Nov. 29, 2007

By Douglas Kroll

CSTV.com

	DOUG KROLL Doug Kroll is an editor for CSTV.com, focusing on baseball. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- BASEBALL 1/17: So Cool In SoCal 1/10: Starting With Not Such A Clean Slate 1/3: Closing the Gap 12/27: For Starters 12/20: Second Is Just Fine 12/13: Not Short On Talent 12/06: Stars In The Outfield 11/29: Staying Hot On The Hot Corner 11/23: First Thing Is First 11/16: Best Backstops 11/08: Engineering Perfection 11/01: Up The Coast 10/25: Sun Devils Best In Fall 10/18: Taking The Plunge 10/11: Tourney Time 10/4: Red Raider Savior 9/27: Not Fooling Around 9/20: Continuing To Right The Ship 9/13: Flying Back With The Ducks? 9/6: Same Faces, New Places 8/30: More And More Like MLB 8/23: Laying Down A Full House 8/16: No Hitch At Deadline 8/9: College Homerun Kings 8/2: Bringing The Tradition Back 7/23: Cape Cod Update - All-Star Edition 7/19: Bringing The Quack Back 7/17: Summer League Update - Week 5 7/6: A Ride On A Carousel 7/2: Summer League Update - Week 3 6/28: Omaha In Review 6/26: Summer League Update - Week 2 6/25: Second Time As Good As First 6/21: Back In The Saddle 6/20: Series On The Line 6/19: Expect the Unexpected 6/19: Planting Seeds...Again 6/18: Cape Cod Summer League Update 6/18: Cards On Their Heels 6/17: Pac-10 Showdown 6/17: Is It April Or June? 6/16: Seeds of Success 6/16: Sunday, Bloody Sunday 6/15: Final Chapter For Price 6/13: Omaha in the Cards 6/7: Big Blue Oaks 6/7: The Right Price 5/31: Go Johnnies Go 5/17: Not So Mid Anymore 5/10: In And Out 5/6: On the Road With ECU: Day Three 5/5: On the Road With ECU: Day Two 5/3: On the Road With ECU: Day One 5/3: Staying True to the Family 4/26: Having Fun With Two 4/19: Pitching Is Name Of The Game 4/12: Going Coastal 4/5: Right On Key 4/3: April Schedule Planner 3/29: Northern Exposure 3/22: East Carolina Set To Make Waves 3/8: Shedding The Blues 3/1: March Baseball Schedule Planner 2/25: Seawolves Swept in Carolina 2/24: A Loss Is, Well, A Loss 2/23: On the Road With The Brook 2/15: Florida Looks To Chomp Out Of Rut 2/9: Winthrop Winning The Tough Way 1/29: February Baseball Schedule Planner 1/28: Same Game, New Team, No Year Off 1/21: The Real All-Americans 1/19: Just One Of Those Weeks FOOTBALL 8/24: When Is A Win, A Win? 8/21: Topping Harlon's Hill Twice 8/2: Mid-American Conference Preview 8/2: Thunder and Lightning in Kalamazoo 8/2: Showing Flashes 12/16: Sweet Home Alabama 12/15: Humble Woodhead Wins Harlon Hill 12/14: Familiar Foes, Only On The Biggest Stage 12/7: Blooming in Bloomsberg 11/30: Grand Valley To Face One And Only Rival 11/15: Something New, For Newberry 11/1: Chadron's On The Map 10/28: What Can Brown Do For U-Conn 10/23: Asserting Identity 10/11: Leaf Fits Right in at West Texas 10/4: Pioneers Post Impressive Feats 9/27: Bible Belt Clash 9/20: Regaining Respect at Ashland 9/13: It's the GLFC, Not the GLIAC 9/7: Four Horse Race At Valdosta State BASKETBALL 10/23: Jayhawks, Longhorns Top Big 12 10/19: Memphis The Class Of C-USA 1/8: In The Zone, Hofstra Goes To It 12/28: Sweet Stroke For Stokes 12/05: Hofstra Wins Battle Of Long Island 11/30: Despite Loss, Great Day For Sea Wolves 10/17: CSTV's Top Five Games 10/16: Shiny Pearl in Knoxville 10/13: FSU's Thornton Still Blossoming W. VOLLEYBALL 8/23: Cardinal Comeback 8/21: Pavan Paves Her Way 8/21: Rock Stars In Diguise 8/20: Nebraska's Staying On Top M. WATER POLO 9/5: West Is The Best 9/3: 2007 Men's Water Polo Preview

With third base known as the hot corner, it is only fitting that the nation's best player in 2008 will reside there. Vanderbilt's Pedro Alvarez enters his junior season as the favorite for Player of the Year, and could be the second straight Commodore junior to capture the honors after David Price won the Dick Howser Trophy this past season.

Looking at the list of the best returning third basemen, it isn't as strong as the lists of first basemen and catchers, but there are certainly some big-time names to know. While there's certainly a drop-off after Alvarez, there is plenty of talent, especially from teams you may not think of as national contenders.

Just look at the season that Hofstra freshman Matt Prokopowicz had in 2007. He hit .416 with six homeruns and 52 RBI on a team that went 20-34. Not bad for a guy that was recruited out of Long Island by Auburn.

Here's a look at the top returning third basemen in the nation, with some names you have heard of, and a couple you may not have.

1. Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt- The junior enters the 2008 season with the notion that he will likely be the top pick in the MLB Draft in June. Think it will affect his numbers? Think again. He's got former teammate David Price to talk him through what it was like, and as we all know, Price ended up doing quite alright in 2007 before being the No. 1 pick.  Alvarez, meanwhile, showed no signs of a sophomore slump. A year after winning the Freshman of the Year award, he hit .386 with 18 homeruns and 68 RBI. When looking at the error column for third basemen, it's tough to know how great of a fielder they actually are, and that is the case with Alvarez. Sixteen errors in each of his first two seasons is nothing to brag about, but it isn't horrible either. Expect some more monstrous numbers out of the New York City native, on a Commodore team that will be playing angry all year after an earlier-than-anticipated exit from the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

2. Matt Hague, Oklahoma State- It is pretty impressive that Matt Hague hit .353, and that was fourth-best on his Washington team. For the second straight season, Oklahoma State will bring in the highest-profile Division I transfer, after reeling in Matt Mangini from N.C. State last offseason. Hague will look to continue his dominance at the plate, leaving Seattle as one of the best hitters to ever wear a Huskies uniform. The Kent, Wash. native led Washington with 13 homeruns last season while knocking in 49 runs. His numbers are also impressive in the field, as he committed only nine errors and finished with a .944 fielding percentage. Hague's senior bat will add to an already potent Cowboys lineup, which will look to find the same success it had in getting to the Super Regionals in 2007.

3. James Darnell, South Carolina- Think the Gamecocks will be pretty good? Ray Tanner's club enters the 2008 season with one of the best first basemen in Justin Smoak, one of the best catchers around in Phil Disher, and then there's James Darnell over at third base. Not too shabby. Entering his junior season, Darnell led the Mash Brothers last season with a .331 average, while knocking out 19 of the Gamecocks' nation-leading 113 homeruns. His 13 errors are pretty standard for a college third baseman, and after a summer in which he finished second in the Cape Cod League with eight homeruns, it could be another very big year for Darnell and the Gamecocks.

4. Logan Forsythe, Arkansas- The SEC just continues to have some of the top third basemen in the country, especially looking at this list and finding that three of the top four are from one of the nation's elite conferences. Forsythe is definitely one of the best. The junior had a breakout year in 2007, after struggling in a limited role as a freshman. He led the team with a .347 average, hit nine homeruns and finished with 55 RBI. Not to mention one of his greatest assets is his defense. After committing only 11 errors a year ago, Forsythe went on to star with Team USA, and made just one error in 50 chances, a .980 fielding percentage. Coming off an impressive summer, it should be another great year in Fayetteville for Forsythe.

5. Gil Zayas, St. John's- The Red Storm burst back onto the scene last season, with a nice run through Big East play that led them into the Myrtle Beach regional, and it wouldn't have been possible without the intimidating presence of 6-foot-3 senior Gil Zayas. While his power numbers weren't very big for someone with his size (four homeruns), he still led the Red Storm with a .353 average, and was solid in the field as well. Hoping to repeat last year's success, much of the 2007 expectations will fall on the shoulders of Zayas,

On The Radar: Jason Stidham- Florida State, Jermaine Curtis- UCLA, Matt Prokopowicz- Hofstra, Brad Glenn- Arizona, Chris Dominguez- Louisville, Conor Gillaspie- Wichita State