Even with a slow start to his season, Evan Longoria ranks seventh among third basemen in standard Head-to-Head leagues and ninth in Rotisserie leagues. Among a relatively weak crop of third basemen, those rankings are not so impressive, but Longoria appears to be well on his way to re-establishing himself as an elite at the position.
Longoria has been missing power for most of this season, as he is slugging just .401, but as his flyball rate has increased in recent weeks, so has his rate of extra-base hits. He has hit a home run and two doubles over his last three games, and over his last 21 games, Longoria has posted a .275/.363/.475 slash line.
The one area where Longoria may not improve much is run production, as the Rays' lineup as a whole has struggled. That could prevent him from scoring or driving in more than 80 runs, and for that reason, I have dropped him from second to fourth in my third baseman rankings.
Stil, with improved plate discipline and no erosion in his contact rate, all Longoria needed was more power to approach his prior form and value. His year-to-date stats are still mediocre, so now is a good time to try to buy Longoria at a discount, before his numbers start to reflect his rebound.