PC Top 10 Third Basemen in 2025
José Ramírez of the Cleveland Guardians (MLB.com)
The hot corner may not be shortstop, but it’s also not first or left field. It’s a position deserving of its nickname, with a ton of pulled balls in the triple digit range of exit velocity. Unlike shortstop, for example, third basemen still need to put up above-average offensive production to have a good career. Shortstop is a different position nowadays, which we will cover in the shortstop piece next. Third base has seen some all-time great 3 and D type guys, the baseball equivalent being 30-35 homers and solid defense. Mike Schmidt was one of the best examples of this, leading the National League in homers eight times, while also netting 10 Gold Gloves. We have a few examples of guys who have emulated this further in the article, including Nolan and Manny. I did not rank Matt Shaw very high, who slotted at #9 for our writer John. Shaw provides the defense, but is more of a high-contact hitter than a 30 HR guy. While I think Shaw is a good candidate for NL ROY, there is too much variance for me given that we haven’t yet seen him face MLB pitching. Fellow youngsters Junior Caminero and Jordan Westburg barely missed our top 10, having demonstrated an ability to hit top-level pitching, but we want to see them do it again after teams have had a chance to adjust over a full offseason. The last two honorable mentions are Royce Lewis and Max Muncy. For Lewis, the best ability durability rule comes into play. Everyone in the baseball world knows Royce can mash, but the guy has yet to play a full MLB season. Max has consistently put up power numbers, and he’s a two-time World Series champ. However, he is 34 years old, not a good defender and carries a .210 batting average over the last three years.
José missed the 40-40 club last year by one HR, and he’s consistently been an MVP candidate for most of his career. In fact, he’s finished top 6 in AL MVP voting in all but two of the last eight seasons. Not surprisingly, he’s already over 51 fWAR, and carries a 52.4 bWAR. The sweet spot for Cooperstown is in the 50-70 win range, which means Ramírez should be first ballot by the time he hangs up the spikes. No need to rush though, he’s only 32 and is still the best third baseman in the game. Consistently above average defensively, Cleveland’s star has yet to put up a full season with a sub .800 OPS. Another consideration is the fact that Ramirez has put these numbers up despite hitting in some very weak lineups over the years. While some guys on this list have MVP candidates hitting behind them, J-Ram has been the main show in Cleveland for a while now.
José Ramírez 2020-2024 (bRef)
2. Rafael Devers
Raffy appears to be set to play third for the Red Sox again in 2025, despite the Bregman signing this week. We have Alex projected to play second base, as Fangraphs does, with the Red Sox placating Devers for at least one more year. Devers may not have the defensive metrics behind him, but the eye test would tell you that he’s improved at third if you watched enough of him in 2024. When he initially came up, two things were obvious. He would be a productive major league hitter, and he was a very bad defender. It’s frankly surprising to see him still at third, but either way the bat will play. He’s one of the most dangerous hitters in the game, and always seems to come through in the big moments. Outside of the pandemic-shortened season, he’s actually finished in the top 20 on the MVP ballot in every full season since 2019. A career .856 OPS is pretty impressive in this current MLB environment, even factoring in Fenway. He’s posted at least 600 plate appearances in every full season since 2019, which is a value in itself as mentioned with Royce Lewis. The fact that he’s almost always in a lineup is a value in itself, not to mention the 35 HR and 106 RBI per 162 that he’s averaged over the last four seasons.
3. Austin Riley
I have Riley at #2 and John has Riley at #4. The difference is likely how you see last season. I see Riley’s 2024 as a fluke, and expect him to bounce back entirely. If you think Riley could see less than a full comeback, you likely have Devers ranked higher. While Riley is slightly less potent offensively, he is more tolerable with the glove. He’s still a below-average defender, but he’s not a bottom-five guy at the position like Raffy is. Austin put up a .783 OPS in 2024, compared to a career .840 OPS number. He broke his right hand in August, which denied him the chance to bounce back down the stretch. While his results were a down year for him, his advanced hitting metrics were mostly above 90%. His .361 xwOBA was 92nd percentile, while he also finished 90th or better in bat speed, xSLG, exit velocity, barrel, and hard hit. He’s only 27 years old and he’s an elite hitter in the game. He finished 7th, 6th, and 7th in MVP race during the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons respectively prior to his down year. He hits in front of Matt Olson, how’s that for lineup protection?
4. Manny Machado
Manny has dealt with both his hip and his throwing elbow, both nagging injuries. It didn’t get in the way of his offense in 2024, he put up a 120 OPS+ and drove in 105 runs. Machado has been an elite defender his entire career, with 30 HR power and an above average hit tool. Machado may not be the best at the position in anything at this point, but he’s still good at almost every phase of the game. An .800 OPS at the hot corner with good defense is hard to find, which is why he’s paid the big bucks. Manny is 32, so I expect regression to kick a bit this year, but I still expected .275 with 30 HR or so. San Diego opting to DH him more will likely preserve the bat, though they will miss the glove at third on his off days. ZIPS projects another 4.0 fWAR season, and the reason we have him at #4 is because of the high likelihood he lands between three and five wins. There are players with higher upside, but few with a higher floor.
Manny Machado Profile (bRef)
5. Matt Chapman
Buster Posey made sure Chapman was staying in the Bay, and they paid Matt well with a $151M extension. He’s a 5X GG winner and world class defender, even superior to Machado. That said, Chapman is the more typical 3 and D third baseman who doesn’t possess the pure hitting ability Manny has. He’s a career .241 hitter, with a career 26.8% K rate. He’s walked at a 10.8% clip over his career, which is strong, and he’s good for 25-30 homers a year. The career .790 OPS doesn’t stack up well next to the above tier 1 guys, but he’s still the best glove at third in the game.
6. Isaac Paredes
Paredes is a weird one, because he’s very young while simultaneously having good results and terrible batted ball metrics. He’ll be 26 on opening day, and will play for the Astros after a disastrous short stay in Chicago. He’s about average as a defender at third, and will likely move to 1B later in his career if the bat profiles. He’s a career .232 hitter with 30 HR power, and there might be more potential left in the bat given his age. His swing profiles well at Daikin Park, which plays a role in his ranking here. Isaac ranked in the bottom 15% of the league in exit velocity, barrel rate, hard hit rate, and bat speed. There is some cause for concern here, but if he puts up another .800 OPS year he deserves to be in the top 10.
7. Nolan Arenado
Nado may not be Schmidt, but he has led the league in homers three different times and has the same number of GG’s in his trophy case. Nolan is likely behind the days of both the Gold Glove and league leading homer numbers, but he’s still a productive player and arguably better than Paredes. The tough thing is figuring out whether the batted ball metrics were atrocious last year because of injury, or because the power is gone. He’ll be 34 in April, but he did put up a .743 OPS in the 2nd half last year, demonstrating that perhaps he was just banged up last spring. Even if he doesn’t return to 30 HR power, he’s still a solid glove. He was originally traded to Houston, but he rejected the move with his full NTC (no trade clause). It appears the market has dried up, so he may be stuck in St. Louis until the deadline.
8. Alec Bohm
Bohm is another guy who was highly likely to be moved this winter, but the right deal couldn’t be struck. Dombrowski and the Phillies were asking for too much, particularly given he’s only under team control for two years. Alec is 28, coming off a career year with a .779 OPS and average defensive metrics. The issue is that Bohm has historically rated poorly defensively, and many acquiring teams wonder if his 2024 defensive metrics are an aberration. He’s a career .277 hitter, with an above-average hit tool and a pro feel for driving runners in. He only has 15 HR power, which limits his upside, especially when paired with his limitations with the glove.
Alec Bohm 2024 Metrics (Baseball Savant)
9. Mark Vientos
Vientos impressed in the big moments last October, hitting .329 with five playoff bombs. He made sure we knew there was no question whether he or Baty deserved regular playing time in 2025. Vientos hit .329 with 18 HR against fastballs last year, but hit only .169 against breaking stuff. If he can hack offspeed pitching, he’ll be a star. If he can’t he’ll likely be reduced to a platoon of some kind eventually, or he’ll be an average everyday bat with a below average glove. It’s imperative for his profile that he finds out how to hit the curveballs and sliders, if he’s going to reach his potential. I expect him to hit .250 or so, with 30-35 homers. He’s got plenty of lineup protection with stars like Lindor, Alonso, and Juan Soto. Another question is, can he stick at 3B? Perhaps the plan is to let Pete walk next year, and move Mark over to first. We’ll see.
10. Eugenio Suárez
Geno proved the Mariners wrong for trading him, hitting 30 HR and driving in 101 men while playing solid defense at third. I’m higher on Suárez than John, and I can see the holes in his profile. He strikes out a ton, and has a lot of swing and miss through the zone. He may never hit .250 again, but the 30 HR power is legit. He ranks toward the middle of the road in hard hit and exit velocity, while ranking 78th percentile in barrel rate last year. Geno is probably about average defensively, but his metrics have been inconsistent over the last several years. He’s a legit middle of the order bat, and doesn’t hurt you with the glove. That’s a 3-4 win player, and I don’t think there’s another player who we left off this list we have a better argument for at this point. I had Westburg ranked above Eugenio actually, but he’s a worse defender and doesn't have the same resume Geno does. I wouldn’t be surprised to see regression, but I project another good year in the desert for him.