Posted by Brian Joseph on Monday, August 3, 2009 at 9:36 pm

First, we covered first base and determined that Casey Kotchman in the NL and Paul Konerko in the AL “ranked out” as the best defensive options. Then we moved over to second base where Craig Counsell in the NL and Ian Kinsler in the AL “ranked out” as the best defensive options. Today, let’s take a look at baseball’s third basemen:

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1. Andy LaRoche, Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Bill Hall, Milwaukee Brewers
3. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
4. Casey Blake, Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Pedro Feliz, Philadelphia Phillies
6. Kevin Kouzmanoff, San Diego Padres
7. Ian Stewart, Colorado Rockies
8 (tie). Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs
8 (tie). Geoff Blum, Houston Astros
10. Joe Thurston, St. Louis Cardinals
11. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
12. David Wright, New York Mets
13. Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks
14. Emilio Bonifacio, Florida Marlins
15. Edwin Encarnacion, Cincinnati Reds
16. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves

ANALYSIS: Before looking at any data, if the conclusion was that anyone was better than Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman, I’d have a problem with it. However, Andy LaRoche and Bill Hall eclipsed Zimmerman in the rankings and, admittedly, my knowledge of LaRoche’s defense isn’t enough for me to refute the way things “ranked out.” Also, everything I’ve seen from Hall as a fielder hasn’t been disappointing (and he’s #2 in UZR/150 and #1 in RF/9).

Zimmerman has a stunning 64 OOZ plays which contributes heavily to perception since those are the types of plays that make the highlight film. Another player I expected to be high on the list was Pedro Feliz who was fifth. Of the top five, Casey Blake was the most surprising of the names on the list but only because of my perception of first basemen which Blake has spent a lot of time at. I expected Blake to look more like Mark Reynolds (#13), honestly.

David Wright did not “rank out” well but fared better than he did in the UZR/150 rankings. The two-time Gold Glover landed at #12 and has 35 OOZ plays this year. It paints the picture that Wright is a “web gem” waiting to happen but is performing below average in the field this year. It’s not a theory that hasn’t been shared before as a handful of observers have mentioned Wright’s dip in defense.

The bottom of the list is pretty consistent with anything I’ve seen: Chipper Jones is terrible in the field and pretty much a liability at the “hot corner.” He bottoms out in seven of the nine metrics although his OOZ plays are respectable — a playing time gift, maybe?. Also near the bottom is Edwin Encarnacion. Now in Toronto, EE has a reputation of being “E” prone so him being 15th of 16 is not shocking.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1. Joe Crede, Minnesota Twins
2. Jack Hannahan, Oakland Athletics
3. Adrian Beltre, Seattle Mariners
4. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
5 (tie). Chone Figgins, Los Angeles Angels
5 (tie). Scott Rolen, Toronto Blue Jays
7. Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers
8. Melvin Mora, Baltimore Orioles
9. Gordon Beckham, Chicago White Sox
10. Jhonny Peralta, Cleveland Indians
11. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
12. Mark Teahen, Kansas City Royals
13. Michael Young, Texas Rangers
14. Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox

ANALYSIS: Joe Crede basically lapped the field here and is average in the two metrics I’m least comfortable with — bF2O% and OOZ — as being defensive measures. He’s the head of the class in Fielding %, F2O% and RZR and second in UZR/150 and it’s derivative Fielding Value. Following Crede is Jack Hannahan, Adrian Beltre, Evan Longoria, Scott Rolen and Chone Figgins. If you use the words “good defense” and those players, it’s rare someone would argue with you although many would throw in Brandon Inge (#7), too.

Beltre is a Gold Glover and Rolen is a Gold Glove magnet but as he ages, his range and ability to field bunts is noticeably slipping.

Pulling up the rear is Mike Lowell who is hampered by injury and Michael Young who doesn’t seem to be adjusting to his move to third base.