Ichiro to hit third

[Fenris-77]

So, apparently Ichiro will start the season in the three hole for Seattle. What does that do for his value really? It doesn't change the average any IMO (you either think he'll rebound there or you don't) but I have to wonder if it will take a chunk out of his steal and run totals. Most projections have him at 80 runs and 35-40 steals, but if he dips too far in either category he's going to be pretty bad relative to his current ADP. I'm also not sure that in Seattle's offense I have any faith is an RBI jump to offset the losses elsewhere.Thoughts?

[Pogotheostrich]

I don't think it will hurt his R much. He had Brendan Ryan and Figgins hitting 2nd most of the year so his R could actually go up. He should actuall be in a much better spot for R and RBI hitting 3rd. As of the SB I'm not really sure but Ichiro is a smart enough base stealer to make me think it won't drop dramatically.

[Ender]

I doubt it changes his steals much and it probably helps his R+RBI totals. I still don't think much of him and he is sitting out there in the 8th round in a 16 team draft I'm in and I'm really not thinking of taking him and I probably should be. He has been overvalued for a few years now but he most likely is a bargain now that people finally gave up on him.

[Fenris-77]

My pessimism about Seattle's overall offense is probably coloring my skepticism here. Which is sad, because I think Ichiro has some real value this year when he drops as far as I've seen him drop. I'll just have to get over my Seattle bias I guess.

[The Mighty Trow]

His average was dependent on beating out ground balls. His age suggests those days are coming to an end, so the move down the lineup makes sense. I've never touched the guy before because I always thought the name outweighed the production. WIth OF flying off the board this year, I'd be comfortable to roll the dice on him at or after the 10th round in a 12 team league.