The rankings continue! Onward to third base, the hottest of corners. To start off the week, we’re going with the #31-50 3B’s as judged by our ever-powerful group of Gurus.

Enjoy.

31. Justin Turner, Boston Red Sox (Age: 38, Previous Rank: 24)

While age may certainly not be on Justin Turner’s side at this point, he may be the last truly safe short-term option at 3rd base. His future position qualifications may eventually change to DH.  You know exactly what you’re getting with Turner as he has consistently been one of the best contact hitters in baseball and he is slated to get nearly everyday ABs for Boston over the next season or two. (Drew Spurling)

32. Cam Collier, Cincinnati Reds (Age: 18 Previous Rank: NR)

The sky is the limit for Collier at this point as many see him as a top-five to ten overall option from this past season’s first-year player draft. It’s easy to get behind that excitement as Collier is someone who has aggressively pushed himself and has been one of the youngest players on the field over the past few seasons. It’s hard to identify any clear weaknesses in his overall game as he should grow into more game power as he matures. It feels like someone who could be average to above average across the board equating to potentially a very good MLB player in a few seasons’ time. It’s likely 2025 is the earliest you could see him at the MLB level so be prepared to show patience. (Drew Spurling)

33. Deyvison De Los Santos, Arizona Diamondbacks (Age: 19 Previous Rank NR)

Deyvison De Los Santos profiles to me as someone who may take some more time to develop. He certainly possesses the raw power profile to play either corner infield position. The ceiling here depends on his ascension as a pure hitter. It’s too early for me to give a firm opinion but this is definitely someone to keep an eye on as he could certainly pay huge dividends. If you have a roster spot and can exert some patience this could be a wonderful target. (Drew Spurling)

34. Warming Bernabel, Colorado Rockies (Age: 20 Previous Rank: NR)

A bright spot in the Colorado Rockies organization, Warming Bernabel played 91 games across Low-A and High-A in 2022, amassing 14 home runs and 23 stolen bases across 409 plate appearances. Warming also displayed the propensity to make contact displaying a respectable 13.7 percent strikeout rate. Already showing immense promise, a strong showing in 2023 will firmly plant him on everyone’s radars. (Drew Spurling)

35. Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers (Age: 21, Previous Rank: NR)

After a phenomenal 2022 at the age of 20, I think it’s safe to say that Colt Keith might be one of the most promising prospects in the Detroit Tigers system. In High-A for West Michigan in the Midwestern League, Colt Keith had a .301 batting average with a .370 on-base percentage and a .544 slugging percentage good for .914 OPS as someone who was 2 years younger than the league average. Then in the Arizona Fall League Colt Keith further cemented a solid season across 18 games as he put up a .344 batting average, a .463 on-base percentage, and .541 slugging percentage good for a 1.004. Keith might be one of the biggest risers at the position period if he can come close to replicating last season in 2023. (Drew Spurling)

36. J.D. Davis, San Francisco Giants (Age: 29, Previous Rank: 30)

After Justin Turner, this may actually be the last option you can start at 3rd Base. I like him more in daily formats where you can potentially have someone else cover ABs if Davis is not an everyday starter for the Giants. From statistical standpoint though on a per-game basis, he still provides an above-average on-base percentage with respectable slugging capabilities for someone in this range of the rankings. He provides no speed and may slightly lag in runs and RBI depending on where he hits in the lineup. In the end, you could certainly do worse as long as he is receiving plate appearances. (Drew Spurling)

37. Mark Vientos, New York Mets (Age: 23, Previous Rank: 21)

A slugger through and through Mark Vientos has big-league power. At this point in time, it’s hard to see a clear path to playing time as he is in competition with Eduardo Escobar, Brett Baty, and the ever-present threat of the Mets pursuing an elite option in FA or via the trade market. All of that said this could be a legitimate slugging option for your team if you’re willing to be patient to see how his playing time shakes out. (Drew Spurling)

38. Gio Urshela, Los Angeles Angels (Age: 31, Previous Rank: NR)

Gio Urshela should receive regular if not nearly every day at-bats for the Angels in 2023 and can be a bench piece or short-term fill-in for your fantasy team. Especially when factoring in the issues Anthony Rendon has had staying healthy. Largely though in OBP formats there is no upside beyond the playing time as his best asset is the ability to make contact and provide a decent batting average. With a cloudy future, you’re probably better off making a different plan in Dynasty formats. (Drew Spurling)

39. Eduardo Escobar, New York Mets (Age: 34, Previous Rank: NR)

Another potentially underrated option for 2023 given the requisite plate appearances. A better-suited option for redraft benches and batting average leagues. He should be on your radar for short-term production. However, you want to be looking elsewhere in Dynasty as he is currently 34, fending off Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and the ever-present threat of the Mets signing a 3B. His days as a regular may be numbered outside of the possibility of moving to a few noncontending teams. Eduardo Escobar can be a bench piece but do not look to invest heavily here. (Drew Spurling)

40. Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (Age: 19, Previous Rank: NR)

Junior Caminero has incredible upside and is in one of the best developmental organizations in baseball. He did basically everything you could ask for from an 18-year-old playing in A ball in 2022. At the appropriate acquisition cost, I would be looking to invest in his talent and the Tampa Bay Rays. I think we could certainly see him 10 spots higher on this list next season. (Drew Spurling)

41. Jhonkensy Noel, Cleveland Guardians (Age: 21 Previous Rank: NR)

The calling card for Noel is undoubtedly his power, which he has shown prodigiously throughout his time in full-season ball. He traversed three levels of the minors this year ultimately ending the season with a cup of coffee in Triple-A. Noel lit the world on fire in 2021, showing the aforementioned power and a solid approach at the plate, however, last year Jhonkesy`s decisions regressed and he routinely went out of the zone swinging at bad pitches while selling out for power. Callin him a third-baseman at this point is debatable as he will ultimately end up at first base or a corner outfield spot. He will be only 21 years old for most of the season and should start the year at Double-A, I will be paying close attention to him to see if the poor swing decisions are still there. (Ryan Epperson)

42. James Triantos, Chicago Cubs (Age: 19 Previous Rank: NR)

I would have liked to have seen more power from Triantos in his first full season of pro ball but was disappointed as he only ended up slugging .386 on the year. A prospect`s progression is not linear, and I am in on Triantos who should be rostered in all but the shallowest of leagues. He expands the zone and the upper levels of the minors will expose that even more than the SIngle-A pitchers did last year. He will most likely start out the year repeating the level but like Noel above him, if he shows better swing decisions he should see advancement fairly quickly. He profiles as a solid everyday player if the hit tool develops as expected, and there is a good chance he can stick at third. (Ryan Epperson)

43. Elehuris Montero, Colorado Rockies (Age: 24 Previous Rank: 42)

In truth, there’s a good argument that Montero should be higher on this list. He`s a hard-hitting batter that will play half of his games in the thin mountain air of Colorado that shows a propensity for putting bat on ball, although he does chase pitches outside the zone quite a bit. Like a lot of minor leaguers, Montero lost a year of development time in the COVID season but came out of the other side swinging a hot bat after being the headliner in the trade that sent Arenado to the Cardinals. Of course, the caveat to the explosion of offense Montero showed happened in the friendlier offensive leagues. He did make it to the show last year and accrued 185 plate appearances where he chased 39.5% of pitches outside the zone. He should have a decent chance of starting the year in the bigs as Ryan McMahon should block no man. (Ryan Epperson)

44. Jeimer Candelario, Washington Nationals (Age: 29, Previous Rank: 22)

Jeimer put together a relatively pedestrian two years before coming into the previous season. He showed an ability to work a walk, contribute a not insignificant amount of home runs, and hit the ball hard when he made contact. Last year however he started swinging at more pitches, but missing a lot of the time. He dropped his BB% to a paltry six percent where before it historically sat around ten percent. The BABIP took a pretty decent hit dropping almost 80 points to a career-low .257, but looking at the numbers shows that he was creating a TON of weak contact so it doesn’t look like it was just bad batted ball luck at play. He does move to a new league and new team where he should play a lion’s share of the time, perhaps a new hitting coach will be able to help. But most likely not. (Ryan Epperson)

45. Patrick Wisdom, Chicago Cubs (Age: 31, Previous Rank: 40)

If you need empty power from a multiple-position eligible (corner infield and outfield) player you could do worse, but not much. Wisdom will give you pop, but that’s about it. Seriously, he’s a “break glass in case of emergency” type of power hitter, where he will be a drain on every other category. He ranks in the top third of the league in hard hit percentage, max exit velocity and average exit velocity. The problem of course is he also whiffs on more than a third of the pitches he sees. (Ryan Epperson)

46. Orelvis Martinez, Toronto Blue Jays (Age: 21, Previous Rank: NR)

In a lot of ways the profile of Martinez matches up with the person ranked right above him in Patrick Wisdom, both of them can just straight mash, and both of them are guilty of just not being able to get the barrel on the ball most of the time. Still, Orelvis was one of two players that swatted 30 home runs in an aggressive promotion to Double-A last year. Unlike Wisdom, he has the chance to correct any deficiencies in his swing and pitch recognition. He has time at both shortstop and third but most believe he will ultimately end up at third where the batted ball profile is less exciting. The Jays were aggressive with having him play the whole year in Double-A but I`m hoping they’ll at least let him start off there again this year to see if there’s improvement before leaping ahead to the next wrung on the ladder.

47. Jordan Groshans, Miami Marlins (Age: 23, Previous Rank: 16)

Welcome to the bizzaro Orelvis Martinez, where Groshans will lightly hit just under half of his balls into the ground and is able to put bat on ball consistently if somewhat weakly with a strong sense of the strike zone. If you are a believer in Groshans (I assume there are some of you out there) now is the time to buy if you can convince yourself he was young for his level at Triple-A this year and he knows the strike zone. It`s just not looking like any sort of power will show up in his profile, and he also doesn’t run at all. Best case scenario is he`s an Alex Verdugo clone that plays third base. (Ryan Epperson)

48. Jake Burger, Chicago White Sox (Age: 26, Previous Rank: 70)

You`ll notice a pattern as you go through a lot of these rankings in the lower tiers of third baseman, they will have one glaring weakness, and Burger`s is a tendency to swing and miss A LOT. We do have to take into account that he missed out on three years of development time recovering from a torn achilles twice, so he is behind on reps at the plate. If he can show a little bit of an improvement in pitch recognition he has the power and surprisingly some speed so he could carve himself a nice role on the Sox but the most likely scenario is he spends his time between Triple-A and the big leagues. Which in the end, is pretty impressive for someone who had the same achilles torn twice.(Ryan Epperson)

49. Eguy Rosario, San Diego Padres (Age: 23, Previous Rank: NR)

Signed out of the Dominican Republic at 16 years old in 2015, Rosario followed up his strong season at double-A in 2021 with an even better line at triple-A El Paso in ’22. Rosario slashed .288/.368/.508, with 22 home runs, 81 RBI, 98 runs, and 21 steals in 124 games, good for 16% above average in the hitter-friendly PCL. The most encouraging sign is that Rosario’s K% dropped from 22.7% in double-A to 19.3% in triple-A, to go with a 10.5 BB% that will help in OBP leagues. Long-term, Rosario will likely be a utility infielder with second base and third base being his two best defensive positions, showcasing a very strong arm. He can fill in at shortstop in a pinch but with the wealth of shortstops that now exist in San Diego, that likely won’t be necessary. The 23-year-old Rosario mixed in six plate appearances with the big-league club last year, hoping to be up for good at some point in 2023. (Bob Osgood)

50. Josh Donaldson, New York Yankees (Age: 37, Previous Rank: 17)

An OBP-league monster his entire career (.367 career entering 2022), Donaldson had his first below-average season in that category in a decade, at .308. It was also his first below-average season of wRC+ in a decade, at 97. He still stayed on the field for 132 games and contributed decent counting stats, with 15 HR, 62 RBI, and 59 runs, but with a strikeout rate that skyrocketed from 21.0 to 27.1% fueled by a Chase Rate that jumped from 22.6 to 29.3%, per Statcast. Despite the declining plate skills, Donaldson was still in the top-10 percentile in Outs Above Average defensively, which could keep him on the field. However, with infielders like Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza emerging, and veterans Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the mix, another .222 batting average may not give him much of a leash at 37 years old. (Bob Osgood)