Ranking Baseball’s 3 Hitters

To many, the number 3 hitter in the batting order is the most important in the whole lineup. Generally, your 3 and 4 hitters are the guys who drive in a majority of the runs but the 3rd batter is the one that the manager wants to make sure hits in the 1st inning.

Also, as on average each slot up in the batting order results in 20 more ABs per season, the 3 hitter is the big bat that teams want to hit most often. Usually, where you see top quality 3 hitters, you see top quality teams. Lets take a look at the 3 hitters in the MLB, ranked 1-15  and then The Rest and see if your team made the cut:

1. Albert Pujols, Angels: Yes, there is some uncertainty here with Prince Albert switching teams and leagues but the best player in baseball has to be the best 3 hitter right? Through the first decade of his career, Albert has complied perhaps the best hitting statistics of all time. He is firmly entrenched at the top of this list until someone can come up with a good reason why not.
2. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: Though there is a slim chance Prince Fielder will hit third and Cabrera fourth, Miguel gets the nod here. He is the best hitter on the planet not named Albert Pujols. He’s coming off of 3 straight top 5 MVP finishes and last year he hit .344 to go along with 105 RBIs and 30 bombs. He deserves this spot on the list.
3. Matt Kemp, Dodgers: Right now, the third best 3 hitter is Kemp. In fact, the 3 and 4 guys on my list are sort of hot hand guys rather than those that have a proven track record of success. I know that Kemp finished second to Ryan Braun in last year’s MVP voting but coming that close to the triple crown gives you the nod from me. 39 bombs, 129 RBI, .329 AVG and 40 (forty!) steals out of a 3 hitter is pretty unbelievable.
4. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: Bautista has put together 2 of the best back to back seasons in recent memory. After his 54 homer barrage in 2010, Jose launched 43 last year to go with his league leading walk and slugging percentage totals. He’s got 2 straight top 5 MVP finishes and any team in baseball would gladly pencil him into the 3 spot on the lineup card.
5. Ryan Braun, Brewers: Yes, he very well might miss the first 50 games of next season, but he is still the reigning NL MVP. Ryan hit .332 with 33 HRS and 33 steals last season and though it will be harder without Prince Fielder hitting behind him, he’s the 5th best 3 hitter in baseball.
6. Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox: Adrian, at age 29, is just hitting his stride in the AL as one of the most feared hitters in the game. Last year, in addition to launching 27 homers, he had 219 hits and hit .338. Nice.
7. Robinson Cano, Yankees: Robbie is a 3 hitter. He will bat third for the Bombers this year. He will. He’s also the best hitting second basemen in baseball right now. He’s had three consecutive years of .300+ AVG, 25+HRs, 40+ doubles. He might be even better this year with A-Rod and Tex batting right behind him. He really is the Yankees’ 3 hitter.
8. Joey Votto, Reds: The NL’s best first basemen is coming off another stellar season. He led the NL in doubles and hit .309. I love 3 hitters who can hit for average as well as power.
9. Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies: Tulo gets extra props for being a shortstop. The man can flat play. Though he stayed mostly out of the media spotlight last season buried in Colorado, he posted his 3rd straight top 10 MVP season. He hit .302 with 30 HRs, pretty good numbers for your average first basemen, off the charts for an shortstop.
10. Paul Konerko, White Sox: Paul is a step below the top first basemen in the AL (Pujols, Cabrera, Teixeira, Gonzalez), but its a small step. Konerko hit .300 with 30 HRs and 100 RBI for the second straight year last season, finishing 13th in the MVP race last year. He’s real good and just keeps getting better with age.
11. Josh Hamilton, Rangers: When healthy, Hamilton is among the best in the business. Last year was a tough one for him health wise but he still got MVP votes and is one season removed from his ridiculous MVP 2010 season where he hit .359 with 32 HRs.
12. Justin Upton, Diamondbacks: Upton was in the NL MVP conversation for much of last season for good reason. Justin hit 31 HRs to go with his .289 AVG en route to helping his club win the NL West. The Dbacks are thrilled to have him in the heart of their order going into this season.
13. Mike Stanton, Marlins: Stanton is young, he’s had only one full season in the majors (and another with 100 games), but he belted more than 30 bombs last year and is poised to emerge as one of the premier power threats in the game.
14. Evan Longoria, Rays: Evan has played 4 major league seasons and has received MVP votes in all of them. That’s pretty impressive. Last year was definitely a down year and he needs to improve upon his .244 AVG but he’s as clutch as they come and should have a big year.
15. Chipper Jones, Braves: Chipper is more of a “lifetime achievement” member on this list. He’s a little creaky now but for more than a decade he was a mainstay in the top 5 of this list. That gets a spot.

The Rest:

There are definitely some worthy names that didn’t make this list. Ryan Zimmerman comes to mind immediately. Ryan Howard didn’t make the cut because he’s hurt and will miss a good chunk of the early part of next season. His teammate Chase Utley isn’t a top 15 3 hitter, though at one point a great argument for him could have been made.

Carlos Santana and Buster Posey were strongly considered but both are super young and need to show some things. Santana needs to hit higher than .239 and Posey needs to prove that he’s healthy and unaffected by the major knee injury he suffered last year.

Other notables:

• Eric Hosmer had a great year but he’s just not top 15 3 hitter material yet. (Does he even hit 3rd?)
• Lance Berkman didn’t make the cut. Neither did Matt Holliday. Neither did Carlos Beltran. Author’s discretion.
• Jesus Montero might be a real candidate for this list in the future but definitely not now.
• I put David Wright, Carlos Lee, and Nick Markakis in the same category: good but nowhere near top 15 material.
• The A’s didn’t even have anybody that qualified for the list. I think they’re going to be awful this year.
• The Cubs and Padres could really use guys better than Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Quentin in their 3 spots.
• Is Andrew McCutchen the Pirates 3 hitter? I really like the guy but doesn’t he profile as a top quality 1 hitter or 2 hitter rather than a 3?
• Major Bullet Point: Joe Mauer and Jusitn Morneau didn’t make the cut due to health concerns. Normally, one of them would. Morneau is probably the guy who would be more likely to make the list but he’s the one with the more concerning health problem.

What do you think? Where should your guy go? What did I do wrong?

-Max Frankel