At this point, there should be little debate that baseball’s most valuable position player is the shortstop, followed by catcher, but a closer third than you would think is the third baseman. We all know the tendencies of a valuable fielding third baseman, but when it comes to fantasy, the different options are as unique as can be. Eugenio Suárez and Rafael Devers are very different players from Maikel Garcia and Ernie Clement, but all four were similarly valuable fantasy third basemen in 2025.
To really move on to 2026, managers first need to digest what happened in 2025. Here are some of my key takeaways from this past season and how they may impact the winter’s approach.
José Ramírez isn’t the A-Tier; he is the S-Tier
I do not believe there was much of a debate here, but if you or a friend did not believe Cleveland’s José Ramírez was in a class of his own before, now it is even more apparent.
The Guardians star had his second consecutive 30/40 season, with 30 home runs and 44 stolen bases in 2025, the only third baseman this year to have such a season. He is one of the AL’s most underrated players year in and year out, but is unquestionably the league’s top third baseman in 2025. His .283/.360/.503 line and 103 RBI likely won many managers a league title this season, and there are no signs to say the Dominican will be slowing down any time soon.
Jordan Westburg, Austin Riley injuries open door for buy-low 3B addition
No fantasy season goes exactly to plan, and the injuries to Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg and Atlanta’s Austin Riley were some of the position’s biggest thrown wrenches.
Westburg, like so many of his Orioles peers, took a step back fantasy-wise, primarily due to just being unavailable. He only had one fewer home run from 2024 (18) to 2025 (17), despite playing in 22 fewer games, but it was his 22-RBI drop and dwindling stolen bases that really fueled his fantasy decline. Westburg missed time from April 27th-June 9th with a left hamstring strain and from August 19th-September 16th with a right ankle sprain. That was enough to make his time back on the diamond inconsistent and an overall disappointing season from that perspective.
The lack of rhythm and the ripple effects of a lower-body injury can explain some of Westburg’s regression in areas like hard-hit rate or average exit velocity, but that is an area that will concern some dynasty managers. It might be an opportunity to add a productive third baseman for the right manager.
Meanwhile, Riley’s 29.6 ADP was the third-highest for third basemen heading into 2025, but he fell far short of the expectations that come with that slot. A .260/.309/.428 line and 103 wRC+ still made him a valuable batter for Atlanta, adding in 16 home runs and 54 RBI in 102 games before a lower abdominal strain derailed his season.
It wasn’t a bad season for Riley, but it was another entry into a concerning trend. Riley had stellar expected numbers in 2024, but he has consistently declined from his 2022 peak, whether it be wRC+, home run total, xwOBA, or just overall WAR. Atlanta signed Riley to a massive 10-year contract worth $212 million that year, and Riley hasn’t lived up to that dollar amount since. The contract likely means that Riley will continue to get opportunities despite his decline, and he is far from a terrible third baseman still. Hopefully, a healthy offseason and a fresh spring will be what Riley needs to get on track. Some managers may not feel the same, and if you are looking for a buy-low third base option, Riley might be more available than his name recognition would suggest.
Take Coby Mayo, Rafael Devers out of 3B picture
Take all this with a grain of salt, because your league’s rules may be different than mine. But, if you are looking at contemporary position eligibility, Baltimore’s Coby Mayo and Boston’s Rafael Devers are two notable players who did not hit the wickets for 3B fantasy eligibility heading into 2026.
These two players had vastly different 2025 seasons, but Mayo is worth bringing up because he was viewed as one of the game’s top third base prospects heading into 2025. That was still his primary position the past two seasons at Triple-A Norfolk, so there wasn’t a red flag that suggested he wouldn’t be a third baseman at the next level. However, with Westburg being an established starter when healthy, Baltimore tried to find opportunities for Mayo by playing him at first base. That call was not a bad one as Mayo posted a respectable 95 wRC+ in 294 plate appearances, his largest body of work in the big leagues. He still has plenty of work to do, considering his 28.6% strikeout rate and outpacing his xwOBA by 10 points, but the 23-year-old is in a good spot heading into 2026. It just likely will not be as a third baseman.
Devers, on the other hand, was one of the game’s best fantasy third basemen, ranking fifth in season value according to FanGraphs. His numbers did not look as rosy once Devers was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants, but he should still be a highly regarded fantasy target this offseason. However, part of the drama that fueled his Boston departure had some reality in San Francisco, as Devers hardly played his natural third base for the Giants, with only one start there in 2025. That, plus his 29 games at first base, doesn’t meet the criteria for him to have third base eligibility.
It is a big blow for a position that lacks a deep well of consistent impact players, but Devers goes down as one of the most impactful third basemen of the last half-decade. Since 2018, Devers’ 225 home runs and 717 RBI rank fourth among MLB third basemen and are on a more positive trajectory compared to players like Nolan Arenado or Eugenio Suárez. Now, if managers have an established first baseman already on their roster, it would be wise to find a trade partner for Devers.
Versatility is king for 3B field
From the non-versatile to the most versatile, there was a surprising number of players with extensive lists for positional versatility who were top scorers at third base. If you look at FanGraphs’ fantasy value ranks for position players, you have to go to the 39th spot until you find a player with three or more positions they are eligible to slot in at. But that is a common trait for five of the top 10 third basemen according to value. Players like Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia, Chicago’s Lenyn Sosa, or Toronto’s Ernie Clement were not elite fantasy options, but were all serviceable in the grand scheme of things.
When managers look at the B-Tier of the position, that versatility really shines and speaks to how players can emerge as third base options simply out of need.
No place like home for Chisholm
This season was the first full campaign in pinstripes for New York’s Jazz Chisholm Jr. The polarizing infielder had a career year for the Yankees, with a 126 wRC+ and his first career 30/30 season with 31 home runs and 31 stolen bases. He was primarily a second baseman for the Yankees, making 100 appearances there compared to 29 at third base. But, that is enough to qualify at the position, and while Chisholm’s stock as a second baseman may be higher, where he plays keeps him as a solid third base option.
Chisholm showed managers what he could do in Yankee Stadium last season with a 121 wRC+ at home after leaving Miami. But he took an even bigger step forward with a 150 wRC+ at home in 2025, including 17 of his home runs and 16 of his stolen bases. The home-road splits do not reveal a major difference in the counting stats, but his .277/.364/.528 line at home is vastly different than his .242/.332/.481 line on the road.
Chisholm is still a fringe A-Tier third baseman and is an attractive dynasty option considering his age and production over the past two seasons. If managers held onto him during his lean years, that decision is paying off now. Add in the fact that Chisholm is entering both his age-28 season and a contract year, the confines of Yankee Stadium should be very welcoming for the infielder.
No one wants the New York Mets 3B job
Heading into 2025, New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos was somewhat of a fantasy darling. After all, he was fresh off a 2024 campaign that was his first full season in New York and he produced like a star alongside shortstop Francisco Lindor and first baseman Pete Alonso. Vientos’ 27 home runs and .266/.322/.516 line made him one of the league’s most valuable fantasy third basemen. While his .324 BABIP and 25-point difference between his wOBA and xwOBA suggested there would be some regression, no one expected it to this degree.
Vientos went out in 2025 and had good power numbers, but took two steps back in nearly every area, having only ten positive fantasy weeks in the season. He dealt with a hamstring injury that took him out for most of June and really took him out of the primary third base job for the remaining season. It was Brett Baty, a player Vientos previously supplanted, who stepped into that role but with similarly polarizing results.
Baty was a prospect darling for years after New York drafted him 12th overall in the 2019 MLB Draft. But he never could quite put it together at the big-league plate. His expected numbers continued to be better than the real-world results, but Baty’s ineffectiveness was a large reason why he went from the Mets’ primary third baseman in 2023 to an afterthought in 2024. That continued as Baty struggled at second base as New York tried to keep Baty on the field. Vientos’ struggles opened the door to Baty returning to his natural position, but it was his injury that really let Baty shine at the hot corner.
Baty had a career year, with a .254/.313/.435 line and 18 home runs across a career-high 130 games. The 25-year-old had other career highs with a .344 xwOBA and .181 ISO for the Mets, looking more like the player that evaluators thought he could be years before.
In the grand scheme of things, neither Baty nor Vientos ended the 2025 season as major fantasy factors. But as New York looks to rebound from a disappointing season, the hot corner is a spot that has no clear favorite to be the Opening Day starter. Is Baty’s 2025 success a fluke, or is Vientos’ 2025 regression the fluke? Will the hot hand prevail for manager Carlos Mendoza’s 2026 approach, or will one of these two players establish themselves in the spring?
Overall, watching this pair matters because both are buy-low options heading into next season, and if they are playing should be playing in the middle of the lineup. Context is key with these two, as their value lies in home runs and plating runners themselves. Vientos will likely be the favorite to start the season, but 2025 proved that New York has a pair of players who just cannot make themselves the undeniable choice for the third base job.
Sal Stewart is Cincinnati’s 3B of the future, not Noelvi Marte
From one NL pair to another, the situation in Cincinnati feels much more cut and dry. The Reds had two young options at the hot corner entering 2025: Noelvi Marte and Sal Stewart. Once the dust settled on 2025, though, it is apparent that Stewart is the team’s top option at third base, not Marte.
There are a couple of factors in that decision, though. First, Marte proved himself in the outfield with 445.1 innings of work there this season. It was not his natural position, but primarily playing right field, he accrued 4 Defensive Runs Saved to a -2 Outs Above Average, a palatable number in the grand scheme of things. Marte closed out the season in right field, making the shift primarily after the trade deadline. Meanwhile, Marte had a rebound year in a career-high 90 games, with a .263/.300/.448 line and a 101 wRC+ for the Reds. It was not a banner fantasy year, but a step back in the right direction for those managers still holding out hope. He should still retain his third base eligibility entering 2026, slightly boosting his value this winter.
Meanwhile, Stewart made his MLB debut on Sept. 1 and had a feast-or-famine body of work. Overall, his five home runs and eight RBI came with a .255/.293/.545 line, showcasing the 60-grade hit and 50-grade power tools in the big leagues. All that came in 58 plate appearances, a minuscule sample size in the grand scheme of things. But the athletic Stewart has the chops to stay at third base, and that is likely his best fit on the diamond. His biggest red flag entering 2025 was not staying healthy the year prior, but those concerns largely vanished after playing in 136 games, ranging from Double-A to MLB.
Having Ke’Bryan Hayes really muddies up the third base picture in Cincinnati, but Stewart is the highest-ceiling option in that organization. I wonder what the team will do after trading for Hayes and his subsequent below-average bat and Stewart’s hot ending to 2025. Stewart has played all over, so having Stewart as a flexible player for now makes sense, but invest in him now for that third base role.
The Junior Caminero superstar rise is complete
With players like Ramírez and San Diego’s Manny Machado approaching their mid-30s, it was time to wonder who will be the next generation or wave of third base fantasy stars. There was a ton of hope that one player would be Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, and that hope was certainly realized in 2025.
The Rays slugger had solid, yet brief, bodies of work in 2023 and 2024 that fueled this positivity. 2025 was his first full season in the big leagues, and he did it all. He was part of an exclusive group with an All-Star selection, 45 home runs, and 110 RBI to his name in 154 games. Playing in Steinbrenner Field made for a favorable home field where Caminero did most of his damage, but the immediate production is impossible to deny.
Overall, he was Fangraphs’ second-most valuable third baseman in 2025, leading a trio of Seattle’s Eugenio Suárez, Machado, and Devers by a healthy margin. His lack of an elite ability to draw walks or steal bases will keep him behind Ramírez as a fantasy player for the foreseeable future, but the Tampa Bay star is not going anywhere any time soon as he enters his age-22 season.
Matt Shaw, Brady House debut campaigns prove no sure fantasy prospect
The expectations were certainly higher for Chicago’s Matt Shaw than Washington’s Brady House, but both similarly had high prospect value and both had forgettable opening impressions.
Shaw played in 126 games for the Cubs, posting a .226/.295/.394 line with 13 home runs and 44 RBI. He was much better in the second half, with a 130 wRC+ in that span. He was an above-average base stealer compared to other third baseman on the season, but Shaw’s rookie campaign was not the one that managers may have hoped for. Hopefully, his second-half success and a big-league season under his belt will led to better things for Shaw in 2026.
Meanwhile, in another lost season for the Nationals, House made his debut and struggled to find a fantasy area to succeed in. His 73 big-league games came with a .234/.252/.322 line and only four home runs to 29 RBI. The 2021 first-rounder has long captured attention with his in-game power, and his 46.3% hard-hit rate was above league average. But that, along with his 2 Outs Above Average, where really the only positives from his rookie body of work. The expected numbers were not kind to House, with only a .288 xwOBA for the Nationals. Opposite Shaw, House’s second half was much poorer compared to his first, so the prospect left a sour taste in managers’ mouths to close out 2025. With little to play for but little to build upon, House is in a dangerous fantasy status entering 2026.
Caleb Bonemer rockets into dynasty prospect consideration
This is only for the deepest of leagues, but Chicago’s Caleb Bonemer popped up on my dynasty radar after a stellar first professional season. The White Sox drafted the high school slugger in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft, and he ended 2025 in High-A with a 151 wRC+ in 107 games. His 12 home runs and 64 RBI may not scream fantasy relevancy, but his .281/.401/.473 line and 15.8% walk rate showcase a player that can get on base in bunches while having promising pull-side power. Add in his 29 stolen bases, and that makes for a tantalizing power/speed combo at the hot corner.
MLB Pipeline has Bonemer as a five-tool player, a lofty projection for the former Virginia commit. The swing changes he made in season are working, and Bonemer has set a high bar for himself entering 2026. The White Sox are not a popular franchise to stash prospects from, but there is fantasy star potential in Bonemer.
