We’ve made it to the top of the hot corner! We’re rounding third! We’re headed home!

No seriously. It’s been a long week….

…but today we have the top ten third basemen blurbs from Phil Barrington!

#1 – #10

Here we are, the top-10 third basemen for the 2025 Dynasty season, and a familiar face starts of off…JoRam, or José Ramírez, to the taxing authorities. JoRam finished 2024 as the top third baseman, and the #4 overall player on the Razzball player rater. If you rostered him your team was in it to win it. The same thing applies for 2025,

ESPN used to print a magazine (wild, I know, and like, what’s a magazine?) and annually the most popular issue was Who’s Next? (greatest album by the Who) If they were printing it this year, and it focused on third base, we would see the Rays’ Junior Caminero on the cover, with Mark Vientos and Matt Shaw featured as well.

One thing I like to think about when compiling my rankings is where they would go in a start-up Dynasty draft. I’ve tried to use our rankings (and other Dynasty rankings) in a start-up draft over the years, and the biggest difference I’ve noticed is that when it comes to over-age-30 vets, like JoRam and Manny Machado, they will almost always get picked after the Who’s Next? Group. While we don’t rank them that way (would people value/utilize Start-up rankings differently than Dynasty rankings? And should they be different at all?) A great point made during our rankings debate by Ben Saunders, “consensus rankings will tend to place a higher value on reliability than a dynasty ADP would.” So remember that when drafting, as it only takes one prospect hungry manager to destroy rankings by taking Matt Shaw before JoRam, for example.

In my main league, the manager who has Ramírez has been trying to move him all off-season, with no success, and while one may think he is being unreasonable, I know better; in our league, as in the case of many, youth trumps production. There’s nothing not to love about JoRam, draft him as a cornerstone and at age 32, watch him produce for a few more seasons.

The Braves Austin Riley had his 2024 season ended with a fractured right hand (thanks to a 97mph heater) and wrapped up his worst season as a professional. Along with the rest of the under-performing 2024 Atlanta Braves, I am willing to write that off and start 2025 fresh. Expect 90/30/90 with more within reach; if his 2024 season created a discount, now is the time to go get the smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-his-prime Riley.

Less than one year older than Riley, Boston’s Rafael Devers continues to chug along and compile counting stats with 27+ homers as he’s done for the last six seasons (COIVD 2020 notwithstanding). Devers had the fewest counting stats of his career last season (170 Runs + RBI), but those aren’t necessarily low. Both Riley and Devers can finish as the top third baseman in 2025, and that’s without any steals.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is one of my favorite baseball personalities, and he finally put it together in 2024, moving from Miami to New York and finishing with 24 homers and 40 steals, along with the lowest K rate of his career (24.5%). The lineup remains great around him, so he should see career highs in Runs and RBI, as long as he stays healthy. This ranking feels a bit too high, especially coming off a career year, and for a guy who does not have a great OBP. His Dynasty value is the highest it has been, so if you’re in the same boat as me and simply not sure, put him on the block, see what might come.

Use ageism to your advantage and make Manny Machado a target if your team is in win-now mode. Machado is as consistent as they come in terms of power and counting stats, and he even chips in steals, averaging ten per season. Projection systems have Junior Caminero having a prime Machado season in 2025, as we haven’t seen it yet from the 21-year-old, I’m hesitant to crown him just yet. With that being said, he’s the position’s top prospect and will have the opportunity to take the top spot and run with it for a decade.

Long thought to be the future at 3B, the Twins’ Royce Lewis, if he could just stay healthy. Still a believer in that, but now, entering his age-26 season, Lewis has to prove it by staying on the field. This ranking factors that in, but it is so fun to dream on a 600 AB season from Lewis. One day.

Looking at Mark Vientos’ minor league numbers, no one should be surprised by his breakout 2024, and now he may move across the diamond, so this could be his last ranking amongst the third basemen. No matter, if you’re looking for power and counting stats (and that is what 3B is for), Vientos is a great choice. The big worry here is strikeouts, true of many a young player, but 30% will not do. Vientos was up around that number throughout the minors, something he didn’t really “fix.” It is definitely a worry, but if Vientos can keep it to 27ish% and get that walk rate to his minor league 10%, he’ll be in business. Bonus: he’s even better in OBP leagues.

There is a ton of helium around Matt Shaw this off-season, and with good reason. He flew through the Cubs system, setting himself up to earn the third base job out of Spring Training. Even if he starts at Triple-A, it shouldn’t be long until he’s in Wrigley. My favorite Shaw stat? 31 steals between Double-A and Triple-A last year. We could be looking at the heir apparent to JoRam (tone it down, Cubs fan. I. Will. Not!).

The Orioles lineup is so strong they have Jordan Westburg penciled into the eight spot in the lineup. Let us hope that doesn’t hold and he eventually climbs his way up, because counting stats may keep him from a top-5 finish at the position in 2025. There is a lot to like in his profile, and an increase in his walk rate to minor league levels (he only walked at a 4.9% rate in 2024, while his minor league rate was well about 11%) should have him contributing even more so in OBP leagues. 25/10 with hopes for more is a good outlook for 2025 and beyond.

(Phil Barrington)