Just as the case was with the shortstop position, third base is equally as talented and just as difficult to try and come up with a ranking list for. Both the shortstop and third base positions have an enormous amount of talent and that just proves how much teams value the left side of their infield.
Overall, when you survey all 30 teams in baseball, there are more deserving names that belong on this list, but given that it is only 10, it has to be limited to the 10 best guys at that position. Guys who display power on a nightly basis, Gold Glove caliber defense, and the ability to stop a ball from going down the third base line when it matters most. After all, there's a reason they call it the hot corner, it's not for the faint of heart and one botched defensive play can change the entire outcome of a game!
With that being said, here is this year's Top 10 Third Baseman list:
1. Alex Bregman (Houston Astros) - While he is a bit underrated on the grand scheme of things, there is no denying the fact that Alex Bregman is the best third baseman in the game and one of the Top 25 players right now. When you look at Bregman's comprehensive stats for his MLB career, to this point, he took a step forward last season with a career high 51 doubles and finished the season batting: .281/.394/.532 with 170 hits, 31 home runs, 103 RBI, and 96 walks. Add to the fact that he sure knows how to use his glove to his advantage, it's hard to ignore the fact that A-Breg is the leader at the hot corner and is going into his age 25 season, which means that he should only continue to become more impressive.
2. Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Indians) - If you're looking for the Cleveland Indians best player, outside of Francisco Lindor, you have found it with Jose Ramirez, who is not only a top third baseman, but another Top 25 player in the game right now. Looking at last season, Ramirez put together his third consecutive season of brilliance and was looking at potentially breaking records at various points, but ended up falling short, thanks to some struggles in late August and September. Regardless, when you put up 39 home runs, 105 RBI, and have more walks than strikeouts (106 BB vs. 80 SO), you certainly are worthy of being tops at your position.
3. Nolan Arenado (Colorado Rockies) - In the perfect world, Nolan Arenado would be tied with both Alex Bregman and Jose Ramirez for first place on this list, but considering that we're trying to rank the Top 10 third baseman, he comes in just below both of them. While Arenado continues to impress with the bat year in and year out, part of that is due to the Coors Field effect, he has plenty of award accolades to back up his greatness. Besides being named a Silver Slugger for the fourth consecutive time last season, Arenado was honored with his fourth career All-Star nod and his sixth career Gold Glove because of his outstanding defense. Besides watching him train throughout the spring, it will be interesting to see if Arenado agrees to a long-term deal with the Colorado Rockies, something that definitely needs to happen.
4. Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals) - If there is one name on this list that is continually overlooked and severely underrated, it has to be Anthony Rendon. Over the past four seasons, among qualified third baseman, Anthony Rendon has 302 RBI, which is the 11th most among those at the position, along with a 10.9 walk percentage, the 7th highest percentage on the list. Furthermore, he has been extremely valuable to the Washington Nationals over that span, with a cumulative WAR of 18.4, which is the 7th highest among those in that category and a big reason why he is seeking an extension with the team. While all of that is impressive, Rendon might still even become better as he enters his age 29 season and potentially his free agent walk year, if an extension isn't agreed to.
5. Matt Chapman (Oakland Athletics) - Matt Chapman is a budding superstar in the Bay Area and a vital part of "The Matt Show" that the A's will have securing their infield for quite some time moving forward. While Chapman deserves mention because of his elite defensive skills over at third base, one interesting part of his game is that he finished last season with an WRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus) value of 137 over 616 plate appearances, which tied him for 11th place with Freedie Freeman, among all of the qualified hitters in baseball. In addition, there is plenty of pop that comes with his bat, as illustrated by his .508 slugging percentage, which put him 8th in that category, among qualified third baseman in 2018.
6. Kris Bryant (Chicago Cubs) - Even though 2018 was a disappointing season overall for Kris Bryant, he is probably the one guy on this list that could easily climb back into the Top 5 and return to his star studded offensive and defensive value that he provided for the Cubs, when they won the World Series, a mere three years ago. Still, with a disappointing season that found Bryant with less than 15 home runs and 52 RBI, he finished the season with a .374 on-base percentage, .460 slugging percentage, and is going into his age 27 season, meaning that a bounce back is extremely possible. Furthermore, dating back to the 2015 regular season, Bryant ranks fourth, among qualified third baseman in walk percentage (11.9%), which signals that he can be an extremely disciplined hitter.
7. Justin Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers) - Justin Turner continues to be a staple of the Dodgers infield even though he is coming out of his prime and into his decline years at the age of 34. Some of that decline showed last season when Turner was side lined until mid-May with a broken wrist and in July with a groin strain. Still, when you look at the overall numbers, he provides plenty of value to the Dodgers lineup and while it might not come entirely from power, it still matters in those important offensive categories. What was really fascinating about Turner's 2018 campaign is the fact that he finished the second half of the season with a .356/.447/.619 batting line, the second best batting line, behind only the NL MVP of last season, Christian Yelich.
8. Eugenio Suarez (Cincinnati Reds) - There's a reason why the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a 7-year, $66 million dollar extension with Eugenio Suarez prior to Opening Day last year and that's because of the value that he continues to provide to the Reds lineup. When you look at Suarez overall game play, he is a good defender at third base (7 Defensive Runs Saved dating back to 2015), but where he really shines is his when it comes to his power. Last season, Suarez finished the year with a Hard contact rate of 48.6%, which was due to a tremendous increase in his overall exit velocity. Suarez had a 86.2 exit velocity in 2017, but increased that number by 5.1 points last year, to make it 91.3. Don't be surprised if that number ticks up a bit more this coming season.
9. Matt Carpenter (St. Louis Cardinals) - Last season was quite the year for Matt Carpenter who eventually later became known as "The Salsa King." Carpenter started off the season in a disappointing fashion with a batting average of .155 and a slugging percentage of .274, but later really turned up the heat (no pun intended!) and became part of the NL MVP conversation. That eventually led Carpenter to finish with a career high 36 home runs, a career high .523 slugging percentage, and a 4.9 WAR, another career high - all thanks to that magical salsa. Beyond that, another factor to like about Matt Carpenter is his ability to play both first and third base, but with Paul Goldschmidt now in tow in the Gateway to the West, Carpenter will solely be able to focus on playing third base.
10. Travis Shaw (Milwaukee Brewers) - Travis Shaw was a big reason why the Milwaukee Brewers were so successful last season and played deep into the postseason. Shaw finished with a batting line of: .241/.345/.480 over 587 plate appearances last season with 32 home runs, which ranked 5th among qualified third baseman, and 86 RBI, the 8th most in that category. Furthermore, over the past two seasons that Shaw has played with the Brewers, he has the 6th highest walk percentage (11.6%) and an Isolated Power value of (.239), the 4th highest value, over that span. Beyond the numbers, you have to like the clubhouse guy that Travis Shaw is to. He was a big proponent of the Milwaukee Brewers bringing back Mike Moustakas which they ultimately did yesterday afternoon.
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