Top-75 Dynasty Third Base Rankings for 2022

The hot corner is once again heating up. After seeing the depth dwindle over the last few seasons as former stars have aged, this position is once again on the rise and is headlined by three top-25 dynasty assets and plenty of young rising talent behind them. These Top-75 Dynasty Third Base Rankings have a lot more intrigue than they did 12 months ago.

Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Third Base Rankings

Tier 1

1. Jose Ramirez, CLE: While this position falls off quickly, Jose Ramirez and the rest of tier one remain elite, early-round options. JoRam has been a consensus top-5 pick in 2022 drafts thanks to his 30+/20+ upside from the hot corner and is a back-end top-10 dynasty player overall. The lineup around him isn’t the greatest, but Ramirez’s elite production with plenty of speed gives him the slight edge over the next name on this list.

2. Rafael Devers, BOS: If you wanted to put Devers first, I wouldn’t argue with it. Devers has two straight full seasons of 30+ homers, 100+ RBI, and 100+ runs, and was in the top-10 of hitters last season in nearly every quality of contact metric. His elite four-category production is hard to match and Devers has added 5-8 steals in three of his last four seasons as well.. He’ll once again anchor a loaded Boston lineup in 2022.

Rafael Devers sets the tone EARLY for the 2022 season pic.twitter.com/uYTq0ZhLHI

— NESN (@NESN) April 8, 2022

3. Manny Machado, SDP: Another year, another great season from Machado. While it wasn’t his best year at the surface, Machado posted career-best marks in barrel rate, AVG EV, and hard-hit rate while putting up a .278/92/28/106/12 line. It’s hard to believe but Machado is still only 29 years old and likely has several more years left as an elite option at this position.

Tier 2

4. Austin Riley, ATL: While he might not hit .300 again, Riley’s breakout is legit. He’s gradually continued to improve as a hitter, cutting down his whiff and chase rates in 2021. And thankfully, this hasn’t been at the expense of his big-time power. Even at .270, Riley should remain a top-5 dynasty third baseman thanks to his 100/30/100 profile in the middle of Atlanta’s exciting lineup.

5. Alex Bregman, HOU: While he’s still inside my top-100 overall, Alex Bregman is not a target of mine in dynasty leagues right now. Sure, his value is suppressed a bit due to him coming off shoulder surgery, but the power metrics are middle of the road, and you got to wonder where the power will be at following the injury and surgery. Plus, he doesn’t run at all, meaning he really needs the power and run production to be there.

ALEX BREGMAN IS ON PACE FOR 162 HRS DON’T TELL ME THE ODDS pic.twitter.com/smhYrSsc0I

— Apollo Media (@ApolloHOU) April 9, 2022

Tier 3

6. Kris Bryant, COL: The former National League MVP hasn’t come close to replicating that glory since, but Bryant remains an impact corner infielder coming off a 2021 season where he posted his best barrel rate and hard-hit rate since 2016. The move to Coors Field is huge for Bryant’s value over the next several years, especially in the AVG department. I’m just not sure how much longer he’ll keep sneaking in first-base eligibility. (Blurb from my First Base Rankings Article)

7. Nolan Arenado, STL: While he might not be the same Arenado we knew in Colorado, he’s still proving to be a very good fantasy asset in the middle of the Cardinals lineup. Moving out of Coors, we expected Arenado’s BABIP and AVG to fall, but the BABIP falling way down to .241 feels a bit drastic. While he’ll likely never return to the .300 mark, somewhere around .270 with 30 homers and 180 R+RBI is definitely possible moving forward. Don’t rule him out as a borderline top-50 player for the next few seasons.

Tier 4

8. Adalberto Mondesi, KCR: He’ll be the Royals’ starting shortstop for now, but can he stay there all season? Heck, I think people would be happy with even 120-130 games out of Mondesi with what he’s capable of providing on a per-game basis. He’s carried fantasy teams for weeks on end at times but those stretches have been very sporadic given his durability and approach issues. If you want to endure the pain associated with rostering Mondesi in dynasty, be my guest. I’m looking elsewhere.

9. Anthony Rendon, LAA: Similar but in a much different way, Rendon has usually been a valuable fantasy asset when he’s been on the field. However, he played in only 58 games last season and produced a bland .240/.329/.382 slash line with six homers. Since Rendon provides zero speed element, his value is tied into offensive production and staying on the field to accumulate counting stats. Hopefully, we can get 140+ games out of him because a bounceback season could definitely be in the cards. Rendon still showed a solid approach in 2021, but has seen his quality of contact metrics dip for two straight seasons.

10. Ke’Bryan Hayes, PIT: Hayes’ first full season was plagued by a hand/wrist injury that really affected him at the plate, but he still produced a 45.8% hard-hit rate and a solid plate approach. However, the problem was that most of those hard-hit balls were into the ground. Hayes has the upside to settle in as a .275/20/10 third baseman in Pittsburgh’s hopefully improving lineup, but he’s going to need to remain more durable than he has as a pro and begin driving the ball in the air more consistently.

11. Yoan Moncada, CHW: Where oh where has speedy Moncada gone? Even if the speed demon we saw in the minors is gone forever (very likely), it’d be nice if Moncada could just get back to double-digits where he was in 2019 when he added 25 dingers and a .315 AVG. Honestly, I’m starting to fade Moncada as he doesn’t run anymore, doesn’t stand out in QoC metrics, and continues to strike out at a high clip. Can he hold on as a starting CI for fantasy purposes? Sure. But I’m sure by this time next season, he’ll no longer be inside my top-15 here unless he corrects a lot of the areas I just mentioned.

12. Josh Jung, TEX:  It’s a real bummer that Jung tore his labrum and needed surgery, because now we wont see him debut until at least September, and likely not until early-2023. Jung was coming off an impressive showing in the upper minors in 2021 where he slashed .326/.398/.592 with 22 doubles, 19 homers, and a .266 ISO in 342 plate appearances. He’s an easy plus hitter with a great plate approach and plus power as well, but one has to wonder if this shoulder injury/surgery will limit that power a bit moving forward.

Tier 5

13. DJ LeMahieu, NYY: The arrow is certainly pointing down here, but I’m not sure we’re done seeing LeMahieu as a viable CI or MI for fantasy purposes. he’ll once again have 1B/2B eligibility and could see a nice bounceback this season as he was dealing with a core injury for most of last season which really affected him. (Blurb from my First Base Rankings Article)

14. Jordan Walker, STL: The slugging 2020 first-round selection exceeded expectations in his 2021 debut season. The power came as advertised with 14 homers to go with a .548 SLG and .231 ISO, but Walker also hit .317 in 366 PA. However, the contact rate dropped from 78.8% in Lo-A to 70.8% in Hi-A and the strikeout rate jumped from 17.2% to 27.0%. So while Walker showed that he’s a better pure hitter than anticipated, don’t expect him to hit .300+ again. Longterm, the profile could be similar to Austin Riley’s while adding a handful of steals as well.

15. Luis Urias, MIL: Urias showed some real growth last season. In addition to improving his walk and strikeout rates, Urias posted career-best marks by a mile in barrel and hard-hit rates while slugging 23 homers with five steals in 549 PA. You gotta wonder if the high MiLB averages will ever return, but even if they don’t, a .260/25/5 infielder with multi-positional eligibility is highly valuable. (Blurb from my Second Base Rankings Article)

16. Ryan McMahon, COL: If you ignore 2020, McMahon has put together back-to-back seasons of nearly identical results. He’s been right around 23 homers, 85 RBI, 70-80 runs. five steals, and a .250 AVG. He also trimmed his strikeout rate to 24.7% after three straight seasons above 29% while maintaining a hard-hit north of 40% for the fourth straight season. (Blurb from my Second Base Rankings Article)

17. Matt Chapman, TOR: The move out of spacious Oakland is a plus already, but now Chapman will go from what looks like a Double-A lineup in Oakland this year to a juggernaut in Toronto. Hitting behind Vlad, Bo, Teoscsar, Springer, and company looks pretty damn good to me. However, Champan is a very flawed hitter with below-average

18. Jose Miranda, MIN: At this point, all Jose Miranda needs is a spot to play. Will that come at first base, second base, or third base, who knows. But the bat is 100% legit. Think Ryan McMahon with more AVG upside. In 2021, Miranda slashed .344/.401/.572 with 32 doubles and 30 homers in 591 PA between Double-A and Triple-A. (Blurb from my First Base Rankings Article)

19. Miguel Vargas, LAD: Honestly, Vargas has the potential to be in tier three within the next few seasons. He’s likely the heir apparent to Justin Turner at the hot corner and has hit .316 in the minors with a 15.6% strikeout rate and budding power. The upside is a .290+ hitter with 25 homers and a handful of steals annually. (Blurb from my First Base Rankings Article)

20. Nolan Gorman, STL: He’s still playing enough third base for now to be included here, but Nolan Gorman’s likely defensive home is at second base where his profile stands out a bit more. But with that said, I’m not as high as most when it comes to Gorman these days. He’s a good power source, but doesn’t walk much and the power hasn’t really made it the levels that many were expecting. I’m starting to think he’s going to be a Ryan McMahon type of player, which is still a good outcome, just not a star.

21. Coby Mayo, BAL: The 2020 4th rounder absolutely dominated the low minors in his professional debut last season with 14 doubles and nine homers with a stellar .319/.426/.555 slash line in 216 PA. Mayo possesses double-plus raw power and has shown a better than advertised hit tool and approach. If the hit tool continues to develop, Mayo should find himself in the middle of Baltimore’s order in the next few years.

Coby Mayo starts his season with a bang. 💥

The @Orioles’ No. 7 prospect hits his first homer for the @IronBirds. pic.twitter.com/Z7eXHtnYyU

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 8, 2022

22. Chris Taylor, LAD: Admittedly, this might be a little low for the Dodger’s swiss army knife, but he’s proven what he is at this point. Taylor is an annual 20/10 threat that will hit around .250-.260 with multi-positional eligibility. However, he’ll be 32 soon and I wonder how long the speed stays in double digits. (Blurb from my Second Base Rankings Article)

Tier 6

23. Eduardo Escobar, NYM: I’m admittedly not the biggest Escobar guy around, but he’s exceeded 20 homers in each of his last four seasons and has averaged 31.5 homers and 99 RBI over his last two full seasons. You could do worse with your CI spot at the moment. (Blurb from my First Base Rankings Article)

24. Orelvis Martinez, TOR: In 2021, Orelvis Martinez ranked up 26 doubles and 28 homers in just 98 games and even saw his contact rate jump from 70% to 75% following his promotion to Hi-A despite the AVG dropping down to .214 at the level. Longterm, Martinez projects as a .260/25+ type, but where does he play? He’s thoroughly blocked at both shortstop and third base by Bichette and Chapman, but perhaps he can take over at the hot corner in 2024 when Chapman is a free agent.

25. Eugenio Suarez, CIN: Lots of power, solid run production, and a crappy average. If someone wrote a book on Eugenio Suarez, that would likely be the title. In 2020 and 2021, Suarez cranked 46 homers in 202 games, but his AVG was spooning with the Mendoza Line both seasons. A hot September (.370, 8 HR, 87 PA) has given some hope that the AVG can at least get back to .230 or so, but this is a flawed power hitter in a time where we have plenty of flawed power hitters. He no longer stands out.

26. Josh Donaldson, NYY: While Donaldson will play this season at the age of 36, there’s still a lot to love in the profile. He produced a 17.2% barrel rate and a 52.7% hard-hit rate last season, which was his third straight season above 50%. Plus, he’ll be hitting high in a loaded Yankees lineup with plenty of R and RBI potential. If he can play 130+ games, Donaldson could be a top-10 third baseman this season and is a great buy for a contending dynasty team.

27, Jhonkensy Noel, CLE: Noel busted out in a big way in 2021, hitting .340 with 19 homers in 290 PA. He’s an average or better hitter with plus or better power potential that should wind up at one of the corners for Cleveland in the next couple of years. (Blurb from my First Base Rankings Article)

28. Alec Bohm, PHI: While the quality of contact metrics and approach were still solid last year, Bohm continues to pound everything into the ground where his below-average speed really hinders him. There’s still a .270/20 bat waiting to happen, but we need to temper expectations a bit from what was projected for him back in his prospect days.

29. Cavan Biggio, TOR: While he enjoyed a solid spring, Biggio is coming off a terrible showing in 2021 where his OBP prowess diminished and the usual lackluster quality of contact metrics remained. He’s still going to start for Toronto for the time being, but he’s not a dynasty target of mine.

Remainder of the Top-75

Media Credit: Nesn, ApolloHOU, MLB Pipeline, Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire

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