And we’ve reached our final top 20 recap for the infield. You’ll never guess where we go next. Did you just say outfield? Okay, so you’re a good guesser. If you exclude the top 20 catchers, because who cares, 2nd basemen were the shallowest position. I know I said I was shocked when I went over them, but, guess what? Still shocked! Shortstops are now a stacked position. 1st basemen? Not stacked. 3rd basemen? Almost exactly the same as 1st basemen. If I had to rank the infield from least to best: Catchers, 2B, 3B, 1B, SS. 1st base had an extra dollar of value at the backend, but very close. To recap my recap before the recap, this final ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. This is not for next year. Anyway, here’s the top 20 3rd basemen for 2024 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
1. Jose Ramirez – As good as the 3rd basemen were, there were a ton of flops: Austin Riley, Royce Lewis, Ke’Bryan, Kim (if you briefly thought, “Who is Ke’Bryan Kim?” don’t skim commas), Gorman, Keith, Muncy and Jeimer. Those were from the preseason top 20. Some were so bad you were siting there for a second thinking, “How are they busts? They were never good, were they?” Some of their seasons erased past memories of good. One guy was so bad you might be thinking to yourself, “Who is Keith? Keith David, the actor?” As for JoJoRam, dude’s a beast. An underrated king. A giant amongst guys who have cucked Tim Anderson. Who silently goes 40/40? He’s deadlier than a fart. In a career of excellent seasons, he just had his best. Most years, he would’ve been the best hitter in fantasy. Preseason Rank #1, 2024 Projections: 91/28/104/.286/26 in 605 ABs, Final Numbers: 114/39/118/.279/41 in 620 ABs
2. Elly De La Cruz – Already went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2024 fantasy baseball.
3. Gunnar Henderson – Already went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2024 fantasy baseball.
4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2024 fantasy baseball.
5. Manny Machado – My projections were pretty flat for Machado. I underestimated him in nearly every regard. Underestimating a player who is coming off an injury is a blind spot. Likely not just for me, but I don’t care about your blind spots. Though, I am slightly curious about your blind spots if you drive a Cybertruck. It’s like you’re driving with Dark Helmet’s peripheral vision. Any hoo! Machado continued to do what he’s done for over ten years now, and we (all of us now) seem to underrate him. Preseason Rank #8, 2024 Projections: 71/30/82/.261/3 in 502 ABs, Final Numbers: 77/29/105/.275/11 in 593 ABs
6. Jazz Chisholm Jr. – He had 100 more at-bats than I projected him for but basically the same amount of power and moved to an easier stadium for power. That is something that I’m gonna think about more than I care to admit (3 mins). That he stole so many more bags? Just goes to what I have been saying: Steals are about want more than ability. That goes for Chapman too. Most players can steal 25 bags in today’s game with the pitch clock, if they want. If they’re fast, they could steal 40 bags without much effort. That Jazz cut his Ks and upped his walks is nice, and I’m glad he stayed on the field. If you can’t see me, I’m making Jazz hands. If you can see me, can you stop illegally spying on me from my laptop camera? Preseason Rank #16 for OF, 2024 Projections: 71/25/74/.247/25 in 451 ABs, Final Numbers: 74/24/73/.256/40 in 562 ABs
7. Eugenio Suarez – Through June 30th, his stats were 29/6/32/.196/2 in 315 plate appearances. If you traded for him on July 1st, you are a witch and I will burn you at the stake unless you help me win the lottery. It’s not a crime because I am telling you I will do it. That’s a legal caveat. Like if you’re a cop, you have to tell me. Eugenio’s stats from July 1st through the end of the year were better than Alec Bohm’s stats and down on this list. Sorry, that is nuts. Preseason Rank #27, 2024 Projections: 77/27/86/.227/2 in 573 ABs, Final Numbers: 90/30/101/.256/2 in 571 ABs
8. Matt Chapman – His steals are so absurd. There’s layers of absurdity. Giants don’t run, Chapman doesn’t run, he’s not fast, he wasn’t caught much. That he’s sniffing distance to Trea Turner’s steals total this year? Absurd. He had 11 steals coming into this year combined for his career — in 7 years! Absurd. At 26 years of age, he stole one bag in 156 games. At 31, he stole 15? Absurd. Preseason Rank #26, 2024 Projections: 68/25/79/.236/3 in 517 ABs, Final Numbers: 98/27/78/.247/15 in 575 ABs
9. Rafael Devers – Basically the reverse Eugenio, though just slightly later in the year (thankfully, if you rostered Devers). From August 1st until he called it a wrap: 18/4/14/.205/1 in 183 plate appearances. Calling up the cops and asking them to arrest Devers for murdering our H2H teams. Will say one thing about his August-til-end numbers, they make his end-of-the-year more impressive because of what he dragged them down to. Gonna be so hard to trust his shoulder to be okay next year, and honestly might be a game-time decision before each March draft. Preseason Rank #3, 2024 Projections: 97/35/95/.289/5 in 591 ABs, Final Numbers: 87/28/83/.272/3 in 525 ABs
10. Spencer Steer – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2024 fantasy baseball.
11. Alex Bregman – If you took someone who never watched a game of baseball in their life and asked them to guess Bregman’s projections each year, I’m pretty sure they could do it. Though, I guess it depends on where he signs:
Alex Bregman getting $275 million over eight years from the Rockies and becoming a -0.1 WAR player is gonna hit like crack
— Razzball (@Razzball) October 3, 2024
Preseason Rank #10, 2024 Projections: 96/25/86/.258/4 in 577 ABs, Final Numbers: 79/26/75/.260/3 in 581 ABs
12. Alec Bohm – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2024 fantasy baseball.
13. Jake Burger – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2024 fantasy baseball.
14. Maikel Garcia – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2024 fantasy baseball.
15. Mark Vientos – This is 1,00,000% about this past year, but also: Can I draft Vientos for next year right now? Though, there’s gonna be some dummies who see his 29.7 K% and think he might hit .215 next year. Wait, why do I feel like I’m one of those dummies? Ugh, I am, amn’t I? What, is amn’t not a word? Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 58/27/71/.266 in 413 ABs
16. Willi Castro – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2024 fantasy baseball.
17. Nolan Arenado – Few of you prolly remember this, but I said Arenado was a schmohawk and overrated going into the 2023 season, but he managed to stave off his seriously terrible peripherals for one more year until it all came crashing down this year. I have it all in writing. Here, I’ll show you over by this open window–NOOOOO!!! Torenado! Preseason Rank #9, 2024 Projections: 73/26/92/.257/4 in 541 ABs, Final Numbers: 70/16/71/.272/2 in 578 ABs
18. Michael Busch – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2024 fantasy baseball.
19. Matt Vierling – Unranked in the preseason with an asterisk. I did rank him (43rd) and projected him (62/12/55/.258/8 in 443 ABs) but removed him late because the Tigers signed Urshela. If you wanted to draft Vierling but didn’t because of me, I apologize to his close personal friends and family, as I doubt anyone else considered it. Even his stats that he ended up with are confusing at best with how they ended up ranked in the top 20 for 3rd basemen, but that sorta goes to his runs and RBIs, which are all fueled by ABs. If you knew who would get 500+ABs in March, you’d finish at least top five in your league. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 80/16/57/.257/6 in 518 ABs
20. Josh H. Smith – Is it me or does anyone who uses an H. middle initial make it sound like you’re screaming it? It’s not? Cool. Josh Hell Smith seemed blocked by Josh Jung in the preseason, which is why he’s unranked. With Jung’s injury history, I should’ve gave Josh Hell Smith more of a chance of at-bats. Jung only made it four games into the season before missing four months. As for Josh Hell Smith, he ended up with more ABs than Vierling and less value so, well, see ya in the comments! Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 67/13/62/.258/11 in 523 ABs
