Hot Corners

Since the All-Star break, corner infielders have really taken off. Here are five first basemen and five third basemen who have been utterly raking the ball: First Base 1. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres Stats: 13 G, .464 BA, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 1.393 OPS In his first full season in the bigs, Gonzalez has put NL pitchers on notice that he's the man to fear in the Padres' lineup. It's no longer Brian Giles, Ryan Klesko, or even the great Mike Piazza - who's having a solid season by the way. Gonzalez has really come on in July, and team after team of fantasy owners have followed suit, including yours truly in several leagues, adding him to their first base or utility positions. 2. Adam LaRoche, Atlanta Braves Stats: 12 G, .404 BA, 7 HR, 16 RBI, 1.378 OPS This sweet-swinging lefty has given Bobby Cox another threat in the middle of the order, shifting between the fifth and seventh slots. He is one of three Braves to hit at least 20 home runs so far this season, with Chipper Jones (15, and in my third basemen's list) and catcher Brian McCann (12) not too far behind. 3. Lance Berkman, Houston Astros Stats: 12 G, .333 BA, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 1.081 OPS Houston's only real slugger, Berkman leads the National League in RBI (92 as of this posting) and is among the leaders in home runs (28 - 5th), on-base percentage (.403 - 8th), slugging percentage (.617 - 2nd) and OPS (1.020 - 2nd). He is eligible at both first base and the outfield in most fantasy leagues and is always a good catch if you can land him. 4. Mark Teixeira, Texas Rangers Stats: 14 G, .311 BA, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 1.094 OPS Big Tex disappointed scores of fantasy GMs with his disappointing first half numbers - .275 BA, 9 HR, and 49 RBI - but has kicked off the second half more like the Teixeira who was being selected in the first round of most preseason drafts. Look for the numbers to only continue getting better. 5. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins Stats: 14 G, .382 BA, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 1.052 OPS Behind the dominating lefty twosome of Francisco Liriano and Johan Santana, Morneau has been a huge reason why the Twins have surged all the way into the Wild Card mix, including the most recent sweep of the defending World Series champion White Sox. Morneau picked up the pace in June, batting .400 with 10 homers and 29 RBI. His explosion coincided perfectly with the emergence of Liriano as quite possibly the most dominating starter in the game today, Santana included. Third Base 1. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves Stats: 8 G, .471 BA, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1.432 OPS Chipper has alternated hot and cold months of hitting - April and June cold, May and July hot - but one of the game's best switch-hitting sluggers ever has been absolutely on fire in July, hitting .500 with seven big flies and 20 RBI as of July 25. He's day-to-day right now, but the Braves aren't worried and you shouldn't be either. Keep him in your lineup. 2. Troy Glaus, Toronto Blue Jays Stats: 10 G, .464 BA, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 1.393 OPS With the prospect of injury almost always over his head - Glaus missed major portions of 2003 and 2004 - the Jays' big bat at the hot corner has managed to remain injury-free throughout 2006 (knock on wood Toronto fans). And aside from a mediocre season average (.256), the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder has been smashing the cover off the ball with a team-high 26 home runs thus far. 3. Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs Stats: 12 G, .356 BA, 7 HR, 14 RBI, 1.256 OPS There aren't many positive things you can say about the Cubs this year, especially about their offense which is dead-last in runs scored and RBI, but Ramirez has been on fire at the dish since the All-Star break. And if it weren't for Derrek Lee's injury woes, the power third baseman would most likely be enjoying a better season, production-wise. 4. Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers Stats: 13 G, .409 BA, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 1.176 OPS Forget about his season average (.246) for a second, Inge leads the Major League's best team with 20 home runs - already a career-high - and the Tigers still have 61 games left to go! Inge doesn't have the multiple-position eligibility fantasy players savored back in 2004, but he's still a good choice as your third baseman. 5. Mark Teahen, Kansas City Royals Stats: 13 G, .317 BA, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 1.152 OPS Just like with Ramirez in Chicago, there isn't much to talk about in K.C.; that is, except for Teahen. The sophomore has really stepped up for the Royals, and that's all because of a change in his hitting mechanics engineered while spending the majority of May with Triple-A Omaha. Should he continue to progress, he could write his own ticket out of lowly Kansas City and land on a team that's looking to contend.