Eugenio Suárez unfairly ranked No. 8 among MLB third basemen

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suárez ranked No. 8 at his position according to MLB Network, which is not where he belongs.

MLB Network puts every player into what they call The Shredder. The rankings are based around player’s performance, using both advanced and traditional metrics, measuring both offense and defense. Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suárez comes in at No. 8 among all Major League Baseball players at his position. Feel free to disagree, but The Shredder got this one wrong.

First, let’s understand that third base is quite possibly the most talent-laden position in all of baseball. The hot corner is loaded with both power-hitting dynamos and defensive wizards. In fact, the World Series allowed us to witness the two best third basemen in the game, Alex Bregman and Anthony Rendon, go head-to-head for seven games this past October.

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room first – Bregman. Following the Houston Astros cheating scandal, it’s fair to ask whether any player throughout the entire organization has any legitimate claim to any award, accolade or adulation they’ve received. However, I don’t get to judge this one. If it were up to me, Bregman would be disqualified from consideration.

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Now, onto the other third basemen. Rendon showed this past fall why he’s one of the best at the position, putting up a 1.010 OPS with Gold Glove caliber defense, he snuck in front of Nolan Arenado. Arenado’s hitting may get some benefit from the thin air at Coors Field, but there’s no denying his defense, which is elite and has earned his seven consecutive Gold Glove Awards.

Matt Chapman comes in at No. 4, and this one gave me cause to pause. In 2019, Chapman had 36 home runs, 91 RBIs, a .506 slugging percentage and an .848 OPS, all of which are lower than the numbers that Eugenio Suárez put up last season. However, where Chapman distances himself from Suárez is defensively. The 26-year-old took home the Gold Glove in the American League.

Now, we get to No. 5, who is New York Mets third baseman Jeff McNeil. Or is it New York Mets outfielder Jeff McNeil? Wait, I know, it’s New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil, right? This one took me by surprise, and may be my biggest objection in terms of players ranked ahead of Eugenio Suárez on this list.

McNeil played just 31 games with 16 starts at third base. By contrast, McNeil played 37 games at second base and 93 in the outfield, including 83 starts. McNeil’s batting average (.318) easily passed that of Suárez (.271) last season, though his home run total (23) trailed Suárez (49) by a wide margin.

Let’s move along to No. 6, now Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson. I think Donaldson is the closest comparison to Eugenio Suárez. A power-hitting right-handed bat, capable of 30-plus home runs per season with a decent glove at third base. Still, by all traditional metrics, Suárez was the better player last season.

Defensively, however, while Suárez is not a poor defender, Donaldson surpasses him. According to FanGraphs, Donaldson put up 15 defensive runs saved (DRS) while playing the hot corner. Donaldson had 13 errors in in 417 chances, while Suárez had 17 misplayed balls in 396 chances. Suárez had just 2 DRS in 2019.

Finally, we come to Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who comes in at No. 7 according to MLB Network. Turner, much like Donaldson, is very similar to Suárez and plays better defense. However, just like Donaldson, Turner’s offensive statistics fall short of the numbers that Eugenio Suárez put up in 2019.

There’s some level of subjectivity when it comes to Reds fans grading the performance of Cincinnati’s best player, but I’d put Eugenio Suárez up against some of the best in the game. While I have no argument with the Top 3 players, there’s a fair argument to be made that Suárez is among that next tier of third basemen.

Hopefully rankings like this just fuel Geno’s fire heading into the 2020 season. Another productive season could thrust Suárez into conversation, and team success couldn’t hurt either. Cincinnati Reds fans surely believe that Eugenio Suárez is a Top 5 player at his position, perhaps this season is when he shows it to the rest of the baseball world.