2011 midseason positional rankings: top 15 third basemen

Nick J. Faleris
April 17, 2011
 

Presented below are the DiamondScape Scouting midseason positional rankings for the 2011 draft class. We will be rolling out our top 15 catchers, first basemen, second basemen third basemen and shortstops, our top 30 outfielders, and our top 50 pitchers as of mid-April 2011. This series will culminate with our overall midseason top 300 draft prospects, which will post April 25-27, 2011:

Positional Rankings:  c  |  1b  | 2b  |  3b  |  ss  |  of  | p 
Midseason Top 300:  1 - 100  |  101 - 200  |  201 - 300

Rendon still ahead of the pack...
 
Anthony Rendon (Rice Univ.) has suffered through a sore shoulder that has limited him to DH activities for the most part, this spring.  Additionally, he is being pitched around in prolific fashion, already drawing 57 walks in 40 games.  While scouts would undoubtedly like a look at a fully-healthy, and fully challenged Rendon, the preseason player of the year has a track record and a tool set loud enough for him to maintain his placing as the top positional talent in the class.  Javier Baez (Arlington Country Day School, Jacksonville, Fla.) put together a highly impressive spring, and likely has solidified a spot somewhere in the 1st Round come June, along with fellow Florida prepster and #1 overall shortstop Francisco Lindor (Montverde Academy, Montverde, Fla.).  Baez projects to a higher impact bat than Lindor, though his glove is a step behind with his actions potentially limiting him to second base or third, long term.  Jason Esposito (Vanderbilt Univ.) and B.A. Vollmuth (Southern Mississippi Univ.) continue to earn mixed reviews, offensively, with too many empty swings to go along with inconsistencies in their respective approaches.  Both should be able to hold down third base, defensively, but the pressure will be on their bat to produce in a high-impact corner spot.  Jake Hager (Sierra Vista HS, Las Vegas, Nev.) and Hunter Cole (Dorman HS, Roebuck, S.C.) enter the top 15 for the first time this year.  Hager, a shortstop on his high school team, has enough arm to slide over to the hot corner should his broad frame fill out to the detriment of his range.  Cole, already in possession of a thick build, has hands best suited for the hot corner to go along with a bat that projects well to a corner.  Travis Harrison (Tustin HS, Tustin, Calif.) and Cody Asche (Univ. of Nebraska) have shown well with the stick, but drop in the midseason positional rankings due to growing questions as to their ability to avoid a shift to first base.  Harold Martinez (Univ. of Miami) drops just five spots despite a poor offensive spring thus far.  There is still potential for plus power and above-average defense, but he needs to start turning things around sooner rather than later if he is to grab a spot in the first three rounds.  The April 16 DSS Draft Blog entry explores nine of the below third basemen in more detail via a midseason stock up/stock down/stock hold piece.  The rankings below represent DiamondScape Scouting's midseason positional ranking for 2011 Rule 4 Draft-eligible amateurs only, with their preseason rankings in parentheses (green indicating a rise, red a fall and blue a hold in position):
  1. Anthony Rendon | Rice Univ. (1)
  2. Javier Baez | Arlington Country Day Sch., Jacksonville, Fla. (2)
  3. Jason Esposito | Vanderbilt Univ. (3)
  4. Matt Skole | Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) (6)
  5. Jake Hager | Sierra Vista HS, Las Vegas, Nev. (NR)
  6. Tyler Goeddel | St. Francis HS, Mountain View, Calif. (7)
  7. B.A. Vollmuth | Univ. of Southern Mississippi (4)
  8. Brad Miller | Clemson Univ. (12)
  9. Dante Bichette, Jr. | Orangewood Christian HS, Maitland, Fla. (8)
  10. Harold Martinez | Univ. of Miami (5)
  11. Matthew Dean | The Colony HS, The Colony, Texas (14)
  12. Steve Proscia | Univ. of Virginia (13)
  13. Cody Asche | Univ. of Nebraska (9)
  14. Hunter Cole | Dorman HS, Roebuck, S.C. (NR)
  15. Travis Harrison | Tustin HS, Tustin, Calif. (10)
 Dropped Out: John Hinson | Clemson Univ. (11); Travis Shaw | Kent St. Univ. (15)
 
 Top tools
 Hit: Anthony Rendon | Rice Univ.

 Power:

 Anthony Rendon | Rice Univ.
 Speed: Anthony Rendon | Rice Univ.
 Arm: Anthony Rendon |Rice Univ.
 Defense: Anthony Rendon | Rice Univ.
 

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Rankings/RankingsArticle3BRendon.JPG
Anthony Rendon (photo by Nick J. Faleris)

Top Prospect:  Anthony Rendon | Rice Univ.
Scouting Report Summary (full scouting report here):  The story this spring has been a sore shoulder for the five-tool third baseman, which has kept him in the DH role for most of the season.  Perhaps stemming from the sore shoulder, Rendon's power numbers have fallen off drastically, with his isolated power dropping from a whopping .407 to a merely impressive .178.  Barring troublesome medical reports come draft time, there is little concern that this will have a long term effect on Rendon's game.  Provide the shoulder checks-out, he is easily the top position player in the draft class, arguably the top player overall, and on par with the likes of Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg in terms of future potential and draft time skill set.  Rendon is the rare five-tool talent with game changing ability in each category (he was clocked at 4.2 seconds home-to-first a number of times last year, during the USA CNT Trials and twice this spring), and an intricate feel for the game on defense, in the batters box and on the basepaths.  He has a chance to move quickly once he signs and could be a perennial All-Star at the Major League level.
 
Preseason Rankings
Positional Rankings: 
c  |  1b  | 2b  |  3b  |  ss  |  of  | p 
Top 300: 


 
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