All-Star Preview: Third Base

This week, we're taking a look at the ABL's many potential All-Stars. We're checking out the hot corner today. As always, argue your picks in the comments!

Which third basemen should make the All-Star team from the Roberto Clemente League? Two men rise above the rest:

PLAYER                   AB   R HR RBI   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+
Scott Andrews, CAR      222  28  6  26 .275 .339 .437 .776  105
Jeffrey Hensley, SOC    288  50  8  24 .333 .383 .472 .856  126
Salvador Salgado, SEA   283  49 18  69 .318 .398 .537 .935  146
Millard Shafer, MTL     198  27  3  28 .323 .364 .424 .789  109
Eric Williams, MON      207  32  6  28 .256 .319 .440 .759  100

Scott Andrews, Millard Shafer, and Eric Williams are all having decent seasons, but I mostly put them in for the sake of comparison. Salvador Salgado and Jeffrey Hensley have clearly played a notch or two above their peers in the RCL, and these are the two who should make the All-Star team.

Salvador Salgado

Salgado's numbers have certainly been helped by playing in Seattle: 12 of his 18 home runs have come at home. Still, his road OPS (.812) shows that he's been doing his fair share of damage at other parks. He is second among all RCL batters in RBI.

If So Cal teammate Alfredo Yánez is Batman, then Hensley is Robin. Hensley has been doing a great job of setting the table for the middle of the order—unfortunately, Yánez is the only one in the middle of that order who can hit. Hensley leads all RCL third basemen in runs scored.

Third base is one of the strongest positions in the Thurmon Munson League. A whole plethora of candidates can make the argument that they should be on the All-Star squad:

PLAYER                   AB   R HR RBI   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+

Valentín Cabrera, SFE   229  30 10  48 .262 .317 .454 .772  103

Kevin Carey, LAS        226  48  5  35 .319 .442 .482 .925  146
Eduardo Gómez, EUR      291  35  9  49 .296 .333 .491 .825  116

Víctor Ramírez, CAB     287  35  4  53 .334 .388 .463 .851  126

Miguel Ramos, BOS       205  31  4  28 .288 .372 .454 .825  119
Gunner Smart, SOU       262  38 15  43 .240 .301 .489 .789  106
Roberto Sosa, JAC       253  46 10  34 .320 .386 .498 .884  133

Kevin Carey

The best third basemen in the ABL as ranked by WAR is ... Roberto Sosa. He's ranked ahead of Kevin Carey, and I'm having a hard time figuring out why. Both are good with the glove (Sosa is a shade better). Carey's better on-base skills (.442 OBP!) more than make up for Sosa's edge in slugging. Is it the home ballparks? Not really. Sosa's home/road OPS splits are .879/.890; Casey's are .938/.914. The Jokers look to be well-represented on the All-Star team, but Carey certainly looks like an All-Star starter to me.

If we are electing one player from every team, then Eduardo Gómez deserves some serious consideration. He has been Eureka's best player this season. He leads all third basemen with 24 doubles, hence his .491 SLG.

Víctor Ramírez also has a strong claim to make. His on-base skills and doubles power make him a perfect fit for Field de Los Layendas.

These four are the top candidates, but the others are having good seasons as well. Valentín Cabrera plays best defense of any third baseman. Gunner Smart is a classic slugger with 15 home runs. Miguel Ramos is very similar to Ramírez: on-base skills and doubles power.

What do you think?