The third base position has vacillated between being shallow and deep over the last few fantasy baseball seasons. This season, the position is fairly strong at the top with decent depth, but it has a massive drop-off.
There are a lot of good strategies for drafting third basemen this year. The top of the pool is really good, but there are a number of names worth targeting late, too, which may be more enticing, so you can grab shallower positions at the top of the draft.
Here are my third base tiers for 2026.
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Fantasy Baseball Primer: Third Basemen Rankings & Tiers (2026)
Tier 1 & Notes
Jose Ramirez (CLE)
Junior Caminero (TB)
Jose Ramirez is the perfect blend of safety and upside. He has had back-to-back 30/40 seasons and provides elite five-category production at a position that isn’t very deep.
The breakout for Junior Caminero was amazing. He hit 45 home runs and stole seven bases with a .264/.311/.535 triple slash. He is moving back to the Trop, which is a worse-hitting environment, but that won’t slow him down a ton as his power plays anywhere.
Tier 2 & Notes
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY)
Manny Machado (SD)
Maikel Garcia (KC)
Jazz Chisholm is a dynamic player when he is on the field. In just 531 plate appearances last season, he went 31/31, and the previous year, he went 24/40. The issue is his health seems to be a recurring issue. While he has managed to get over 500 plate appearances the past two seasons, there is always the risk that he misses half a season or more, which makes him a high upside gamble.
Manny Machado is about as safe as they come in fantasy. He has gotten at least 600 plate appearances, hit at least 27 home runs, and has not had a batting average below .256 in every season since 2015. He may not have the highest upside of these early tiers, but the floor is so dependable that he is an easy pick.
Maikel Garcia is coming off a breakout season where he hit 16 home runs and stole 23 bases with a .286/.351/.449 triple slash, and I buy all of it. Maybe the power comes back down a little, but the elite contact skills and speed offer even more upside on the average and stolen base department.
Tier 3 & Notes
Austin Riley (ATL)
Eugenio Suarez (CIN)
Alex Bregman (CHC)
Austin Riley is coming off back-to-back injury-plagued seasons. When on the field, he is still a very good hitter with 30 homer upside, but it’s hard to trust he will get there when the last time he got to 500+ plate appearances was 2023.
Eugenio Suarez has power for days and is coming off a 49 home run season between his time with the Diamondbacks and Mariners. He is now heading back to Cincinnati, which is one of the best parks in baseball for power, but there is some downside in the batting average department that you will need to account for.
Alex Bregman is heading to the Cubs after a down season where he struggled with injury. He is healthy and having a good spring, but there is some risk here heading to that he gets injured again or struggles to adjust to another new team and park.
Tier 4 & Notes
Max Muncy (LAD)
Royce Lewis (MIN)
Kazuma Okamoto (TOR)
Noelvi Marte (CIN)
Matt Chapman (SF)
Addison Barger (TOR)
I don’t know why people are sleeping on Max Muncy. Yes, he missed time with injury, but when he was on the field, he was fantastic, especially after he got glasses. He is healthy now and mashing in spring, hitting .313/.371/.470 with three home runs in 35 PAs. He is one of my most targeted players this season.
Royce Lewis is an uber-talented former prospect who can’t stay healthy. I probably shouldn’t have him this high, but if he does stay healthy, there is 30/20 upside in the profile, and he will play every day when active.
Kazuma Okamoto is a really interesting player. He is in his first season in the Majors after coming over from Japan, and he profiles as a very good pure hitter with league average power. He should hit in the bottom third of the Blue Jays lineup to start the season, but his high walk rate and good hit tool could have him in the top third of the lineup before too long. There isn’t a massive upside, but a really good floor.
Matt Chapman has pop and, weirdly, added some stolen bases over the last few seasons. He won’t hit for a good average, but he walks at a double-digit rate, which is great for OBP leagues.
Addison Barger is a StatCast superstar that crushes the ball and has a pretty good hit tool, but he is too aggressive at times and struggles with left-handed pitching. Even in a platoon, he could have a massive season, and his dual eligibility doesn’t hurt either.
Tier 5 & Notes
Jordan Lawlar (ARI)
Brett Baty (NYM)
Caleb Durbin (BOS)
Colt Keith (DET)
Alec Bohm (PHI)
Willi Castro (COL)
Munetaka Murakami (CWS)
Jose Caballero (NYY)
Carlos Correa (HOU)
Miguel Vargas (CWS)
Matt Shaw (CHC)
Brooks Lee (NYM)
Jonathan India (KC)
Isaac Paredes (KC)
Luis Rengifo (MIL)
Jordan Westburg (BAL)
Josh Jung (TEX)
Nolan Arenado (ARI)
Nolan Gorman (STL)
Marcelo Mayer (BOS)
Ryan McMahon (NYY)
Lawlar is another former top prospect, but he has struggled in small samples at the Major League level and has been blocked off of his natural positions in the infield with the emergence of Geraldo Perdomo and the acquisition of Nolan Arenado. However, the Diamondbacks have been playing him in the outfield, and he has been crushing it offensively in spring, hitting .282/.391/.615 with four home runs and a stolen base in 46 plate appearances. There is massive upside if he can carve out a full-time role.
Brett Baty is a former top prospect who had a nice little breakout in 2025, hitting .254/.313/.435 with 18 home runs and eight stolen bases in 432 plate appearances. Baty is starting the year on the strong side of a platoon, but he showed last year he can hit lefties, and he could earn the opportunity to prove it again in 2026. There is a lot of upside, and his ADP is pretty tantalizing.
Colt Keith had a disappointing 2025, hitting just 13 home runs with a .256/.333/.413 triple slash. There is more power and a better hit tool in the profile, but he is being kept in a platoon, and there won’t be a lot of chances for him to break out of that. There is some upside, but it’s becoming harder for him to unlock it.
Willi Castro is going to be a full-time player now that he is out of Minnesota and in Colorado. There is not much power, but he can hit for average and steal a bunch of bases. He is multi-positional eligible, which is always valuable as well.
Munetaka Murakami has a ton of power, but it seems like he will struggle with consistent contact. The White Sox will give him plenty of rope, and you should expect a bunch of home runs, but you will need to offset the likely bad average he will give you.
Jose Caballero will play regularly for the Yankees until Anthony Volpe returns from offseason surgery. Caballero has the ability to steal 50+ bases if he gets enough playing time, and he is eligible almost everywhere this season.
Miguel Vargas is a former top prospect who has never really panned out. He is now getting a full run in Chicago for the White Sox, but it is a pretty bland profile where he does not have enough power to be a good power source, nor is he an asset in stolen bases or average. The profile is pretty boring.
Matt Shaw is a very interesting former prospect who doesn’t really have a place to play full-time right now. I expect he will take on a super utility role for the time being until someone gets hurt, but you will have to be patient if you draft him.
Isaac Paredes should have been traded, but he is going to get time at third base until Jeremy Pena returns and Correa slides back to third. If someone gets hurt in the meantime, that could solve the logjam issues, but there is a risk he will be back on the bench by the end of April.
Jordan Westburg is out for at least a few months, and there is a risk he doesn’t play at all this season.
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