Fantasy Baseball: Who are the top third basemen in the MLB in 2024?
Heading into the 2024 MLB regular season there is no shortage of top tier 3rd basemen, but who are the cream of the crop when it comes to Fantasy?
The hot corner is set to be something to watch this season with an interesting mix of veterans and rising stars with a lot of choices in between. To that end it’s going to come down to your draft strategy and roster construction.
Who are the top 3rd basemen in 2024?
Now, while we could go back and forth about who deserves to be on this list, the reality is there isn’t much daylight between the candidates. For that purpose, we’ll be taking a look at - in no particular order at some of the standout players, but we’ll also be giving you the lowdown on the data associated with them as well. So, with no further ado, let’s jump in.
Firstly, we’ve got Rafael Devers. To keep things simple, the 27-year-old has got more boxes checked than anybody else. Whether that’s home runs, runs, RBI, or batting average, Devers simply has more. On the other hand, when it comes to a box he hasn’t filled, we have to mention José Ramírez who has stolen way more bases. stolen bases. While it’s true that base stealing isn’t the precarious endeavor that it once was, Ramírez’s 20+ continues to be noteworthy. At this point, we arrive at Austin Riley and Manny Machado.
| RANK | PLAYER (Team, Position) | OVERALL | BEST | WORST | AVG | STD DEV | ADP | VS. ADP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Ramirez (CLE - 3B,DH) | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 14.0 | ‐ |
| 2 | Austin Riley (ATL - 3B) | 19 | 1 | 4 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 19.0 | ‐ |
| 3 | Rafael Devers (BOS - 3B) | 20 | 2 | 5 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 20.0 | ‐ |
| 4 | Gunnar Henderson (BAL - 3B,SS) | 32 | 3 | 6 | 4.4 | 0.5 | 31.0 | -1.0 |
| 5 | Elly De La Cruz (CIN - 3B,SS) | 36 | 1 | 9 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 33.0 | -3.0 |
| 6 | Manny Machado (SD - 3B,DH) | 46 | 4 | 7 | 6.1 | 0.8 | 47.0 | +1.0 |
| 7 | Royce Lewis (MIN - 3B) | 49 | 5 | 8 | 6.6 | 0.8 | 63.0 | +14.0 |
| 8 | Alex Bregman (HOU - 3B) | 75 | 7 | 13 | 8.7 | 1.2 | 67.0 | -8.0 |
| 9 | Nolan Arenado (STL - 3B) | 81 | 8 | 12 | 9.6 | 0.8 | 75.0 | -6.0 |
| 10 | Ha-Seong Kim (SD - 2B,3B,SS) | 85 | 8 | 19 | 9.8 | 2.0 | 83.0 | -2.0 |
On one side, Riley outproduces Machado in every category except one: stolen bases. Add to that the fact that Machado has had extensive elbow issues and you’ve got to admit, there is a risk. Yet, despite his injuries, Machado hasn’t gone below 600 plate appearances in a season since 2014 (excluding 2020) and we all know what he can do when he’s at bat. Now, we’ve got to talk about Gunnar Henderson. The word is that applies here is ‘proven.’ Expect Henderson to be a major contributor when it comes to Baltimore’s offense this season. Be advised that the table above features data that comes courtesy of Fantasypros as of March 1st, 2024 and is the consensus preseason ranking