Third Base

Going into the 2010 season the Mariners hoped Jose Lopez would be able to transition from second to third base after a great year offensively and defensively in 2009.

This did not work out so well. Jose Lopez saw his offense decrease in nearly every offensive category. His average dipped .033 points and he had 15 less homeruns. His final line was .239/.270/.339 in 622 plate appearances.



His defense was also disappointing. You could make a case to not slam him too much for his decline in defense due to the fact that he was playing 2^nd base the year before and this was his first time every playing 3^rd base. His fielding percentage dropped from .975 to .960. He had about the same amount of throwing errors as the year before but he had slightly more fielding errors.



Chone Figgins Fielding third for LAA



So the answer for 2011: Assuming that Ackley is moved to second base, the best bet is to move Chone Figgins to his natural position at third base and trade Jose Lopez for some prospects.

Despite having a very disappointing season last year, I think that Chone will feel more comfortable at third base. His last 3 seasons with the Angels in which he played primarily 3^rd base he posted the following averages; .330 in 2007, .276 in 2008, and .298 in 2009.

I don’t want you guys to think that I’m saying ones position directly affects a player’s offensive out put but it could possibly affect is his comfort and focus. A player learning a new position might be putting more focus on their fielding and less on their hitting. A player needs to be comfortable with all aspects of their game and if they are not comfortable with something it could trigger a domino effect hurting other parts of their game.

The way Figgins finished the 2010 season also shows promising signs of him returning to his typical offensive numbers. He improved his average nearly every month last year. He began the season hitting .210 the first two months. In September and October he hit .350. His speed was there all season posting 42 stolen bases which was tied with Ichiro for the most on the Mariners.

I predict and expect much bigger things this year from Figgins. He is a great candidate for comeback player of the year. My predictions for him are that he hits .289 with 46 stolen bases and 5 homeruns.

Let’s say Ackley doesn’t start at second base and Chone Figgins has to play second base opening day. There are some young guys that saw some time as September call-ups last year that are capable of playing 3^rd base.

The guys I am talking about are Matt Mangini and Matt Tuiasosopo. They did not put up very good offensive numbers in their short time with the Mariners but it is too small of a sample size to see what kind of player they could be. Neither one of these players are blue chip prospects with big expectations. They are at most solid utility men that will be seen playing a variety of positions. Both of these guys are on the 40 man roster and are both capable of holding down third base in the scenario that Ackley is at AAA and Figgins is at second base on opening day.

People might ask about the Mariners top third base prospect Alex Liddi but I just don’t think he is ready yet. He still strikes out far too many times to be major league ready and he needs to develop his power some more. He finished last year at AA so I assume he will begin the year at AAA and play most of the year there. We may see him as a possible September call up but he would only see occasional starts behind Figgins.

If Figgins puts up a great first half then I think he would draw lots of interest from teams at the deadline. It would be a smart move to trade Figgins, especially if his value is higher than it is now. I believe he would allow the Mariners to acquire some talented prospects and clear lots of salary space. That may be looking to far into the future so for now we will just look forward to opening day.

I really think that Chone Figgins will be the Mariners starting third baseman for the 2011 season and Ackley will be at second. I hope Figgins turns it around just as all other Mariners fans do.