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Arizona Diamondbacks third basemen and clean-up hitter, Mark Reynolds struck out a lot in 2007. In fact, he struck out 129 times while hitting .279 with 17 home runs in 366 at-bats. His strikeout rate was an abysmal 35.2% and his BB:K ratio was also poor at 0.29 (37:129).

Reynolds came into Spring Training working towards lowering his strikeout total. However, that experiment has come to an end as he’s accepted his strikeouts saying, “it’s just me”.

Part of spring training is experimenting, and third baseman Mark Reynolds’ experiment at trying to work counts and lower his strikeout total has come to an end.

“I realized that’s not me,” he said. “I’m swinging at the first strike I see. Hanging curveball, hanging slider, fastball, whatever. That’s what got me here, so I don’t think I need to change it.

“I just realized, ‘Why am I trying to change something that got me to the major leagues?’ Strikeouts are going to be there. I’ve accepted it. I don’t care what anybody writes about it or anybody says. It’s just me.”

For those of you in fantasy leagues that count hitters strikeouts against you, listen up. If Reynolds registers 550 at-bats in 2008 (which he should if he stays healthy and remains in the clean-up slot) and doesn’t improve on his strikeout rate, he’ll whiff 194 times this season. That places him near Howardian levels, without the 47 bombs that Ryan Howard hits.

On the flip side of that coin, if strikeouts don’t count against you Reynolds might have some value to your team. Even with his poor strikeout rate he still hit .279/.349/.495 last season. And with the extra at-bats, his home run totals reach towards 25 instead of the 17 he hit in 2007.

So, once again… stay away if your league negatively counts strikeouts. If not, look to Reynolds as a secondary 1B or CI hitter.

If you’ve been paying attention to spring box scores from the San Francisco Giants club, you may have noticed Eugenio Velez, a 26 yeal old rookie who’s hitting .340/.353/.511 with a double, two triples, and a home run. Most importantly he’s stolen 9 bases in 16 games. Velez is turning heads, and causing Giants decision makers to scratch theirs.

Manager Bruce Bochy would agree. After the Giants’ 11-6 exhibition victory over the Diamondbacks, Bochy declared Velez has a real shot of making the 25-man roster. Not only as a bench player but as someone who “might force the issue, too,” meaning get in the lineup on occasion.

“If we want a lineup with speed in there, he gives you another dimension,” Bochy said. “This kid is fun to watch.”

• In 2006 in Single-A Augusta, Velez hit .315 with 14 home runs and 64 stolen bases.
• In 2007 in 114 games of combined AA, AAA and MLB playing time, Velez stole 58 bases while hitting .296.

If Velez makes this club out of Spring Training, but doesn’t earn a starting spot, you should keep an eye on him and see if does earn his way into a starting role. If he surprises and starts from day one, he’s going to be one of those players who could single handedly vault your fantasy team to the top of the stolen base leader board.

Here is the ranking list of National League third basemen for 2008.

1. David Wright | New York Mets
2. Ryan Braun | Milwaukee Brewers
3. Aramis Ramirez | Chicago Cubs
4. Garrett Atkins | Colorado Rockies
5. Chipper Jones | Atlanta Braves
6. Ryan Zimmerman | Washington Nationals
7. Kevin Kouzmanoff | San Diego Padres
8. Edwin Encarnacion | Cincinnati Reds
9. Troy Glaus | St. Louis Cardinals
10. Ty Wigginton | Houston Astros
11. Mark Reynolds | Arizona Diamondbacks
12. Pedro Feliz | Philadelphia Phillies
13. Andy LaRoche | Los Angeles Dodgers
14. Jose Bautista | Pittsburgh Pirates
15. Jose Castillo | Florida Marlins

As soon as the Giants figure out who will replace Pedro Feliz at third base, we’ll insert that person onto this list. The front runners are Kevin Frandsen or Rich Aurilia.

When the Detroit Tigers acquired Miguel Cabrera a few months back, Brandon Inge realized that his time playing third base with the Tigers was over. And since the team hasn’t dealt him yet, they decided to ask him to report to Spring Training with the pitchers and catchers. Inge agreed, and not only will get some time backing up Ivan Rodriguez, but he’ll also fill in for multiple positions in 2008.

“The Tigers want Inge, if he remains with them, to spend some time catching, so that he could be used behind the plate, as well as at various other positions.”

It remains to be seen how many at-bats Inge will get in 2008. If he can sneak 300 at-bats in he may reach 10 home runs and approach 10 stolen bases while hitting .250. If that happens, he can be a serviceable backup. The more positions he qualifies for, the better.

Here is the ranking list of American League third basemen for 2008.

1. Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees
2. Miguel Cabrera  | Detroit Tigers
3. Mike Lowell | Boston Red Sox
4. Chone Figgins | Los Angeles Angels
5. Adrian Beltre | Seattle Mariners
6. Troy Glaus | Toronto Blue Jays
7. Josh Fields | Chicago White Sox
8. Alex Gordon | Kansas City Royals
9. Hank Blalock | Texas Rangers
10. Evan Longoria | Tampa Bay Rays
11. Eric Chavez | Oakland Athletics
12. Melvin Mora | Baltimore Orioles
13. Casey Blake | Cleveland Indians
14. Mike Lamb | Minnesota Twins
15. Akinora Iwamura | Tampa Bay Rays
16. Brandon Inge | Detroit Tigers
17. Joe Crede | Chicago White Sox
18. Brandon Wood | Los Angeles Angels

I’m coming at this from more of a sim angle, but here are a few Padres to keep your eye on in 2008:

• Kevin Kouzmanoff — His overall numbers (.275/.329/.457) don’t jump out, but bear in mind that he got off to a miserable start. Kouzmanoff hit .309/.362/.511 from May 7 to the end of the season. Although he won’t repeat that performance, at age 26, he’s a good bet to improve on his rookie campaign.
• Brian Giles — Giles played much of the year hurt, and underwent knee surgery after the season. After returning from the disabled list at the end of June, Giles hit .268/.367/.454 the rest of the way. Assuming he’s healthy (risky proposition for a guy who turns 37 in January), expect a slight rebound in ‘08. Also, if he gets traded, his value could jump: 12 of Giles’ 13 home runs last year came away from Petco Park.
• Scott Hairston — Again, his full-season line (.243/.313/.452) doesn’t tell the whole story. Hairston hit .287/.337/.644 in 31 games with San Diego (and darned near was the season’s hero with his dramatic home run that put the Padres ahead late in Game #163). He turns 28 in May and should see a fair amount of playing time in San Diego next year. Keep expectations low and try to snag him late; you could see nice returns.
• Heath Bell — Not really a sleeper after his breakout season, but if Trevor Hoffman should falter, Bell is next in line to close games.

Down on the farm, second baseman Matt Antonelli and third baseman Chase Headley are the best bets to have an impact in 2008. Antonelli has less of a roadblock, while Headley is more big-league ready as a hitter.

Happy hunting!

From Nick Cafardo at Extra Bases:

Mike Lowell’s agents and Theo Epstein could not reach an agreement about an hour before the midnight deadline in which the Red Sox had exclusive rights to negotiate with Lowell.

Lowell will now be a complete free-agent and can negotiate with other teams.

Both sides agreed there’s still room for an agreement to be reached and they’ll continue to stay in touch. Lowell will now be able to determine whether there’s a four-year market out there for his services. Indications are that the Sox would not move off three years.

We all know what’s going to happen here, some team is going to overpay Lowell for his services and offer him a 4-year deal at a ridiculous amount of money that will make it hard for the Red Sox to match.

It is encouraging to hear that the teams will still try to reach an agreement. Hopefully after fielding some offers tomorrow from teams, Lowell’s agents, the Levinson brothers, will ring Theo and work something out. If not, the Red Sox begin to explore other options at third base.

Thanks for putting up with me today, Lou of Sweet Lou’s Baseball Lab will be here to take you through your Tuesday. If you’d like to visit my blog, you can check me out at SOX & Dawgs.