We get to the hot corner in our series of “it’s never too early.” Unfortunately, the hot corner hasn’t been too hot lately as it seems to be going through a period of transition. The established stars are getting a little long in the tooth. As we saw with the second basemen, some players are eligible at other positions. Often times, we find people using players eligible at third at other positions because third base has been easy to fill. That might not be the case from here on out.

Since it has been a few days since the last edition, we’ll allow the rest of you to catch up with our methods. We are looking at the pre-season rankings according to ESPN.com and comparing them to an early bird experts draft. We will track the biggest risers and sliders and determine if they are trends we need to keep an eye on.

Biggest Risers

Todd Frazier–Cincinnati Reds

Position Rise: +2

Overall Rise: +51

Todd Frazier seemed destined to live forever in the .280/20/80/80 land until this past season. He took a step forward and also added first base eligibility at the same time. Versatility is usually good for some positive movement on the board, but the rest is probably based on the assumption that 2014 was the first in a step of good seasons from. I would tend to agree. I don’t know if we will see another step forward, but given the relative dearth of the position, 25 home runs is a pretty easy sell.

Nolan Arenado— Colorado Rockies

Position Rise: +3

Overall Rise: +45

Arenado is a perfect example of the difference between real baseball and fantasy baseball. In real baseball he gets downgraded because he lacks patience and gets an obvious boost from playing in Coors Field. In fantasy baseball we look at the basic five category numbers and see a guy on the rise. With good health he will likely produce north of 20 home runs. Again, with the lack of third base talent, that is saying something.

Pablo Sandoval— Boston Red Sox

Position Rise: +2

Overall Rise: +33

On the one hand, we can expect better numbers from Sandoval in Fenway Park than AT&T Park. On the other hand, this draft position feels like a reach based on another prolific postseason for Sandoval. He’s done this before he usually goes right back to producing the same numbers in the regular season. He probably will be a slightly better player with a better offense around him, but not enough to justify the bump.

Biggest Sliders

Manny Machado— Baltimore Orioles

Position Slide: -5

Overall Slide: -90

There is a tiny subset of players that seem to be overvalued because they are great overall players. Machado is a transcendent fielder as a third baseman and occasionally that gets bled over into the fantasy baseball world. The experts weren’t buying it and that’s why we call them the experts. Machado is a doubles machine and someday those doubles might become home runs.

Martin Prado— Miami Marlins

Position Slide: -2

Overall Slide: -45

Prado has been everywhere it seems and landing in Miami may not seem like the best spot for him. At least that is what the experts seem to be saying. Miami’s home ballpark is not the best ballpark for hitting home runs and Prado isn’t a power bat to begin with. He is one of those guys that needs to hit for high average to be valuable. That being said, the Marlins offense will likely be more productive than most people think.

Lonnie Chisenhall— Cleveland Indians

Position Slide: -3

Overall Slide: -36

With the amount of corner players the Indians have brought in, we can’t even be sure that Chisenhall is going to play everyday. Brandon Moss was brought in to play first base and right field. Nick Swisher can do the same and Carlos Santana can play first and third. If he hits like he did in the first half then he is a fringe fantasy regular. If he hits like has at any other time he is just old-fashioned fringe.