One thing COVID-19 could not wreak havoc on was the depth of the third base position in fantasy baseball this year. This is one of the deeper positions we have seen at any position in years, with absolute studs filling out the top ten and big upside overflowing.
Let’s dive back into the tiers as we prep for the 2020 season.
Check out all of our fantasy baseball ranking tiers here.
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Tier One
There is reasonable debate about how these tiers should be configured, but these three fill out the top spot for me. We have more than enough data on these three players to feel fully confident about their floors, even in a short 60-game season. Some of my “big contract” fears about Rendon have been eased by the 60-game season, but I just don’t really think he’ll have time to get complacent, and that idea is probably mostly narrative-based anyways.
All three of these guys are first-round level bats that you should not fade just because you realize how deep the position is.
Tier Two
Strangely enough, these two might have the highest fantasy upside at the position. Ramirez is one of the few guys in the league that you could see pushing for a 20/20 60-game season, and Devers is so young that you just wonder how much further he can push it to follow up that brilliant 2019 season. They do not come without risk, however, as we just don’t have a lot of data on Devers, and we’ve already seen how bad things can go for Ramirez when things aren’t going his way. There is a chance to grab one of these two in the third round, which would be a super-steal in my view.
Tier Three
These four are all still excellent hitters, but they just are not going to bring you five-category production. There are almost no steals in this group, and there are some very questionable batting averages as well.
The favorite of the group has to be Guerrero, as you could see him going on an absolute tear for 60 games and finishing as one of the best fantasy hitters in the game. However, he comes with more risk than the rest of the group as well (arguably). Suarez has been one of the most consistent home run hitters of the last three seasons, so he is the way to go in this tier if you are chasing the big fly. Machado and Bryant may actually end up being the best values as they fit the role of “boring guy that could slide way too far”.
Lots to choose from in the top nine here.
Tier Four
This is probably my favorite group of third basemen to choose from, given how late they fall given the insane strength of that top nine. Honestly, I don’t see a single guy here that I would be shocked to see end up as the #1 third baseman in a 60-game season. Moncada is probably the only real five-category threat, but all of these guys are extremely strong in their own way.
Donaldson should have a fantastic time in that Twins lineup, Chapman just continues to raise his ceiling while maintaining his rock solid floor, and LeMahieu and Muncy benefit majorly from their positions in the two best offenses in baseball. You really can’t go wrong here – this is my favorite group to grab my starting 3B.
Tier Five
- Jeff McNeil (NYM)
- Mike Moustakas (CIN)
- Yuli Gurriel (HOU)
- Miguel Sano (MIN)
- Justin Turner (LAD)
- Tommy Edman (STL)
We are now finally faced with some guys that have significant downside. There are some age questions (Moustakas, Gurriel, Turner), some incredibly streaky guys that can really sink you over a short sample (Sano, Gurriel), and small sample size issues (McNeil, Edman).
That said, there are some real one-category studs here. It’s hard to see a world where Moustakas and Sano don’t end up near the league leaders in homers and equally hard to see Turner and McNeil not hitting close to .300. This is more of a tier for late-round category boosts or utility spots, but it is still a very nice group of bats from which to choose.
Key Takeaways
There is no reason for you not to end up with at least two of these guys in your starting lineup. This is an awesome position, with studs all over the place.
One of the biggest ways to get an advantage over your opponents is to focus on which categories you are strong and weak in throughout the draft and then patch up those problems in the middle-late rounds. Third base is a great opportunity to grab a complete stud hitter earlier, and then grab another player or two to boost some of those lacking categories later in the draft.
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Jon Anderson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jon, check out his archive and follow him@JonPgh.
