Second base, normally a weaker position, has as many top-100 players as third base.

Unless a trimmed-down Pablo Sandoval is back to his 2009 self and Mark Reynolds decides to hit above .200 and not strike out every 2.5 at-bats, it could be a down year for the hot corner.

All of which makes Kevin Youkilis’ switch back to third base in Boston even more important.

Youkilis batted .307 with 19 homers and 62 RBI, despite being limited to 362 at-bats by injury last season, and he hit .309 with averages of 28 homers, 105 RBI, 95 runs and a .960 OPS in 2008 and ’09.

He’s a top-four player at the position, and if Alex Rodriguez plays as he did in 2010, Youkilis is in the top three at third.

That brings us to our fifth position breakdown of the season:

Rank, player: R-HR-RBI-SB-Avg.
1. Evan Longoria, TB: 96-22-104-15-.294
2. David Wright, NYM: 87-29-103-19-.283
3. Alex Rodriguez, NYY: 74-30-125-4-.270
4. Kevin Youkilis, Bos: 77-19-62-4-.307
5. Ryan Zimmerman, Was: 85-25-85-4-.307
6. Adrian Beltre, Tex: 84-28-102-2-.321
7. Aramis Ramirez, ChC: 61-25-83-0-.241
8. Casey McGehee, Mil: 70-23-104-1-.285
9. Pablo Sandoval, SF: 61-13-63-3-.268
10. Mark Reynolds, Bal: 79-32-85-7-.198
11. Pedro Alvarez, Pit: 42-16-64-0-.256
12. Chris Johnson, Hou: 40-11-52-3-.308
13. Scott Rolen, Cin: 66-20-83-1-.285
14. Ian Stewart, Col: 54-18-61-5-.256
15. Chipper Jones, Atl: 47-10-46-5-.265
16. Placido Polanco, Phi: 76-6-52-5-.298
17. Chase Headley, SD: 77-11-58-17-.264
18. Danny Valencia, Min: 30-7-40-2-.311
19. David Freese, StL: 28-4-36-1-.296
20. Alberto Callaspo, LAA: 61-10-56-5-.265

Preseason top 100 players (8): Longoria (13), Wright (15), Rodriguez (16), Youkilis (27), Zimmerman (31), Beltre (40), Ramirez (72), McGehee (85).

Short hops
Longoria had his home-run total drop from 33 in 2009 to 22 last season, and he drove in nine fewer runs (froms 113 to 104). He did, however, set career highs in batting average and steals. ... Wright has had at least 26 homers in five of his last six seasons, and he’s had 102 RBI or more five times in that span. ... Rodriguez’s .270 average and four steals were his lowest totals since 1995, when he had 142 at-bats as a skinny shortstop for the Mariners. ... Sandoval reported to camp in much better shape, and he could be poised for a bounce-back season. ... Alvarez displayed impressive power in his 347 at-bat stint as a rookie, and he capped the season by batting .311 with five homers and 26 RBI in 103 at-bats in September. ... The Braves’ Jones has batted .264 and .265 the last two years, but he’s been tearing it up this spring and could be a late-round bargain.

NOTE: Statistics are from the 2010 season. ... Players are listed only at the positions at which they are expected to spend the most time in 2011.

THIS WEEK: Shortstops, Thursday; third basemen, today; designated hitters, Sunday.

LAST WEEK: Catchers, March 7; first baseman, March 8; second baseman, March 9.

NEXT WEEK: Outfielders, starting pitchers, relievers and overall top 100.

The comeback that couldn't escape our attention -- and this would've been the case even without "SportsCenter" following his every spring training step -- was Alex Rodriguez and his 2009 impact following hip surgery.

Two that have caught our eye in the last few weeks don't involve the tabloids or steroids. Just a couple of feel-good returns -- one from a player who would be a certain first-round pick if we redid the draft today, and one who's trying to overcome a much more serious disorder.

We knew entering the draft that Twins catcher Joe Mauer wasn't expected to play until May because of a back injury. What we didn't know was the all-average, little-pop hitting machine would transform himself into the Albert Pujols of backstops during his time on the disabled list.

Mauer came back right on schedule -- May 1 -- hit a home run in his first trip to the plate and hasn't stop mashing since. In 80 at-bats in 22 games, he's scored 24 runs, hit 10 home runs, walked five more times than he's struck out (16 to 11), is batting .438 and has an on-base percentage of .525 and an OPS of 1.400.

If you could select any hitter for your team today, aside from Pujols, Evan Longoria and maybe Raul Ibanez, is there any choice but Mauer?

His batting average and patience certainly aren't surprising, considering he's a career .322 hitter with a .404 on-base percentage and 64 more walks than strikeouts (308 to 244). What's shocking is his monthly output of 10 homers, which is one better than his 2008 total and three more than he hit in 2007.

Prior this season, Mauer averaged a home run every 46.8 at-bats. This year, it's one per eight.

Should we expect him to hit 40 homers? Probably not. But in a year in which all of the highly rated young catchers, with the exception of the surging Brian McCann, have struggled (Russell Martin and Geovany Soto) or gotten hurt (Ryan Doumit), Mauer's Justin Morneau imitation provides a refreshing jolt to a bad position.

He is only three homers shy of his career high of 13, set in 2006, when he batted a career-best .347 and drove in a career-high 84 runs.

His draft-day ranking now looks ridiculously low. As do his career home run totals prior to 2009.

Talking about Willis: It's impossible not to root for Tigers pitcher Dontrelle Willis as he tries to overcome an anxiety disorder. In three starts since returning to Detroit's rotation on May 14, he is 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA. He's struck out nine and walked eight in 17 2/3 innings.

It's too soon to consider Willis a fantasy starter, but he is at least worth a look in deeper leagues.

He hasn't been effective since 2006, and he hasn't been a fantasy stud since 2005, when he was 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA for the Marlins. That said, he's only 27 and has pitched well in his last two starts (three runs and nine strikeouts in 13 innings).

At some point, he could be a weekly starter. More importantly, we're able to even consider that possibility, one we couldn't have imagined during Willis' difficult 2008 season.

We can't forget him: Now for the federally mandated Yankee portion of the blog.

A-Rod hasn't disappointed the owners who took a chance on him in the second, third or fourth rounds of their drafts. The tabloid punching bag is batting only .189, but he's hit seven homers and driven in 13 runs in 16 games.

If you're worried about his batting average, don't. He's been patient -- two more walks (13) than strikeouts (11) -- and he has an OPS of .971, which suggests his batting average will rise with the temperature. Rodriguez is a .305 career hitter, and he should at least reach .290 by the end of the season.

So far, it's been home run or bust. Of his last seven hits, six have been homers. That might not sound encouraging until you consider that those home runs have come in the last nine games. And that he plays in a stadium that might allow David Eckstein to hit 10 homers.

Pick Three

This week, we have all-starting-pitcher version of free-agent recommendations for deeper leagues. Again, these are players who are available in the majority of the leagues on ESPN.com -- in this case, the three are free agents in between 79 and 95 percent of the leagues.

Jason Marquis, SP, Rockies (available in 94.8 percent of the leagues on ESPN.com): He's won six of his nine starts. He also has an ERA of 4.45, only 27 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings and calls his home park Coors Field. What, you expected Johan Santana to be available? He's not going to help you much in the K department and, like most pitchers, he struggles pitching in Colorado (he's 2-2 with a 7.13 ERA at home this season). But before you dismiss Marquis' six wins, consider that he's won 11 or more games in each of the previous five seasons, a span in which he's averaged 13 victories, and he's 12 games over .500 for his career. He's also been very productive on the road: 4-1 with a 2.70 ERA this season. If he's scheduled for two starts, and at least one is on the road, in a given week, he's a decent option.

Brian Bannister, SP, Royals (available in 82.1 percent of ESPN leagues): He's 4-1 with a 2.79 ERA and has limited the opposition to two runs or fewer in five of his eight starts. Like Marquis, he's not much of a strikeout asset (just 25 in 42 innings this season and 234 in 427 2/3 innings for his career). He's not a top-flight starter by any means, but the 28-year-old is more than capable of improving upon his 2007 statistics (12-9 with a 3.87 ERA).

Rick Porcello, SP, Tigers (available in 79.4 percent of ESPN leagues): He's only 20 and prior to this season he had never pitched above Class A. But save me a seat on his bandwagon after a four-start span in which the right-hander is 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 24 innings. He was the Tigers' first-round selection in 2007, and you have to believe big-league batters will figure him out soon. Until they do, reserve a spot in your starting lineup.

That does it for Week 7. We'll be back Saturday on the News-Herald's main sports site with a first-round do-over. Until then, good luck and remember to give thanks to those who have sacrificed their lives for our safety.

The Indians are off to another awful April start. Their starting pitching has been dreadful, and their bullpen is a Kane Davis or Jorge Julio sighting from being even worse.

None of that will stop us from our best Eric Wedge impersonation today. We're going to keep our eyes on the prize, stay focused, continue to grind it out and look at the positives. OK, we're just going to look at the positives -- the Tribe's surprising offensive numbers (stats that are skewed by their 22-4 win over the Yankees on Saturday in The House That George Built and Hitters Love).

Through Sunday, the Indians rank seventh in the major leagues in batting average (.280), are second in runs scored (83), home runs (22), on-base percentage (.380) and OPS (.875). The Indians lead the big leagues in doubles (33), are tied for third in RBI (79) and, here's a shocker, have rung up the most strikeouts (115 in 13 games).

All of which means the following from a fantasy perspective:

-- Every-week starters: Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez, Mark DeRosa, Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta. Sizemore is striking out as much as ever (17 in 54 at-bats) and is batting only .259, but you can't sit that combination of speed and power. ... Martinez's power has returned (he has four homers, which is double his 2008 total), and his .466 OBP doesn't hurt. ... Don't bench DeRosa strictly because of his batting average (.236). The versatile infielder has three homers and 15 RBI in his last eight games. ... Hafner has four homers and eight RBI, but isn't as much of an asset in points leagues that penalize for strikeouts (14 in 42 at-bats). ... Peralta has yet to hit a homer, but he's batting .333 and has an OBP of .404.

-- Backups: Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera. Choo has three homers and eight RBI in 43 at-bats, and he's a rare member of the Tribe who has more walks (nine) than strikeouts (eight). ... Cabrera has been surprisingly effective (.333, 10 runs scored, one homer, seven RBI and two steals), but should only be started in deeper leagues in which you need infield help.

-- Not much help: Ryan Garko, Kelly Shoppach and Ben Francisco. Garko is batting .300 with a .447 on-base percentage, but he doesn't play every day and has just one homer. That's not enough power at a position as loaded as first base. ... Shoppach, who hit 21 homers last season, doesn't play enough (24 at-bats in 13 games) and has already struck out nine times. ... Even Wedge couldn't find something to like in Francisco's stats (.211, one homer, four RBI).

That sound you just heard was Nick Swisher coming back to earth. The Yankees outfielder, after starting the season 11-for-24 (.458) with four homers and 11 RBI, is 3-for-18 with one run, zero RBI and six strikeouts in his last four games.

Tick, tick, tick ... Fantasy owners who took a chance on Alex Rodriguez in the second, third or fourth rounds might be rewarded sooner than originally thought. A-Rod is already taking batting practice and fielding ground balls, making the original May 15 timetable for his return from hip surgery seem pessimistic. I'm no doctor, and I don't play one on the Internet, but here's a guess: A-Rod will be in all fantasy lineups by the start of Week 6 on Monday, May 11 -- at the latest.

You don't need me to tell you to bench Chien-Ming Wang. But I wouldn't drop him, as is happening in many leagues, even with that slow-pitch softball ERA (34.50).

Pick three

In the fantasy baseball column that was published in Saturday's editions, I wrote about three free agents who were worth picking up in deeper leagues (Kyle Davies, Chris Duncan and Randy Winn), with the rule of thumb that each player must be available in more than half of the leagues on ESPN.com.

Let's look at three more:

Denard Span, OF, Twins -- He's young (25), fast (three stolen bases this year, and 18 in 347 at-bats last season) and drives in a decent amount of runs (nine this season, 47 in a little more than half a season in 2008). He's also batting .300 and has been so effective that the playing time of Carlos Gomez (.200) and Delmon Young (.212) has suffered.

Jason Kubel, DH, Twins -- He hit for the cycle on Friday, which only jumped his ownership percentage to 7.4 entering Sunday night on ESPN.com. The fact Kubel is only a DH limits you, but he'll hit for power (a combined 33 homers in 881 at-bats in 2007 and '08) and his batting average (.333) and OPS (.939) are too good to pass up as a low-end starter in 12-team leagues.

Zach Duke, SP, Pirates -- His poor outing Sunday notwithstanding, Duke has resembled his 2005 rookie self (8-2, 1.81 ERA), not the 18-37 train wreck from 2006-08. The lefty is 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA. The negative: He won't help you much in the strikeout department (11 in 20 2/3 innings this season, and 314 in 613 career innings).

That does it for this week. Good luck, keep your head up and (channeling my inner Eric Wedge) remember there's a lot of baseball left to be played.