Third base is a little bit like shortstop in that both position groups have a strong 1-2 punch at the top followed quickly by a lot of intriguing yet imperfect prospects that could be ranked in just about any order from around 3-15. To take the comparison further, both position groups have a slam dunk defensive keeper at the top (Trea Turner, Matt Chapman) ahead of a player with more in the way of defensive questions (Joey Pankake, Taylor Sparks). I happen to think Pankake can stick at shortstop, but I’m far less optimistic about Sparks’ chances of staying in the dirt. Next update will probably have him with the outfielders, but laziness on my end keeps him at the hot corner for now. Chapman’s slow start bums me out, but I’m still a believer in his skill set translating really well to the next level and would think he’s still a big target for teams in the second to third round range looking for their first college bat.

I’ve written an obscene amount on Zach Houchins over the past three years, so, if new, feel free to check the archives for why I continue to talk him up more than any other source out there. The short version is simple: good glove, strong arm, smart hitter, long track record of success. The only knock on him that I’ll cop to is his lack of traditional power at the hot corner, but his experience at different defensive spots could help make him a super-utility man at the next level. Chesny Young has a very similar basic scouting profile, so it’s no shock that I like him more than most as well. Spencer Mahoney is cut from a similar cloth. Dustin DeMuth’s approach has gone so far south this year to the point that his swing at anything remotely resembling a strike style of hitting (3 BB/19 K so far) now overshadows his power upside and underrated athleticism for a big man. Freshmen who can run, defend, flash power, and take a pitch (56 walks!) tend to fall high up on my rankings. Landon Lassiter’s outstanding first year in Chapel Hill still carries more weight than his avert your eyes start to 2014, but, as a player with less of a track record than many of his draft class peers, this situation is one worth monitoring.

Doing the research on this shows that this class clearly lacks a whole lot of impact talent at the top. The next tier down (rounds 3-7 approximately) has a lot of the names covered so far. That leaves us what I think may be this draft’s sweet spot for college third basemen. Senior signs like Shane Kennedy (bonus points for defensive versatility), Michael Hill (legit tools, so-so production to date), Jake Barrios (similar to Kennedy in my mind), Alberto Morales (love the glove), and Sam Koenig (confession: growing up on Scott Rolen has me drawn to big 3B in a weird way…and Koenig at 6-5, 220 qualifies) could all make more noise in pro ball than some of the “bigger” names (relatively speaking) selected ahead of them. I can’t not mention Austin Slater, a former HS star who took a little time to get going but is now doing good work at Stanford.

1. Cal State Fullerton JR 3B/RHP Matt Chapman
2. UC Irvine JR 3B Taylor Sparks
3. Mercer JR 3B/SS Chesny Young
4. Indiana SR 3B/SS Dustin DeMuth
5. North Carolina SO 3B/2B Landon Lassiter
6. East Carolina SR 3B/SS Zach Houchins
7. Virginia JR 3B Kenny Towns
8. Florida State JR 3B/OF Jose Brizuela
9. College of Charleston rJR 3B/OF Brandon Glazer
10. Valparaiso JR 3B/SS Spencer Mahoney
11. Oral Roberts JR 3B/C Jose Trevino
12. Gonzaga JR 3B Mitchell Gunsolus
13. Clemson SR 3B/2B Shane Kennedy
14. Long Beach State SR 3B/SS Michael Hill
15. Stanford JR 3B/OF Austin Slater
16. Texas Tech SR 3B/SS Jake Barrios
17. San Diego State JR 3B Ryan Muno
18. Florida International rJR 3B Josh Anderson
19. College of Charleston rSO 3B/SS Morgan Phillips
20. Texas-Pan American SR 3B Alberto Morales
21. Wisconsin-Milwaukee SR 3B Sam Koenig
22. James Madison SR 3B/RHP Ty McFarland
23. Wright State JR 3B Michael Timm
24. San Diego JR 3B/SS Andrew Daniel
25. Wichita State rJR 3B Chase Simpson
26. Mississippi SR 3B/OF Preston Overbey
27. Washington State rSO 3B Nick Tanielu
28. Eastern Illinois JR 3B Brant Valach
29. USC SR 3B Kevin Swick
30. Duke SR 3B Jordan Betts
31. Auburn SR 3B/RHP Damek Tomscha
32. Washington JR 3B Andrew Ely
33. Florida JR 3B/2B Josh Tobias
34. Tennessee JR 3B/OF Will Maddox
35. Louisiana-Lafayette JR 3B Tyler Girouard
36. Louisiana State SR 3B/SS Christian Ibarra
37. Cal Poly SR 3B/2B Jimmy Allen
38. Rice SR 3B Shane Hoelscher
39. Seton Hall SR 3B Chris Selden
40. Arkansas State rJR 3B Zach George
41. Florida rJR 3B/2B Zack Powers
42. Mississippi State SR 3B Alex Detz
43. UC Davis SR 3B/2B Steve Patterson
44. Seton Hall JR 3B Kyle Grimm
45. Miami SR 3B Brad Fieger
46. Virginia Commonwealth SR 3B Joey Cujas
47. Charleston Southern SR 3B/SS Alex Tomasovich
48. UNC Wilmington SR 3B/C Ryan LaGrange
49. North Florida JR 3B/RHP Drew Weeks
50. George Mason SR 3B Blaise Fernandez
51. Southern Illinois SR 3B Donny Duschinsky
52. San Francisco JR 3B/2B Brendan Hendriks
53. Canisius JR 3B Jesse Puscheck
54. Appalachian State SR 3B Noah Holmes
55. Western Kentucky SR 3B/SS Scott Wilcox
56. San Francisco JR 3B Bob Cruikshank
57. Radford rSO 3B Zach Woolcock
58. Kansas State rSR 3B RJ Santigate
59. TCU JR 3B/2B Derek Odell
60. Portland JR 3B Cody Lenahan
61. Oregon State SR 3B/RHP Jerad Casper
62. Utah SR 3B/C TJ Bennett
63. TCU JR 3B Connor Castellano
64. Campbell SR 3B Elijah Trail
65. Georgia Southern SR 3B/2B Ben Morgan
66. Marist SR 3B Nick McQuail
67. New Orleans JR 3B Jonathan Coco
68. Houston Baptist JR 3B/RHP 3B Josh Martinez
69. Sam Houston State JR 3B/SS Carter Burgess
70. Old Dominion SR 3B Jordan Negrini
71. Sacramento State SR 3B Will Soto
72. Nicholls State SR 3B/RHP Brandon Jackson
73. Army JR 3B Harold Earls
74. Delaware State SR 3B/C Cameron Cecil
75. Miami (Ohio) SR 3B Dan Walsh
76. Eastern Kentucky SR 3B Bryan Soloman
77. Belmont rJR 3B Greg Brody
78. Missouri SR 3B Shane Segovia
79. South Alabama JR 3B/RHP Bud Collura
80. Samford rJR 3B Tyler Filliben
81. Arkansas-Pine Bluff JR 3B/SS Nate Ross
82. Samford rJR 3B Tripp Martin
83. Texas A&M JR 3B/RHP Logan Nottebrok