A look at over/undervalued players at each position.

Next up in our look at MDC’s top 250 from Feb. 23rd are the 3rd basemen.

Overvalued

Mike Lowell (138th overall, 11th amongst 3B)- I thought everyone knew that last year’s performance would never come close to being repeated, but I guess some people think Lowell could come close again. A .342 BABIP for a career .293 hitter at age 34 means that obviously the average is dipping back closer to his .280 career mark. And for those who say “get your head out of the numbers, it’s obvious his swing is perfect for Fenway”, I’m pretty sure he also played for the Red Sox in 2006, when he only hit .284 with a .291 BABIP. And I doubt he repeats those 120 RBIs again, considering he only had 80 the year before. I’d much rather have any of a number of younger guys being drafted after him who have a good amount of upside.

Undervalued

Edwin Encarnacion (187, 14)- Good contact rate, decent power, and steals 10 bases. Only worry is Dusty Baker playing some crappy veteran after Edwin makes an error. No reason he should be going 40 picks after Alex Gordon who will provide similar value.

Hank Blalock (216, 16)- Sounds like he’s fully recovered from all his injuries, and his September return from surgery certainly suggests the same, as he posted a 1.061 OPS, with 5 HRs in 64 ABs. He’s certainly a risk as he seemed to be regressing since his ‘03 and ‘04 seasons, but some of that could be chalked up to playing through the injuries. At 216, doesn’t seem to be too much of a risk, and could certainly provide a big return.

Kevin Kouzmanoff (236, 18)- An excellent 2nd half (.870 OPS vs. .648 in the 1st half), with a much improved contact rate, rising over the 80% hump. Had only 484 ABs, so should increase his numbers across the board even with no skill improvement. Could hit 25 HRs with a .280 average, posting a value rivaling Mike Lowell.

Unfortunately no one outside the top 250 stood out enough to bring up. Next up will be OFers which I will be breaking up into two parts since there are too many of them. First will look at the overvalued and then the undervalued and those outside the top 250. Be sure to check back soon.

Questions, comments, criticisms, praise, expert league invitations? Email me at FBGeneralsMike@gmail.com.