Top 20 3rd Basemen for 2025 Fantasy Baseball

“Pump up the jam, pump it up,” was what I was singing during the shortstops rankings. And now we’re not singing fun, party songs anymore. Submerge yourself into a garbage dump; take a deep breath…Ah, that’s the smell of the top 20 3rd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball. Don’t turn your nose up! Don’t turn away from the stench! This is the reality about, uh, fantasy. You have to embrace the stank of the 3rd basemen. Enjoy! Here’s Steamer’s 2025 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2025 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. Subscriptions are up and running, and you can already get Rudy’s Draft War Room. Anyway, here’s the top 20 3rd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball:

NOTE: All my 2025 fantasy baseball rankings are currently available on Patreon for the price of a Starbucks coffee, if you get one of those extra grande frappuccino jobbers. Don’t wait for the rankings to come out over the next month, and get them all now.

NOTE II: Free agents are marked as such and not yet projected. They are ranked for where they’re currently worth drafting.

NOTE III: BDon and I discuss my 3rd basemen rankings:

1. Jose Ramirez – Already went over him in the top 10 for 2025 fantasy baseball.

2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Already went over him in the top 20 for 2025 fantasy baseball.

3. Jazz Chisholm Jr. – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Devers. I call this tier, “This is a no-go.” If the top 20 overall went to 30, these guys might’ve all made their way into it. All four of these guys made noise (in my head) about getting into the top 20 overall. For various reasons, they were no-gos, which is also what I call it when I want to eat-in and someone asks if an order is for takeout, which makes people very confused. “This is a no-go” is me confusing people when not saying, “It’s for here,” and it’s this tier.

As for Jazz, hate the nagging feeling that he could be coming off a career year and we’re paying for it. The part that has me more glass-half-filly is he has 25-steal speed even if he goes back to his 100-game-played self. In Yankee Stadium, he’s such an easy 25-homer hitter. “25/25 easy” is hard to beat. The less good news is even after a 24/40/.256 season, he was only barely a top 35 player. To counter myself, part of that year was in Miami with those shizzy counting stats, and the Yankees make Jazz jazzier. This feels like a steal for what he could do in a whole year in New York. 2025 Projections: 87/29/90/.248/31 in 531 ABs

4. Austin Riley – 3rd basemen are a bit of a mess. I like the guys in this tier, but there’s a case to be made they are not all safe. Jazz was excellent last year, but not so much in his previous seasons; Riley was awful last year; Machado has his moments where he seemingly stops playing baseball, and Devers might be hurt. There were 12 3rd basemen in the top 100 last year on the Player Rater, which is samesies as 1st basemen and much better than 2nd basemen. So the position isn’t crazy shallow, or shouldn’t be, but it does feel like the top of the 3rd basemen is more iffy than other positions, except for 2nd base. 2nd base is very bad. As for Riley, last year was a masterclass in being a disaster. A disaster-class in being a master at doing a mess. He’s young and this ranking-slash-projections are just giving him a bye for a guy that just had an off year. 2025 Projections: 93/35/96/.274/2 in 581 ABs

5. Manny Machado – This might surprise some people. Most have Devers above Machado, but let’s look at Machado’s previous year coming off an injury vs. Devers’s season playing through an injury: 29/11/.275 vs. 28/3/.272. Is there any doubt that Machado was better? There shouldn’t be. He easily was on the Player Rater. That doesn’t mean he will be better again, but I’m trying to find a reason why he wouldn’t be. He has same amount of power, more steals and similar average. If Machado vs. Devers was merely 7+ steals, I might’ve went Devers still, but Devers still has a shoulder issue, and Machado has “I just proved that I was healthy after surgery.” 2025 Projections: 71/31/108/.272/10 in 581 ABs

6. Rafael Devers – This guy scares me more than any other guy in possibly any other ranking post. He hit 5 HRs and .244 in 209 ABs in the 2nd half, and complained of shoulder soreness. He would not be the first guy to have a career derailed with a shoulder injury. He is perfect, besides that. I cannot just wave it away though. He could look great in April, tweak his shoulder in May and be useless for 120 games. Or he could be totally fine. I have no idea, and I don’t think even he knows. 2025 Projections: 95/27/89/.277/5 in 542 ABs

7. Mark Vientos – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Bregman. I call this tier, “Sade’s The Sweetest Taboo.” That song makes me do naughty things. This tier gives me the same feelings. I want one guy in this tier in every league.

As for Vientos, already gave you my Mark Vientos sleeper. It was written while riding the A train to the B train while telling passengers there’s no C train. 2025 Projections: 82/34/95/.251/1 in 580 ABs

8. Jordan Westburg – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.

9. Junior Caminero – That the Rays let him exceed his rookie eligibility last year. Dot dot dot. Well, I guess we should celebrate it, but it’s hard to not wonder why in the ever-loving eff they would. Regardless, they did and he looked exactly as we should get used to seeing. A taste of the future. He went 6/2/.248 in 165 ABs. I wouldn’t be shocked to see anywhere from a 35/10/.275 season to 20/5/.240. My guess is it’s gonna be on the better side of things, and the last chance we’re able to draft Caminero anywhere close to this affordable. He will likely become a top 25 overall player in drafts for the next decade. 2025 Projections: 82/28/88/.264/7 in 572 ABs

10. Alex Bregman – Red Sox reunite Alex Bregman with Alex Cora. Hopefully, they synchronize their Apple Watches. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, kazoo.

11. Jake Burger – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Arenado. I call this tier, “No presh!” This tier should be corner infidels, but they’re likely going as 3rd basemen and where the rubber meets the road on whether the 3rd basemen are really as shallow as they seem. If the 3rd basemen turn out to be shallow, it’s gonna be because this tier lets us down. No presh!

As for Burger, already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

12. Cam Smith – Went over him in the 3rd basemen to target. 2025 Projections: 67/27/73/.254/5 in 504 ABs

13. Luis Rengifo – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.

14. Isaac Paredes – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

15. Matt Chapman – Still can’t believe he stole 15 bags last year. As I said at the end of last year, “His steals are so absurd. There’s layers of absurdity. Giants don’t run, Chapman doesn’t run, he’s not fast, he wasn’t caught much. That he’s sniffing distance to Trea Turner’s steals total this year? Absurd. He had 11 steals coming into this year combined for his career — in 7 years! Absurd. At 26 years of age, he stole one bag in 156 games. At 31, he stole 15? Absurd.” And that’s me quoting me! Still absurd! The problem with projecting forward absurdity is how do we rely on that nonsense as a sign of things to come? He could easily steal zero bags this year or decide to challenge 30 steals. I’m only half kidding. 2025 Projections: 81/25/86/.242/7 in 527 ABs

16. Alec Bohm – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

17. Willi Castro – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

18. Eugenio Suarez – He had the best 2nd half not Judge or Ohtani-maxxed. Suarez went 20/.307 in 251 ABs. If he would’ve had a somewhat decent 1st half (he didn’t, 10/.216), it would be hard to rank him much lower than the top 10 for 3rd basemen, and likely even higher. There’s a case to be made I’ve ranked him way too low, but I don’t think there’s any way to rank him higher. By that, I mean he could hit 35/.250 or 25/.230 and the difference is just whether or not he’s seeing the ball well for half a season or only one month. 2025 Projections: 74/27/88/.231/2 in 539 ABs

19. Maikel Garcia – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

20. Matt Shaw – Already gave you my Matt Shaw fantasy. It was written while introducing you to my overhead pickleball smash! 2025 Projections: 68/12/71/.236/24 in 479 ABs

21. Ryan McMahon – Was gonna say only the Rockies would give a guy like McMahon six straight years of everyday duty, but looking at his numbers and [shrugs]. Call him Ryan McMehon. Not bad, just yawnstipating. 2025 Projections: 73/22/71/.244/5 in 541 ABs

22. Nolan Arenado – Funny thing about making projections and predictions is when someone calls me out for a mistake. You could never remind me about my past mistakes more than I remind myself. One such example is how I wrote a Nolan Arenado schmohawk two years ago, and missed his last good season, then failed by being a year too early on his actual terrible season. More mistakes by me are kept in the world’s smallest journal over by that open window–NOOOO!!! Torenado! 2025 Projections: 63/18/67/.254/2 in 559 ABs

23. Josh Jung – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Ortiz. I call this tier, “Cardio is done.” Did you get your heartbeat up? Burn some calories? Was it a good run for 3rd basemen? I hope so, because it’s over now. There might be guys in this tier that have value as corner infidels from time to time off waivers, but you sitting on one of these guys at 3rd base while your opponent has, say, Jazz, and a Karen is gonna wanna talk to the manager of your fantasy team (you).

As for Jung, I think of myself as Royce Lewis-woke. His charms can’t guile me! I am hip to his hip not at 100% functioning. With that said, I must still be 100% guiled by Royce Lewis, because I ranked him higher than Josh Jung when the latter is basically the same, and has actually had a season where he stayed healthy. In fact (Grey’s got more!), projections systems like Jung about same as Lewis. 2025 Projections: 61/18/64/.264/4 in 443 ABs

24. Jeimer Candelario – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

25. Brendan Donovan – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

26. Joey Ortiz – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

27. Max Muncy – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until House. I call this tier, “Aw sookie, we’re in some dookie.” Ya know when they get stuck in that trash compactor in Star Wars? Imagine we were in there fifteen minutes beforehand and have already perished. That’s this tier. At least we didn’t die off due to one of those stupid Stormtrooper’s pew-pews.

As for Muncy, how well do you think a 34-year-old with declining skills and health can hold it together? Not rhetorical, I am actually asking so I know how many shares of Edman I should draft. By the way, there’s another Max Muncy coming up, a prospect in the A’s system. Will be interesting to see if the MLB universe can handle two Muncys or if one is the Max. 2025 Projections: 51/20/54/.206/1 in 397 ABs

28. Royce Lewis – Tried to lower him as much as I could without being viewed as a Ding Dong Merchant who is incredibly dumb, and I’m not sure I succeeded. I don’t hate Lewis, in general. I understand the love. I can see it as clear as day. He’s got easy 40-homer power with a .280 average, if he just finally stays on the field and makes good on his promise. He might even chuck in 10+ steals. We’ve reached the part of his career where he has to do it for me to expect anywhere close to it. He can’t stay on the field for more than 100 games and has all but abandoned the steals. He’s also getting fly ball happy and just hitting a ton of just-misses. Might burn me with how good he ends up this year but there’s upside gambles to take and I don’t think he’s one. UPDATE: Strained hamstring with no timetable for return, so it’s hard to gauge when his next injury will happen. 2025 Projections: 46/17/54/.246/2 in 347 ABs

29. Ke’Bryan Hayes – He’s gone 37/51 in his career. Just a tad less than Ohtani last year. Only Hayes has done it in 1811 at-bats. Or, if Ohtani went, like, oh-for-1,100 last year in the final game. They’re basically the same guy. 2025 Projections: 54/7/59/.253/15 in 524 ABs

30. Connor Norby – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

31. Coby Mayo – Already gave you my Coby Mayo fantasy. It was written while doing the Dougie. 2025 Projections: 29/11/34/.219/2 in 232 ABs

32. Matt Vierling – Is he related to Lisa Ling? Member her? A smoke show. Am I talking about Lisa Ling because I have nothing to say about Vierling? Possibling. Last year, he went 16/6/.257 in 518 ABs, and is penciled in as the Tigers’ three-hole hitter, and…Hmm…Going back to Lisa Ling… UPDATE: Will miss the start of the season with a rotator cuff strain. Vierling’s been gerund’d for three to five weeks is my guess. 2025 Projections: 52/12/56/.259/6 in 421 ABs

33. Brady House – Already gave you my Brady House fantasy. It coulda been a contender. 2025 Projections: 31/15/42/.236/5 in 309 ABs

34. Jose Caballero – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until the end. I call this tier, “Odds, ends, butts.” All right, youngen, it’s a wrap, you screwed up your 3rd base position, but at least you went out like a total gangster not drafting a good 3rd baseman. Hmm, that sounds too positive. You went out like a total fantasy baseball gangster. There, that’s better.

As for Caballero, already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

35. Jose Miranda – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

36. Ernie Clement – Already went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2025 fantasy baseball.

37. Christopher Morel – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

38. Isiah Kiner-Falefa – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

39. Amed Rosario – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

40. Jose Tena – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

41. Oswaldo Cabrera – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

42. Dylan Moore – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

43. Gio Urshela – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

44. Brooks Lee – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.

45. Brett Baty – Nearly left off Baty from the 3rd basemen rankings, but then saw I ranked Kyle Farmer and smacked the crap out of myself. Pimp handed myself. Turned to the mirror and told myself, “Get in line, boy.” UPDATE: Time to pimp slap myself again, because I am once again removing Brett Baty after Mets re-signed Alonso. UPDATE II: Yet another pimp slap for yours truly. Baty will have chance to play 2nd, for at least half the time while McNail recovers. Now it’s just a matter what Baty does. Fly, little Baty, fly. 2025 Projections: 37/12/46/.234/2 in 302 ABs

46. Noelvi Marte – Has anyone returned from a PEDs suspension and been better? I’m not remembering any. His return last year went about as well as every other returnee from a PEDs suspension, too. It was a small sample, though, so, Larry David Meh Face, maybe it’s not a sign of things to come. He’s only 23 and has speed, so, if nothing else, there’s that, but the Reds traded for Lux so there’s that too. By the way, 23 and Speed is also an ancestry site when you’re pressed for time. 2025 Projections: 31/8/37/.225/15 in 259 ABs

47. Kyle Farmer – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Signed with the Rockies. There’s a chance Bud Black accidentally reads his name as Kyle Framer, and he starts him behind the plate for 120 games. That could be huge value with his other position eligibility! Then again, Bud Black might not have heard of catcher framing and might use him to hang pictures in his office.” And that’s me quoting me! 2025 Projections: 53/9/55/.228/8 in 413 ABs

48. Miguel Vargas – Don’t want to underestimate the White Sox in 2025, just because they had the worst season ever last year. This year is a new year. Will Venable is their new manager and Miguel Vargas hit .150 last year with a 24 K% in 206 ABs–What on earth?! Okay, will the White Sox lose 162 games in 2025? 2025 Projections: 51/12/56/.206/10 in 476 BAs

Omitted but considered: Justin Turner, Andy Ibanez, Cavan Biggio, Patrick Wisdom, Enrique Hernandez, Lenyn Sosa, Jace Jung, Paul DeJong, Max Schuemann, Shay Whitcomb, Addison Barger, Jared Triolo, Yoan Moncada, Edmundo Sosa, Zach McKinstry, Santiago Espinal, Bryan Ramos, Ramos Urias, Jose Iglesias, Darell Hernaiz, Ezequiel Duran, Donovan Solano, Anthony Rendon, Eguy Rosario, Gabriel Arias, Oswald Peraza, Eric Wagaman, Chris Taylor, Josh Rojas, DJ LeMahieu, Ildemaro Vargas