Whoa.
As long as you get one of The Next-Best Things at a position, you feel like you did OK there, right? That’s kind of my minimum threshold for a standard mixed-league roster -- one that’s not always attainable but, you know ... it’s ideal.
Don’t have to worry about it at third base. A full 18 players meet that distinction here, two more than at first base and at least four more than at every other infield spot.
If you’re wondering how you might fill your DH spot on Draft Day, this is a good place to start.
The Elite: Nolan Arenado, Josh Donaldson, Kris Bryant, Manny Machado
The Near-Elite: Matt Carpenter, Kyle Seager, Alex Bregman, Jonathan Villar, Adrian Beltre
The Next-Best Things: Todd Frazier, Evan Longoria, Anthony Rendon, Justin Turner, Jose Ramirez, Eduardo Nunez, Jung Ho Kang, Miguel Sano, Maikel Franco
The Fallback Options: Jake Lamb, Yoan Moncada, Jose Reyes, Yulieski Gurriel, Yangervis Solarte, Hernan Perez
The Last Resorts: Ryon Healy, Mike Moustakas, Nick Castellanos, Javier Baez, Brandon Drury
The Leftovers: Joey Gallo, Eugenio Suarez, Jedd Gyorko, Martin Prado, Jurickson Profar, Travis Shaw, Matt Duffy, Jhonny Peralta, Adonis Garcia, Pablo Sandoval, Chase Headley, Yunel Escobar, David Wright, David Freese, Danny Valencia
Third base will be the most drafted position in the first round, with all four of The Elite coming off the board. So really, it’s the deepest from top to bottom.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t gain an advantage there. As full as every tier is, the distinctions between them are about as well defined as at any position. So any time one is nearing completion is the perfect time to pounce.
And since you know you’ll likely be drafting more than one anyway, you don’t necessarily have to wait until the end of a tier. Like Bregman’s upside even with Seager and Beltre still on the board? Well, who could blame you? It doesn’t mean you can’t grab one of those other two the next round, particularly if you play in a Rotisserie league that requires an extra corner infielder. It just depends how the tiers are shaping up at the other positions.
You may even stumble into a third baseman in your pursuit of those other positions. Of the 18 contained in the first three tiers, six -- Bryant, Machado, Carpenter, Villar, Ramirez, Nunez and Sano -- are eligible elsewhere, so even in the unlikely event that those tiers deplete faster than expected, the versatility can help you capitalize on inefficiencies elsewhere, like at second base with Carpenter.
The Fallback Options offer plenty of upside, with Lamb performing like an All-Star for the first half last year, Reyes producing like those in the tier above him for the two-thirds of the year he was active, and Moncada rating as the No. 1 prospect coming into 2017. Even The Last Resorts aren’t exactly chumps, with each showing the potential for 20-plus homers with full-time at-bats.
Bottom line is you’ll have a really hard time messing up third base in 2017, and yet the distribution of talent is so even that you wouldn’t want to wait forever to dip into it either. Anticipate drafting more than one, but if other positions keep demanding your attention, no biggie. You’ll probably still land a good one without even trying.