bats — and only 64 of those at-bats have come in Triple-A. His career vital isn't bad, but isn't really that impressive, either: .283/.333/.430. Walker had one of his better seasons as a pro last year, going .288/.361/.462 in 493 Double-A plate appearances before falling off to a .203/.261/.250 line in Triple-A (69 PA).
15. Ian Stewart, COL (4/5/85) - AAA
Ian Stewart obliterated the South Atlantic League, slugging 30 homers en route to a .319/.398/.594 vital line. The problem, however, is that happend back in 2004 — and in a great venue for hitters. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder posted a solid but not stellar .304/.376/.478 line with a .358 wOBA in Triple-A last year — his best year since '04. Those numbers are nice, but like Walker, we'd like more out of a guy with 2,040 MiLB at-bats on his résumé.
Honorable Mentions: Todd Frazier (CIN), John Whittleman (TEX) and Wes Hodges (CLE)
Adam Loberstein can be reached at aloberstein@projectprospect.com.