About a month ago, I put out my initial list for the top third basemen for my rest of season rankings. It turns out, my work was not quite complete as things have certainly changed. We’ve had injuries (ugh) and positional battles during spring training that have certainly moved the needle. However, another factor for me adjusting my rankings was actually getting into drafts and seeing what my decisions were in the moment when the pressure was actually on. Let’s get to the list and then we’ll go through some of the movers.
| Rank | Player | Position | Team | + / – |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Ramirez | 3B | Indians | – |
| 2 | Manny Machado | 3B | Padres | – |
| 3 | Anthony Rendon | 3B | Angels | – |
| 4 | DJ LeMahieu | 1B/2B/3B | Yankees | – |
| 5 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | Cardinals | – |
| 6 | Alex Bregman | 3B | Astros | – |
| 7 | Rafael Devers | 3B | Red Sox | – |
| 8 | Eugenio Suarez | 3B | Reds | – |
| 9 | Yoan Moncada | 3B | White Sox | +2 |
| 10 | Max Muncy | 1B/2B/3B | Dodgers | – |
| 11 | Cavan Biggio | 2B/3B/OF | Blue Jays | -2 |
| 12 | Alec Bohm | 3B | Phillies | – |
| 13 | Matt Chapman | 3B | Athletics | – |
| 14 | Ke’Bryan Hayes | 3B | Pirates | +2 |
| 15 | Gio Urshela | 3B | Yankees | – |
| 16 | Kris Bryant | 3B/OF | Cubs | -2 |
| 17 | Josh Donaldson | 3B | Twins | – |
| 18 | Tommy Edman | 3B/SS/OF | Cardinals | – |
| 19 | Jean Segura | 3B/2B | Phillies | +3 |
| 20 | Austin Riley | 3B | Braves | – |
| 21 | Justin Turner | 3B | Dodgers | -2 |
| 22 | Andres Gimenez | 3B/2B/SS | Indians | – |
| 23 | Ryan McMahon | 3B/1B/2B | Rockies | NR |
| 24 | Eduardo Escobar | 3B | Diamondbacks | – |
| 25 | Kyle Seager | 3B | Mariners | NR |
Not much changed at the top. If you said to me that you like Alex Bregman over Nolan Arenado or Rafael Devers over DJ LeMahieu, that’s fine by me. The glob from Rendon down to Devers is bunched up so tight.
The first move I made was swapping Yoan Moncada and Cavan Biggio. With the news that he could be hitting seventh in the Blue Jays’ lineup, I had to bump Biggio down. In fact, I had moved him past Bohm, but then Springer got hurt, so I bumped him back up a little….for now. I still love the plate discipline and stolen bases that Biggio provides. However, if his bat doesn’t progress the way that I think it will, he’ll be sliding further down the ranks.
When it comes to Moncada, moving him up has everything to do with his health. He was hit hard by COVID-19 last year and never fully recovered during the shortened season. I’m expecting a bounce back to his usual self and should greatly benefit from an improved White Sox lineup.
Here’s the disclaimer – I’ve fallen in love with Ke’Bryan Hayes. I’ve had two live drafts in the last two days and took Hayes in both. Both times I took him, Kris Bryant was still on the board, so I felt I should adjust my rankings accordingly. I know the lineup is gonna be bad, but the hit tool has finally caught up with his defense and he’s chipped in stolen bases at every level he’s played. As for the aforementioned Bryant, he was constantly nicked up last year and just doesn’t look great in spring training. Not to say he can’t turn it around, but I just find myself avoiding him in drafts.
Jean Segura is another player that I’ve found ending up on my rosters later in drafts. A little bit of speed to go with batting average upside and positional flexibility – me likey. I’ve been drafting him to fill my MI slot, so it’s not exactly 3B related, but he’s still very valuable. My only concern is that Roster Resource currently projects Segura to hit 7th, but I could see him leading off or hitting 2nd occasionally this year.
I bumped Justin Turner down slightly. It’s mostly speculative, but the Dodgers want the 36-year old healthy in September and beyond so I don’t expect Turner to play 6 days a week. Edwin Rios is a fine bat that should see the field at least twice a week, which limits Turner’s fantasy upside some. However, if you’re in a daily league and are a fan of streaming hitters, Turner’s a really solid option relatively late in drafts.
Finally, we have two newcomers (Ryan McMahon and Kyle Seager) and two outgoers (J.D. Davis and Brian Anderson). Roster Resource projects McMahon to hit 2nd in Coors and who am I to say no to that? What Seager did last year was pretty incredible. He managed to lower his strikeout rate to a career-best 13.3% and increase his walk rate to 12.9%, also a career-best. Seager also stole 5 bases in the shortened season, which was a 5 year high. He’s had a hot spring, so welcome to the list!
I don’t have much to say about Brian Anderson, but J.D. Davis dropping off this list has to do with the crowded Mets’ lineup. Most of the projection seasons have him for approximately 450 plate appearances, which does not make me happy.
