JD's Top 10 3rd Basemen- PIITB By JD

 JD’s Top 10 3^rd Basemen- PIITB By JD

 

I decided to go back to the top 10 lists in order to avoid overreacting to Spring Training (is Brett Baty ROY?). This position is very deep, but lots of fun to rank. Personally 3^rd basemen are  some of the most fun players you’ll see. Let’s go going

 

1.     Manny Machado- I know some will say Jram or even Arenado should be in the number 1 spot. For me, Machado is the pick. He is elite on both sides of the ball. He finished last season with 32 homers, a 152 wrc+, and accumulated 7.4 fwar. He just got paid the big bucks inking a 11 year $350 million extension with the Padres. He will go into the HoF a Padre. 

2.     Nolan Arenado- the best fielder I have ever seen. He is truly a wizard at the hot corner. He had a comparable season to Manny last year. He hit 30 homers, a 151 wrc+, and 7.3 fwar. Nolan has won 10 gold gloves and is not slowing down. He is the picture of consistency and will continue to do his thing.

3.     Jose Ramirez- An underrated and yet perennial MVP candidate. Jram flies under the radar playing in Cleveland and taking a team friendly contract. He played a full 157 games last season hitting 29 homers, with a 139 wrc+ and a 6.2 fwar. He also plays good defense for a guy his size. He will continue to perform at this level for years to come.

4.     Austin Riley- I hate to say it, but Austin Riley is really really good. The 25 up and coming super star is here. He signed a massive deal to remain a Brave for a long time, He will torture the Mets for years to come. He hit 38 homers last year with a 142 wrc+ and a 5.5 fwar

5.     Rafael Devers- Another massive superstar at the 3^rd base position. Devers will be a member of the Red Sox for the majority of his career, if not the whole thing now. He signed a 10 year $313 million dollar deal. Devers hit 27 homers, with a 140 wrc+ and a 4.9 fwar. This superstar will terrorize the AL East for the next decade.

6.     Alex Bregman- Bregman has the potential to have the best season out of all the guys on this list. He has had an fwar of up to 8.1 in a season. This past season he hit 23 homers, with a 136 wrc+, and 5.5 fwar. Bregman is a monster and can have an MVP season at any time. 

7.     Matt Chapman- After the first 6 guys, the position falls off a bit. However, 3^rd base is deep as you will see. Chapman is a pretty solid hitter and good defender. Last year he hit 27 homers, with a 117 wrc+ and a 4.1 fwar. He is a free agent after this season and is going to get PAID. After Ohtani, the FA class is pretty weak and Chapman is in line for a payday.

 

8.     Eugenio Suarez- This guy is super under the radar. He hasn’t hit less than 30 home runs (15 in 2020) since 2017. That includes one season with 49! Last year he hit 31 homers, had a 131 wrc+ and a 4.1fwar. A 4 win player as the 8^th best 3^rd basemen? That is pretty good to me.

9.     Ke’Bryan Hayes- This guy plays generational defense. So much so that even with a below average Wrc+ at 95 he still produced 3 fwar. I believe that if Hayes can simply be league average or even 105 wrc+ he can be a 4 win player. He is fun to watch at 3^rd and I hope we see his offense pick it up.

10.  Gunnar Henderson- I know how young he is. This guy is dripping with talent. He is elite on both sides of the ball and has the tools to be an all star for a long long time. In just 32 games he had a 125 wrc+ last year and this will be his first full season of MLB play. 

 

Honorable mentions: Yandy Diaz and Max Muncy. 

3^rd base has a lot of great players and they definitely provide some of the most fun plays you’ll see. I had a lot of fun with this ranking, This position is super deep and I didn’t even include a guy like DJ LeMahieu as a 3^rdbasemen. See you all next week!

 

Photo Creds: Nick Cammett