Top 10 Third Basemen in Major League Baseball for 2025
The third base position is one of the deepest positions in baseball, as some of the MLB's best position players call the hot corner home.

Over the years some of the greatest players in major league history have called the hot corner home.
Hall of Fame talent such as Chipper Jones, Mike Schmidt and Adrian Beltré all made their living gracing the third base bag.
In today’s game the third base position is no different in it’s star-studded make up, as it features one of the most diverse ranges of talent of all positions in baseball.
From young and upcoming stars like Mark Vientos and Jordan Westburg; to defensive wizards like Matt Chapman; to all-round five-tool superstars like José Ramírez, third base truly has it all.
Honorable Mentions: Junior Caminero (TBR), Royce Lewis (MIN), Nolan Arenado (STL), Max Muncy (LAD)
You’ll likely be hard pressed to find a honorable mentions list this star-studded, but that’s indicative as to how stellar the third base position is in today’s MLB.
As a former Just Baseball No. 1 overall prospect, Junior Caminero might have the most rising potential of anyone mentioned in these rankings. However, for the time being it’s the more average outputs over a limited major league sample size that keeps him outside of the top 10. That being said, if he can showcase some of that potential that saw him hit for a 156 wRC+ in the minors in 2023, it wouldn’t be a shock whatsoever to see him firmly within the top 10 in a year’s time.
Speaking of former top-tier prospect pedigree, as a former No. 1 overall draft pick Royce Lewis has as much skill as anyone listed here. However, injuries have held him to just 605 plate appearances over the past three MLB seasons. When he’s on the field he’s an elite power threat at the plate, the question is, though: will he ever be healthy enough to string together a full season?
The six-time NL Platinum Glove Award winner Nolan Arenado continues to be one of the league’s premier defenders at third base, posting top five totals in both DRS (T-5th at 6) and OAA (3rd at 9) at the position in 2024. However, while his defense remains strong he’s far from the MVP caliber hitter he was just two years ago. This past season a 102 wRC+ for the 33-year-old Arenado marked his second consecutive year below a 110 wRC+, after finishing as an NL MVP finalist with a 149 wRC+ in 2022.
While he may have missed over three months with an oblique strain, Max Muncy still managed to put together an excellent 136 wRC+ season in 2024. That being said, Muncy’s offensive profile is limited compared to others at the position, on the account he’s a three true outcome hitter. He’s always a threat to hit 30+ HR, he’ll walk at 15.0% clip every season, but he’ll also strikeout around 25.0% of the time resulting in very low batting averages that can flirt with the Mendoza Line.
10. Jordan Westburg, Baltimore Orioles
Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
RANK: 11 | RANK: 9 | RANK: 9 | RANK: 11 | RANK: 11 | RANK: 11 |
2024 Stats: 107 G, .264/.312/.481, 18 HR, 63 RBI, 125 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR
Other than a decently lengthy stint on the IL, what more could you have asked for from Jordan Westburg in 2024?
The 25-year-old had a excellent rebound season after a fairly underwhelming debut campaign in 2023, where he only managed a .715 OPS and 97 wRC+ in 228 plate appearnces.
Of primary third baseman with at least 400 plate appearances in 2024, Westburg’s 125 wRC+ ranked fourth, while his .792 OPS sat fifth, resulting in his first career All-Star selection.
Westburg’s downfall is the fact he’s not been the most disciplined hitter in the early stages of his career posting a 48th percentile strikeout rate and an eighth percentile walk rate last season.
However with 92nd percentile xBA and xSLG rates, an 88th percentile xwOBA and a 77th percentile hard-hit rate, Westburg is the type of data darling that should have the Orioles excited for the role he can play in their contending era.
9. Mark Vientos, New York Mets
Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
RANK: 7 | RANK: 11 | RANK: 8 | RANK: 10 | RANK: 9 | RANK: 9 |
2024 Stats: 111 G, .266/.322/.516, 27 HR, 71 RBI, 133 wRC+, 2.9 fWAR
Staying on the topic of projectable young talent, Mark Vientos may just be the third baseman the Mets have been looking for for years now.
After a 68 wRC+ season in 233 plate appearances in 2023, followed by a start to the 2024 season in Triple-A Syracuse, Vientos defied all expectations when he got the call in 2024 and became one of New York’s best offensive pieces.
Of all Mets hitters with at least 400 plate appearances last year, Vientos’ 2.9 fWAR, 133 wRC+ and .837 OPS were second to only NL MVP runner-up Francisco Lindor, while his 27 HR were the third best tally, trailing Lindor and Pete Alonso.
Among MLB third baseman (under the same 400 PA parameter), he ranked third in wRC+ and OPS and showed off the power abilities with a second ranked SLG.
He’ll look to complete his first full season in 2025 and build of a stellar 2024 regular season and an unbelievably clutch postseason, where he belted five homers in 13 games and posted a 178 wRC+.
8. Eugenio Suárez, Arizona Diamondbacks
Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
RANK: 8 | RANK: 8 | RANK: 9 | RANK: 7 | RANK: 7 | RANK: 10 |
2024 Stats: 158 G, .256/.319/.469, 30 HR, 101 RBI, 115 wRC+, 3.8 fWAR
It was a tale of two halves for Eugenio Suárez in 2024, like it was for the Arizona Diamondbacks in general last season.
In the first half of the campaign, Suárez only mustered a .216/.302/.366 slash line with an 87 wRC+.
However, come the second half, he was one of the league’s best hitters, slashing .307/.341/.602 with a 153 wRC+ to more than salvage his season.
Since becoming a full-time starting option in 2016, Suárez has been an excellent run producer. He’s managed at least 20+ HR and 70+ RBI in eight of his last nine seasons, and the only year he missed either of those marks was in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign where he still managed 15 HR and 38 RBI in 57 games.
His defense is also plus and has played a role in the 3.5+ fWAR seasons Suárez has managed to post the last three years. He’s sported a positive DEF (FanGraphs’ defensive metric) in each of those seasons, as well as two consecutive years with positive OAA totals (12 in 2023 and three in 2024).
If he can pick up right where he left off last year from the get-go in 2025, he’ll continue to play a huge role for this the D-backs lineup that has it’s sights set on returning to the postseason.
7. Isaac Paredes, Houston Astros
Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
RANK: 9 | RANK: 7 | RANK: 7 | RANK: 9 | RANK: 8 | RANK: 8 |
2024 Stats: 153 G, .238/.346/.393, 19 HR, 80 RBI, 117 wRC+, 3.4 fWAR
During his two-and-a-half seasons as a Tampa Bay Ray, Isaac Paredes came into his own as hitter.
In 2022 he made 381 plate appearances where he belted 20 HR, drove in 45 RBI with a .740 OPS and 115 wRC+. In 2023 Paredes had a career year with a 31 blasts, 98 RBI, an .840 OPS and a 136 wRC+. Then in his half season in Tampa before he was traded, Paredes looked similar to his 2023-self, posting a 132 wRC+ with 19 HR and 80 RBI in 429 plate appearances.
After the trade at the deadline to the Chicago Cubs however, Paredes really started to play into the narrative that he was a just a Tropicana Field merchant after posting a .223/.325/.307 slash line with just three homers, 25 RBI and an 86 wRC+ in 212 plate appearances as a Cub.
Whether or not he was a hitter that was heavily aided by hitting at the Trop, now that he’s a Houston Astro, is there anything quite as friendly for a right-handed run-producing machine than hitting towards the Crawford Boxes every night?
While the focus of Paredes is often on his run production, he’s also been an extremely disciplined hitter. In 2024, he only struck out at just a 16.4% clip and walked 11.9% of the time.
With a favorable hitting situation in Houston, Paredes should continue to be one of the top run producers in the game.
6. Alex Bregman, Free Agent
Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
RANK: 6 | RANK: 4 | RANK: 4 | RANK: 6 | RANK: 6 | RANK: 6 |
2024 Stats: 145 G, .260/.315/.453, 26 HR, 75 RBI, 118 wRC+, 4.1 fWAR
The 2024 season was yet another great season for Alex Bregman, as he continues to establish himself as one of the more consistent offensive presences in the game.
Since debuting back in 2016, Bregman has managed to post wRC+ totals at 120 or higher in six of his nine campaigns, with the only years he finished below that mark being 2016 and 2021 at 114 wRC+ and this past year at a 118 wRC+.
In his nine year career, Bregman ranks very well league-wide amongst hitters. Of players with at least 3000 plate appearances during this time span, he’s accumulated the 10th most fWAR (39.7), sits within the top 15 in wRC+ (T-11th at 135) and is within the top 20 in RBI (16th with 663).
It may be odd to see a hitter of this profile fall in the bottom half of this top 10 list, but 2024 did show some flaws in the veteran third baseman’s game.
We’ve established Bregman’s wRC+ dipped under 120 for the first time since 2021 and just the third time in his career. He also fallen below a 10% walk rate for the first time since 2017, as his 6.9% BB% last year was nearly 6% lower than his 2023 clip. This resulted in an OBP below .350 for this first time since his rookie campaign, as well as a career low .768 OPS.
Still, a perennial 25 HR and 75 RBI threat who also happens to play above average defense is someone who more than deserves to be firmly within this top 10.
5. Matt Chapman, San Francisco Giants
Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
RANK: 5 | RANK: 6 | RANK: 6 | RANK: 5 | RANK: 4 | RANK: 4 |
2024 Stats: 154 G, .247/.328/.463, 27 HR, 78 RBI, 15 SB, 121 wRC+, 5.5 fWAR
After three solid 3.0+ fWAR seasons from 2021 to 2023 with both the Athletics and the Blue Jays, Matt Chapman took things back to his pre-COVID days in 2024, posting his first 5.0+ fWAR season since 2019.
Chapman has always been an above average hitter, posting wRC+ totals above 100 in every season of his big league career. It’s just been a matter of whether he’s more a 100 wRC+ type hitter or a 120 wRC+ type hitter.
In 2024 he was that 120 wRC+ type hitter, as amongst qualified primary third baseman, Chapman posted the second highest fWAR total, the fourth highest wRC+ and OPS marks and the sixth best totals in both HR and BB%.
All the while, the two-time Platinum Glove Award winner once again lead all third baseman in DRS (17) and OAA (11), on route to his fifth career Gold Glove.
He’s an above average bat, an otherworldly defender and after a career high 15 SB in 2024, he’s suddenly also a threat on the basepaths, making Chapman one of MLB’s more dynamic players.
4. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
RANK: 4 | RANK: 5 | RANK: 5 | RANK: 4 | RANK: 5 | RANK: 5 |
2024 Stats: 152 G, .275/.325/.472, 29 HR, 105 RBI, 11 SB, 122 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR
Now we move into the names that are consensus top five third basemen amongst our voting committee, starting with Manny Machado.
We’ve discussed consistency with both Bregman and Chapman, and Machado is just as consistent but with higher peaks.
From 2015-2024, Machado ranks within the top 10 fWAR accumulators in all of baseball (9th with 45.0).
Since that breakout campaign in 2015, Machado has posted a 120 wRC+ or greater in seven of those ten seasons. Of those seven seasons five have been at 130 wRC+ higher, three at 140 wRC+ or higher and two have even been at 150 wRC+ or greater.
Despite not being the 152 wRC+ hitter he was in 2022 last season, Machado still put together one of the league’s best seasons from a third baseman. His 122 wRC+ and .797 OPS both ranked third amongst qualified primary third basemen, his 105 RBI were the second highest count at the position and his 29 HR put him in a tie for third.
While he wasn’t necessarily the Platinum or Gold Glove defender he was in the early years of his career, his defensive prowess was on full display, with a 6.3 DEF rating and two DRS in 2024.
Even as he approaches his mid-30s, Machado still remains one of the league’s most feared hitters heading into 2025.
3. Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves
Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
RANK: 2 | RANK: 3 | RANK: 3 | RANK: 3 | RANK: 2 | RANK: 3 |
2024 Stats: 110 G, .256/.322/.461, 19 HR, 56 RBI, 116 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR
Now we shift to our consensus top three MLB third basemen, beginning with Austin Riley.
Riley was one of the numerous victims of the Braves’ injury woes in 2024, after missing over a month of the season, which capped off an abnormally down year for him.
While I say “down year”, Riley still managed to put up a 116 wRC+ and 2.4 fWAR amidst his struggles.
When evaluating Riley amongst his fellow third basemen, we have to take into account the three 5.0+ fWAR seasons he had between 2021 and 2023. In this three season span he posted a wRC+ no lower than 128 in each season, an OPS now lower than .861, with 30+ HR and 90+ RBI each year as well.
Looking at the other two remaining names on this list, a rebound year back to the MVP-caliber form he’s recently showcased would be required to move him up on this list in year’s time.
Given his recent track record though, would it really be a surprise to see him bounce back?
2. Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
RANK: 3 | RANK: 2 | RANK: 2 | RANK: 2 | RANK: 3 | RANK: 2 |
2024 Stats: 138 G, .272/.354/.516, 28 HR, 83 RBI, 134 wRC+, 4.1 fWAR
It was another All-Star caliber year for Rafael Devers in 2024, as he continues to establish himself as one the league’s deadliest hitters.
Last year marked the fourth season in Devers’ last six in which he posted an fWAR above 4.0 and a wRC+ above 130.
He ranked second amongst qualified primary third baseman in wRC+, OPS and BB%, while ranking fourth in AVG and fifth in both HR and RBI.
Looking at things from a wider lens now, of third basemen with at least 1500 plate appearances since 2019, Devers leads the position in OPS (.876), ranks third in fWAR (24.0), fourth in wRC+ (131), and second in both HR (169) and RBI (542).
His underlying batted-ball data shows just how sound a hitter he really is, as in 2024 Devers posted a 95th percentile hard-hit rate, a 96th percentile AVG exit velo and an 88th percentile barrel rate.
He hits the ball hard, takes his walks and produces runs at an extremely high rate, making him not only one of MLB’s best third baseman, but one of MLB’s best hitters altogether.
1. José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians
Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
RANK: 1 | RANK: 1 | RANK: 1 | RANK: 1 | RANK: 1 | RANK: 1 |
2024 Stats: 158 G, .279/.335/.537, 39 HR, 118 RBI, 41 SB, 141 wRC+, 6.5 fWAR
Then there was one, and man, oh man, is it easy to wax poetic about a player like José Ramírez.
While all eyes were on Shohei Ohtani and his chase for a 50-50 season (and rightfully so), Ramírez went about his business and fell just a single homer shy of a 40-40 season. Had Game 162 not been wiped out for him, he could very well have reached that milestone.
In 2024, Ramírez showcased every facet of what makes him an all-round force on both sides of the ball.
A 6.5 fWAR season marked the fifth time in Ramírez’s last eight seasons that he’s sported an fWAR at-or-above 6.0. His 141 wRC+ marked the sixth season in his last eight in which he posted a wRC+ total at 140 or higher. An .872 OPS also marked his ninth straight year above .800.
Among qualified primary third basemen in 2024, he ranked first in fWAR, wRC+, OPS, SLG, K%, HR, RBI and runs scored. He also ranked within the top five in AVG (2nd) and OBP (4th).
From a base running standpoint, not only did Ramírez lead all third baseman in stolen bases last season, his 41 swipes ranked fourth in all of baseball.
His defense is also nothing to be slept on, as the 32-year-old has still got it at the hot corner, accumulating six DRS and three OAA last year.
Ramírez makes a legitimate case to be considered a five-tool player, meaning it’s a no-brainer as to why he’s our unanimous top ranked third baseman in baseball heading into 2025.