On MLB Network on Thursday night, they continued their top ten at each position series, listing the best third baseman right now. Josh Harrison ranked third among all third baseman in baseball. The rankings are based on what to expect from the player for the upcoming season. Harrison played 72 games at third base in 2014, although he only started 55 times. He hit .315/.347/.490 in 143 total games, with 13 homers and 18 stolen bases. Harrison finished ninth in the NL MVP voting and made the All-Star team.
The show also had top tens from hosts Brian Kenny and Mike Lowell. Kenny ranked Harrison outside his top ten, while Lowell had him rated as the sixth best third baseman. There was also a segment with a panel of experts that included Bill James, Mike Petriello from Fangraphs and Vince Gennaro from SABR. Gennaro ranked him #5, while the other two talked good about him, but had him ranked lower without giving specifics.
The complete top ten list was:
1. Adrian Beltre
2. Josh Donaldson
3. Josh Harrison
4. Anthony Rendon
5. David Wright
6. Kyle Seager
7. Matt Carpenter
8. Evan Longoria
9. Juan Uribe
10. Nolan Arenado
The Pirates had Andrew McCutchen ranked first in center field, Neil Walker ranked fourth among second baseman, Starling Marte ranked fourth in left field and Jordy Mercer ranked sixth at shortstop. Both Tony Watson and Mark Melancon were among the best relievers.
