Have you drafted your fantasy team yet?
If you haven't, there are sure a lot of fantastic third base options in this year's draft.
Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, Adrian Beltre, Evan Longoria and Hanley Ramirez; with so many options at third base, it's tough this year to decide at what order in the draft you should add your third baseman.
If you have one of the top-three picks, it is without a doubt that Cabrera should be one of your top—if not a shoe-in—for your first pick. The guy is a stud and produces year in and year out—2013 will not be an exception.
But what if the Padre third baseman is still available with the fourth or fifth pick in your draft?
If none of the above names are still in the mix—which they most likely will not be, with the exception of Ramirez—Headley will be a solid choice and a productive player for your team heading into the draft.
Headley just came off of a year where he won the Silver Slugger, led the National League in RBI with 115, had 31 home runs, 31 doubles, 95 runs scored, 17 stolen bases and a .286/.376/.498 slash line.
Sure you may think these numbers won't be replicated by someone playing in San Diego, but Headley can surprise you this year if you look at a few factors:
- First of all, he's durable and has never experienced any significant injuries throughout his career.
- He's found his groove after a few years of uncertainty, but is now starting to produce similar numbers to what he put up playing in the Padres system.
- As a switch hitter, he's more than likely going to benefit offensively from the fences coming in at Petco Park—especially from the left side of the plate.
One player you should definitely keep your eyes on this year that could factor in to Headley's success is outfielder Carlos Quentin.
If he can stay healthy and produce the way he did last year in a shortened season, he will not only provide solid protection behind Headley, but will surely drive him in a good number of times as well.
And don't forget, that while Headley is not a huge threat on the base paths, he will still hit double digits in stolen bases consistently.
With an abundance of third basemen so high up in the order, Headley can turn into a surprise mid-round pick for your team and should be considered just as productive as most third basemen in this year's draft.
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