Third base was once one of the deeper positions in baseball, but that no longer is the case. There are a lot of question marks and risks, but not as many sure thing stars. With that said, let’s take a look at how I’d rank things at this point for 2010:

Alex Rodriguez – New York Yankees Evan Longoria – Tampa Bay Rays David Wright – New York Mets Mark Reynolds – Arizona Diamondbacks Kevin Youkilis – Boston Red Sox Ryan Zimmerman – Washington Nationals Pablo Sandoval – San Francisco Giants Aramis Ramirez – Chicago Cubs Chone Figgins – Seattle Mariners Gordon Beckham – Chicago White Sox Ian Stewart – Colorado Rockies Michael Young – Texas Rangers Jhonny Peralta – Cleveland Indians Jorge Cantu – Florida Marlins Kevin Kouzmanoff – San Diego Padres

Thoughts:

David Wright vs. Mark Reynolds is an interesting debate, isn’t it? Will Wright rebound from his 2009 disaster? Will Reynolds be able to maintain the numbers he posted in 2009? While Reynolds will likely have more home runs, I believe Wright will beat him out in stolen bases and significantly in the average department. That gives him a slight edge, though we will take a closer look in the near future.

Youkilis, Zimmerman and Sandoval are all basically on the same level in my opinion. That means you can basically flip a coin in deciding which you’d prefer. For now I’ve got them in this order, with Youkilis’ supporting cast giving him an edge, but what about you? Which of the three would you rather have?

Want speed from the position? Is there anyone better than Figgins, who now posts a tremendous 1-2 punch at the top of the Mariners order with Ichiro?

At his age and with his injury history, does anyone really trust drafting Jones as a starting player? I just can’t do it.

We’ve discussed Kouzmanoff already, someone who is a tremendous sleeper late in your draft (click here to read). While he’s not a great option to select as a starter, I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to grab him as backup (especially if you miss out on the first nine guys) or maybe as a corner infielder.

What are your thoughts on the early rankings? Who is too high? Who is too low? Who was omitted that shouldn’t have been?

Previous Early Rankings:

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