The hamster in the wheel of time turns, and the wheel churns out more baseball rankings. That’s what they say, right?

Today we discuss third basemen #11 – #30. Brought to you by Ben Ben Sanders and David Gofman.

#11 – #20

Alex Bregman remains unsigned as of this writing, although rumors suggest a reunion with the Astros is still a possibility, even after they got back two other third basemen on this list in the Kyle Tucker trade. Isaac Paredes is their presumed current starter at the hot corner. He had a dismal time after being traded to the Cubs at the deadline, but I wouldn’t worry about that now that he’s in another park that plays to his extreme flyball and pull tendencies. I’m giving him a mulligan on his Chicago stint and expecting his Houston numbers will be similar to what he did in Tampa Bay in 2023 and the first half of 2024. I’m a big fan of Cam Smith as a hitter, but I wouldn’t plan on him as my dynasty third baseman of the future just because I don’t think he’ll end up playing there. The Astros plan to try him at multiple positions, and outfield is by far their biggest area of need, so I’d look for him to end up there.

Bregman’s future depends not only on where he signs, but if he starts walking again. His BB-rate fell to 6.9% last season after a six-year run in double digits, and his .315 OBP was his worst since he was a rookie. Plate discipline will be critical to his fantasy value as he ages, especially if he leaves the Astros. Just look at his Statcast career xHR by park – 239 in Houston, much higher than rumored destinations such as Boston (169) and Detroit (158).

Plate discipline is not critical to the fantasy value of Jake Burger. He has the strikeout and walk rates of an ace pitcher, but makes up for it with massive power. He was traded to Texas in the offseason, which puts him in a better park and lineup. However, Roster Resource currently has him batting eighth for the Rangers after he hit in the heart of the Marlins’ order last year, so that may neutralize any advantage. He also may lose third base eligibility, since he’s expected to start at first base with Josh Jung at third.

Of course, Burger could end up playing some third because Jung can’t seem to stay healthy. Jung rebounded from an injury-plagued 2022 with a breakout 2023, but then fractured his wrist and missed most of last year. He enters his age-27 season with only 805 MLB plate appearances. His ceiling still feels high, but all the injuries may have slowed his development.

Luis Rengifo slashed .300/.347/.417 last season with 24 steals in just 78 games. He was exactly the table-setting speedster I hoped I was getting when I rostered him in a dynasty league way back in 2018. So where the heck did that guy go for the last five years? He stole just 18 bases in his first 448 MLB games, and seemed to be developing into more of a power hitter with 17 homers in 2022 and 16 in 2023. Some credit for his 2024 success should go to a fortunate .339 BABIP, and some to Angels manager Ron Washington’s aggressive base running philosophy. Rengifo is in the final year of his contract with the Angels and Washington is 72 years old, so this is a situation that won’t last forever. Rengifo’s long-term outlook is hazy, but if you need a 3B-eligible player with significant stolen base upside, he’s one of your few options.

The next best bet for stolen bases in this group is… Matt Chapman? He entered 2024 with just 11 career steals, but swiped 15 last year. He also had his lowest K-rate and highest batting average since 2019, and hit exactly 27 homers for the third time in four years. His Statcast page is full of bright red numbers, like his 97^th percentile bat speed and 84^th percentile sprint speed, so there’s no signs of physical decline yet as he enters his age-32 season. I’m skeptical he’ll keep running, but either way there’s a lot to like here, especially in the short term.

Alec Bohm improved both his on-base and slugging percentages for a third straight season, and drove in 97 runs for a second year in a row. The Phillies don’t seem to be too enamored with him, however – he was benched for a game during the postseason, and his name came up several times in offseason trade rumors. A move out of Philadelphia would almost certainly be bad – Bohm’s RBI numbers benefit greatly from batting after a bunch of superstars, and he’s been uninspiring in other fantasy categories.

Coby Mayo is the player in this group I like most for dynasty purposes, despite his miserable 2024 debut. Yes, he struck out almost half of the time, but it was only 46 plate appearances. He put up huge numbers in the upper minors the last two seasons and is only 23. The power upside is too high to panic just yet.

Just a PSA: Ronny Mauricio still exists. You may have forgotten about him after he missed all of last season with a torn ACL. He had two straight 20-20 seasons in the minors, and will have a chance to compete for the Mets’ starting third base job this spring. Now might be a good time to target him before he gets back on the radar.

(Ben Sanders)

#21 – #30

If you’re looking for a low-stakes veteran to cover the hot corner for 2025, Eugenio Suárez is a sneaky option. In his first season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Venezuela native put up a vintage season by his standards, with a .256 batting average to go along with 30 home runs and 101 runs batted in. What the season-long stat line doesn’t show is that Suárez actually struggled mightily at the plate in the first half of the season, hitting just .216, and he made up for it in a big way in the second half. After the all-star break, Suarez hit a whopping .307 with 20 home runs, and while he’ll enter 2025 as a 33-year-old, Suárez is showing no signs of slowing down.

The three players at the top of this list will likely see themselves moving up or down significantly in 2026 based on how 2025 goes. Maikel García has much to prove after a disappointing 2024 season at the plate. García continues to show above-average contact rates, and the statcast data suggests he got pretty unlucky at the plate this year (he hit .231 with an expected batting average of .260), but his profile continues to be an odd one to pin down for a 3rd baseman. García finished 3rd among qualified third basemen in steals in 2024 with 37, behind José Ramírez (41) and Jazz Chisholm (40), but finished last among qualified 3rd basement in home runs (7) and On Base Percentage (.281). The Royals don’t have any obvious candidates to take over for Garcia, and he is still just 24 years old, but we will likely need to see more power in 2025, and the OBP numbers tick back up if Garcia is going to be anything more than a one-category player and stick in the lineup long-term for Kansas City.

Despite being traded from a playoff team to one of the worst teams in baseball at the trade deadline, Marlins third basemen Connor Norby emerged a winner in that he suddenly had a clear path to playing time. The 24-year-old played well enough to close out the 2024 season that it seems all but certain he will have a run as the Marlins starting third baseman in 2025. Norby hit 26 home runs between AAA and the Majors in 2024 split between Miami and Baltimore and stole 16 bases, so a 20-10 output as a big leaguer seems realistic as he settles in. There aren’t a lot of reasons to watch the Marlins these days, but Connor Norby is one of them.

After an electric debut in 2023, Noelvi Marte seemed destined to cover 3rd base for a young and exciting Cincinnati Reds club going into 2024. That is, until he tested positive for anabolic steroids in March and was suspended for the first 80 games of the season. Marte returned mid-way through the season and couldn’t recapture the magic of his 2023 campaign, hitting just .210, with a .248 on base percentage and striking out 31% of the time in the big leagues. In fact, so much magic has rubbed off the 23-year-old that there are questions going into 2025 about whether Marte will make the opening day roster. For dynasty managers, Marte represents an intriguing player to target if his current manager is looking to get off the train.

I know I said I was going to focus on the three players at the top, but when discussing Noelvi Marte, it only makes sense to also mention Orelvis Martinez. Marte and Martinez have the inauspicious distinction of being two top prospects who each got suspended for PEDs in 2024. Martinez’s suspension came just one game into his Major League career, after a white-hot start at triple-A where he hit 16 home runs in just 63 games. The fairy tale season came to an end after just three major league at-bats, and fans were left wondering just how much of what they saw in 2024 was the real Orelvis Martinez, and how much was aided by performance enhancing drugs. Fans will hope to get their answer in 2025, because while the Blue Jays currently have Ernie Clement penciled in as the starting third baseman, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Martinez gets another shot sooner rather than later.

(David Gofman)