Leandre: Top 30 third basemen entering 2024, 20-11
Entering the middle third of the top 30 third basemen, things start to get star-studded.
After a brief hiatus, we’re back with the middle third of the top 30 third basemen entering the 2024 MLB season.
This group of 10 is full of former All-Stars and a couple with the talent to make it to the game.
Similar to second base, this position is in much better hands than it once was, which is a testament to how teams develop talent in modern baseball.
Before we can go into the next 10, here is the latter third of the top 30 third basemen entering this upcoming season.
With that in mind, here are the next 10 on my top 30.
20. Yoán Moncada – Chicago White Sox
I don’t want to give up on the ceiling of Moncada, even though we’ve yet to see an extended run that emulates his 2019 campaign.
Last year, he slashed .260/.305/.425 with a 98 wRC+ for a bad White Sox team. Those numbers are fine, albeit borderline average, and considerably better than his .212/.273/.353 from the 2022 season.
A major problem with the switch-hitting third baseman, besides strikeouts, is durability. He missed 58 games in 2022 and another 70 last year. Even in his elite 2019 season, he missed 30.
His saving grace right now is that he’s still 28 years old, but I do wonder if we’ve already seen the best of him, hence his ranking at No. 20.
19. Ryan McMahon – Colorado Rockies
I’m certain McMahon would rank a lot higher on everyone’s list, maybe even mine, if he didn’t play for the Colorado Rockies.
He’s coming off a season in which his wRC+ was just 88 despite his OPS being 23 points higher than Moncada’s, who had a 98. Welcome to the Coors Effect.
One thing that translates regardless of home ballpark, however, is defense, which McMahon is borderline the best at the position. In 2023, he posted 17 defensive runs saved and 11 outs above average, both are simply ludicrous at the hot corner.
Moreover, unlike Moncada, McMahon is the pinnacle of health, missing no more than 11 games in a season the past four seasons.
18. D.J. LeMahieu – New York Yankees
It’s hard to assess the player LeMahieu is presently for a myriad of reasons.
For starters, he’s always either out or playing through some nagging injury, which hampers his production.
Second, his production hasn’t come close to mirroring that of his 2019 and 2020 seasons with the Yankees, where he turned into an MVP candidate. Thus, pointing to him being a potential juiced ball beneficiary.
Lastly, nobody really knows what he plays primarily defensively. I think he’s still a capable defender at second, but his body probably can’t hold up anymore over there. Third base is the next logical spot for him, but New York seems to overplay him at first base, where I think he’s wasted athletically.
To be candid, he’s probably an average hitter and a good defender wherever he ends up. As a result, he’s appropriately ranked at No. 18.
17. Alec Bohm – Philadelphia Phillies
There are pretty much two schools of opinion on Bohm, he’s either a couple of steps away from All-Star status or the most overrated player at his position in the sport.
As is the case most of the time, he falls somewhere in the middle.
I don’t love him as a player, but he’s fine. His presence in that lineup could be felt more towards the bottom of the order – like sixth or seventh – so manager Rob Thomson somewhat sets Bohm up for unnecessary scrutiny.
Defensively, he’s nothing special, posting -10 defensive runs saved and one out above average.
Frankly, I think his ceiling is slightly higher than LeMahieu’s despite the age advantage.
16. Jared Triolo – Pittsburgh Pirates
A few things go into Triolo ranking 16th entering the 2024 season.
For starters, the 26-year-old raked in 209 plate appearances last year, posting a 118 wRC+ and 1.7 fWAR. However, despite being a great two-way third baseman, he’s blocked by teammate Ke’Bryan Hayes for playing time there, so his level of value is limited.
15. Jake Burger – Miami Marlins
I can’t believe the White Sox moved off of Jake Burger at last year’s deadline.
While he saw a major uptick in production in South Beach, he’d always hit at the MLB level for the White Sox. Concerning the player, the fact they moved off Burger but not Andrew Vaughn baffled me especially – similar to the Phillies trading Nick Pivetta over Vince Velasquez in 2020.
Burger rakes and despite being a very poor fielder is one of the more valuable third basemen because his offense is so potent. If he’s closer to the Marlins version -- .303/.355/.505 – he’s going to be a staple at the hot corner for the Marlins moving forward.
14. Eugenio Suárez – Arizona Diamondbacks
I think this landing spot for Suarez will pay massive dividends in 2024.
Given the ballpark he played in for the past few years in Seattle, moving to the desert will drastically boost his already impressive power numbers.
Since 2016, he’s hit at least 30 homers four times, with a homer pace that would’ve exceeded that in a full season in 2020. He’s also a proverbial lock for 80-plus runs batted in. He’s a counting stats savant and those numbers I expect to be even more impressive in 2024 hitting behind Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Christian Walker.
He also posted a career-best 11 outs above average last year.
13. Max Muncy – Los Angeles Dodgers
Gone are the days of Muncy being a dark horse MVP candidate, but he’s still super productive, especially from a power standpoint.
Last year, he posted a .263 ISO to match a career-high in runs batted in and a career-high-tying 36 home runs.
While his productivity isn’t that of his torrid run from 2018 to 2021, he’s still a lock for 2.5 or more wins above replacement in my opinion. He won’t win any batting titles or MVP awards, which is fine.
12. Nolan Arenado – St. Louis Cardinals
I realize that Arenado was an MVP finalist in 2022, so ranking him 12th entering 2024 seems heinous, but I don’t think there’s much justification to rank him all that higher than this.
His defense, which has been his calling card regardless of his hitting, was still good just not elite, and his hitting is closer to league average than the 150 wRC+ he had two years ago.
He’s still a phenomenal third baseman and this drop is more of a recognition of the talent pool than a slight on Arenado, but I don’t think he’s got many more elite years, if any more, in him.
11. Jeimer Candelario – Cincinnati Reds
I didn’t know where to rank Candelario, thanks to a stacked Reds infield creating questions about defensive alignment.
For a while, it seemed Candelario was their first baseman. But now, with the suspension of Noelvi Marte, I think it’s pretty likely he’s their third baseman – as he should be.
In the past four seasons, Candelario has bordered on being a top 10 third baseman, peaking in 2020 and bottoming out in 2022. However, his 2023 campaign was solid despite some struggles after a midseason trade to the Chicago Cubs. As a result, he’s regained his throne just on the outskirts of the top 10.
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