Eric Cross' Top 10 Third Base (3B) Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Rankings for 2026

January 3, 2026

Eric's top third base (3B) dynasty fantasy baseball rankings, risers, and breakouts heading into 2026. His updated third base rankings for fantasy baseball dynasty leagues.

The hot corner has been led by Jose Ramirez for the last several years, with various elite players filling in behind him. But now the top of these rankings looks a bit different. Ramírez is still elite, but a new name has taken over the top spot. This position also saw a down year from Austin Riley and lost Rafael Devers to first base.

Below, you'll find my top 10 at this position, along with analysis on each player. A few players whom I didn't include may also qualify for this position in your league, depending on your league's games played requirements. Those players have a note indicating where they would slot for me.

For my entire top 75 and additional writeups, check out my Patreon. Make sure to continue checking RotoBaller as I'm going to be going through all positions in the coming weeks!

Third Base Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

Age in parentheses

1. Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (22)

A player having 45 home runs in their age-21 season is a feat we haven't witnessed overly often in the history of Major League Baseball. In addition to his 45 home runs, Junior Caminero scored 93 runs, drove in 110, slashed .264/.311/.535, and even added seven steals for good measure.

Caminero immediately established himself as one of the best power hitters in the game, ranking among the league leaders with his 14% barrel rate, 92.4 mph AVG EV, and 51.4% hard-hit rate while also having a .491 xSLG and the second-best average bat speed at 78.6 mph, trailing only Oneil Cruz. His spray chart is a thing of beauty too, and the definition of "all fields power".

40-HOMER SEASON for Junior Caminero! pic.twitter.com/N6U3ABmKTi

— MLB (@MLB) September 3, 2025

Caminero is far from an all-or-nothing hitter, too, as he recorded a solid 82.1% zone and 75.3% overall contact rate in 2025 while only striking out in 19.1% of his plate appearances. While he'll probably never be a high OBP guy due to a lower walk rate, Caminero has the contact skills to continue pumping out elite offensive seasons for years to come.

Note: Jazz Chisholm Jr. would rank here, but he was ranked and discussed in my second base rankings article. He's also likely going to lose third base eligibility after 2026.

2. José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians (33)

Trust me, it feels dirty and downright wrong to rank Ramírez anywhere but first at this position. He's been the gold standard at the hot corner for a long time and should get the call to Cooperstown someday. However, he's also 33 years old, which is why he's slid down below Caminero and Chisholm. But with that said, Ramírez is still a no-doubt top-30 overall dynasty asset for now, and should be valued even higher than that for win-now dynasty teams.

In 2025, Ramírez had his second straight 30/40 season with 30 home runs and 44 steals to go along with 103 runs, 85 RBI, and a .283/.360/.503 slash line. He's now approaching both 300 home runs and 300 steals for his career and is showing zero signs of slowing down.

While Ramírez's quality of contact metrics was slightly down from 2024, they were still in line with his career range. Ramírez also continued displaying his usual elite blend of contact and approach in 2025 with a 91% zone contact rate, 85.1% overall contact rate, 9.8% walk rate, and an 11% strikeout rate.

Ramírez is still a fantasy stud, but just a bit older now. Usually, you don't see 33-year-olds this high in a dynasty ranking, but nobody else at the position has really made a case to go ahead of him yet.

3. Maikel Garcia, Kansas City Royals (25)

After two seasons of providing speed but being underwhelming at the plate, Maikel Garcia finally put it all together in 2025. In 160 games, Garcia racked up 81 runs, 39 doubles, 16 home runs, 74 RBI, 23 steals, and a .286/.351/.449 slash line.

I know it's a lot of thresholds, but just look at the above tweet I posted. That's really damn impressive. If you took just the first four, along with batting average, it was just Bobby Witt Jr., Freddie Freeman, and Garcia.

The biggest difference for Garcia this past season was his batted ball angles. Garcia's quality of contact metrics were in line with the last two seasons, finishing with a 5.6% barrel rate, 91.3 mph AVG EV, and a 45.1% hard-hit rate. But the batted ball angles were a solid step in the right direction.

On top of having a career-best (but still low) barrel rate, Garcia also posted career-best marks in air rate, pull rate, and pull-air rate.

Garcia did all of this while maintaining his contact and approach metrics and even improving in some areas. Garcia posted a career-best 90.6% zone contact rate, 85% overall contact rate, 9.3% walk rate, and a 12.6% strikeout rate. Garcia also had a contact rate above 80% and a slugging percentage above .400 on all three pitch types.

Add in his stellar defense, good arm, and above-average speed, and you have one of the better, well-rounded third basemen in baseball. He'll have second base eligibility in some leagues in 2026 as well.

Needless to say, I'm a believer in Garcia's 2025 season and think he could have an even better 2026 season. He's primarily a third baseman now, but should have second base eligibility as well in all leagues where you only need 10 games to qualify at a position.

4. Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves (28)

It was a rough 2025 season for Austin Riley. It was also a rough 2024 season for Riley.

After three straight seasons where he played at least 159 games with over 90 runs, 90 RBI, and 30 home runs, Riley has failed to reach the 500 plate appearances or 20-homer threshold in each of the last two seasons. In 2025, Riley slashed a pedestrian .260/.309/.428 with 20 doubles, 16 home runs, 54 RBI, and 54 runs scored in 102 games.

Riley's 2024 was slightly better, slashing .256/.322/.461 with 19 home runs, 56 RBI, and 63 runs scored in 110 games. Can Riley get back to the elite Riley of a few years ago? Or is this new Riley the one we should expect moving forward? I'm somewhere in the middle of those two outcomes, but closer to the former than the latter.

Even with the surface stats dipping over the last two seasons, even when you factor in the few games played, one area for Riley that has remained consistent is his quality of contact metrics. In 2025, Riley posted an elite 15.2% barrel rate, 92.3 mph AVG EV, and a 50.2% hard-hit rate with a 93rd percentile bat speed. Those quality of contact metrics were all in the top 12% of hitters in baseball this past season. Riley also has ideal batted ball angles with a 65.4% air rate, 42.6% pull rate, and a 24.2% Pull-Air rate.

Outside of the quality of contact metrics, Riley isn't that far off from previous seasons in terms of contact and chase rates, either. His 78.1% zone and 70.5% overall contact rate are below average and down a bit from previous seasons, but not completely out of the normal range for Riley. The same can be said about his 27.7% chase rate, which is actually slightly better than the league average.

With that said, Riley did have the worst walk and strikeout rate of his career in 2025, finishing with a 6% walk rate and 28.6% strikeout rate. Those are both worse than league average, but Riley has never been a big walk rate guy anyway, and that strikeout rate is still on the right side of 30%, so I'm not terribly concerned about that mark yet.

Even if Riley is more of a .260 hitter with a low-.300 OBP as opposed to a .280 hitter with an OBP around .340-.350, that can still be good enough to be a Top 5-7 player at the third base position as long as Riley can stay on the field and get back up around the runs, home runs, and RBI numbers that he was at a few years ago. My projection doesn't have him fully getting back to those levels, but close to it.

5. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres (33)

Manny Machado is the model of consistency. In 2025, Machado slashed .275/.335/.460 with 91 runs, 33 doubles, 27 home runs, 95 RBI, and 14 steals in 678 plate appearances. If you exclude the shortened 2020 season, this was Machado's 10th straight season with at least 75 runs, 25 home runs, 85 RBI, and a .255 batting average.

Machado is showing no signs of slowing down either. He actually had his best barrel rate, AVG EV, and hard-hit rate since 2021 last season, with contact rates just slightly below his career average. The 2025 season was also the third straight season with Machado having a strikeout rate below 20%. He's now in the age range of primarily being valuable to contending dynasty teams instead of rebuilding teams, but there's no reason not to expect at least another few years of high-end production for Machado.

6. Jordan Westburg, Baltimore Orioles (26)

The 2025 season felt like 2024 Part 2 when it comes to Jordan Westburg. Once again, Westburg put up solid numbers when he was on the field, but was once again under 500 plate appearances, leaving fantasy managers a bit frustrated.

After having 18 home runs and six steals in 447 plate appearances in 2024, Westburg smacked 17 more home runs in 2025 with a .265/.313/.457 slash line, but was limited to just 352 plate appearances. That's two straight seasons where Westburg was on pace for around 30 home runs, and he was on pace for over 100 runs scored in 2025 as well.

The power metrics have been consistently above-average in Westburg's three Major League seasons, posting a hard-hit rate above 43% and an AVG EV above 90 mph in all three seasons. He's also had a barrel rate above 11%, an xSLG above .460, and an xwOBACON above .400 in each of the last two seasons.

Outside of the power department, Westburg is pretty aggressive overall with a 50.2% swing rate, and has been under a 5% walk rate both in 2024 and 2025. The contact rates have been below-average, both in zone and overall, over the last two seasons as well, dipping to 77.9% zone and 70.6% overall. Those aren't terrible metrics by any means, and Westburg has around a league-average strikeout and chase rate, but he's also more likely to stick below a .270 AVG moving forward.

But if that .260ish AVG can come with 25-30 home runs and solid run/RBI totals, Westburg could be an annual Top-10 player at this position. The upside, along with the falloff at this position, is why I still have Westburg ranked where I do, but he's going to need to stay on the field more consistently moving forward.

Durability is the biggest red flag in Westburg's profile as we enter 2026. But given here the price tag and perceived value are, I wouldn't be opposed to buying low in dynasty leagues.

7. Alex Bregman, Free Agent (31)

After spending the first nine years of his career in Houston, Alex Bregman's one season in Boston fell right in line with what we had come to expect during the last few seasons of his Astros tenure. While he was limited to 114 games, Bregman still managed 64 runs, 18 home runs, 62 RBI, and 51 walks with a .273/.360/.462 slash line. If you extrapolate those numbers out over 155 games, you'd have numbers very similar to his 2022-2024 numbers with Houston.

Where Bregman lands in free agency this offseason could play a role in his value, as he's always been a pull-happy hitter. That has worked out well for him in Houston and Boston, but we'll need to see how his new home ballpark plays for right-handed pull power if he doesn't return to the Red Sox. Bregman is on the wrong side of 30 now, but he's still a reliable source of AVG and OBP who can provide at least 20 home runs over a full season.

8. Noelvi Marte, Cincinnati Reds (24)

The professional career of Noelvi Marte has been nothing short of a roller coaster. After rising to elite prospect status with the Seattle Mariners, Marte was traded to Cincinnati in mid-2022 and had a decent Major League debut with the Reds in 2023. But the 2024 season was a nightmare for Marte, who missed half the season due to suspension and struggled to the tune of a .210/.248/.301 slash line in 242 plate appearances upon returning.

Luckily, we saw a nice bounce-back season from Marte in 2025. In 360 plate appearances, Marte slashed .263/.300/.448 with 45 runs, 14 home runs, 51 RBI, and 10 steals in 13 attempts. He continues to record a near elite sprint speed (89th percentile), and his quality of contact metrics ticked up a bit in the second half of last season. This is likely the last time you'll see Marte included in any third base rankings, but the upside is a 20/20 bat in a great home ballpark and a good, up-and-coming Cincinnati lineup.

9. Addison Barger, Toronto Blue Jays (26)

After a sluggish Major League debut in 2024, where he slashed just .197/.250/.351 in 225 plate appearances, Addison Barger enjoyed a mini breakout of sorts in 2025. In 502 plate appearances, Barger slashed .243/.301/.454 with 32 doubles, 21 home runs, 74 RBI, and 61 runs scored.

Those numbers would've looked better if it weren't for a late-season slump where he hit .211 in August, .197 in September, and .223 overall after the All-Star break, following a .261/.317/.506 slash line before the All-Star break.

Even with the late-season slump, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic that Barger can stick as a top-150 caliber player overall moving forward, maybe even top-100 in some seasons.

First and foremost, Barger's quality of contact metrics really stood out. Out of the 38 third basemen who had at least 300 plate appearances in 2025, Barger ranked sixth in AVG EV, fourth in Hard-Hit rate, ninth in Barrel rate, and fifth in xSLG. His power was consistent against all three pitch types, too, as Barger posted an AVG EV above 91 mph against fastballs, breaking balls, and offspeed pitches. He also had a 116.5 mph MAX EV (97th percentile) and a .428 xwOBACON, which was 59 points above league-average.

Barger's 57.5% air rate is only slightly above league average, but when he does elevate, he does so consistently to his pull side, running a 43.7% pull rate and 21.1% pull-air rate.

In the contact and approach departments, Barger doesn't stand out, but there are no concerning metrics either. In 2025, Barger recorded an 82% zone contact rate, 73.9% overall contact rate, and a 31.1% chase rate. Those contact rates were just slightly below league average, while the chase rate was 2.7% worse than league average, but far from concerning. While Barger doesn't walk a ton (7.2%), he did keep his strikeout rate in check at 24.1%.

Barger did a good job at hitting all three pitch types consistently, but he did struggle a bit against left-handers, slashing .217/.270/.337 with a 30.3% strikeout rate in 89 plate appearances. It's a small sample size, but something to keep an eye on in 2026.

All in all, Barger is a good but not great hitter in my eyes. I'd be fine with having him as a fallback starting option at third base, a high-end CI, or my OF 3/4 in 2026 and beyond.

10. Sal Stewart, Cincinnati Reds (22)

From start to finish, the 2025 season was a productive one for Cincinnati Reds' prospect Sal Stewart. Spending the first 80 games in Double-A, Stewart slashed .306/.377/.473 with 19 doubles, 10 home runs, and 13 steals.

That strong performance carried over in Triple-A, where he slashed .315/.394/.629 with 15 doubles and 10 home runs in just 38 games before closing out the season with an additional five home runs in 18 Major League games with Cincinnati.

Everywhere he's gone, Stewart has brought a good blend of contact, approach, and power. In Double-A, Stewart had an 80% contact rate and a 15.5% strikeout rate. While the contact rate dipped a bit to 74.6% in Triple-A, he rebounded to 76.1% in the Majors, along with a solid 81.8% zone contact rate.

The strikeout rate did climb to 25.9% but it's a small sample size, and Stewart has never had any issues with strikeouts in the minors, posting a 15.6% mark in 2025 and 15.7% for his minor league career over 323 games.

The power department is where I don't believe Steward gets enough love. I mean, just look at the quality of contact metrics in Triple-A and the Majors last season!

Not only is Stewart's quality of contact metrics impressive, but he also has ideal batted ball angles. With the Reds, Stewart posted a 65% air rate, 52.5% pull rate, and an elite 30% Pull-Air rate. Those metrics weren't quite as high in the minors, but Stewart still had a 58% air rate and 39.2% pull rate.

Given his contact skills, quality of contact metrics, and the home ballpark he gets to play in, Stewart developing into a .270/25 type down the road isn't out of the question. I'm not ready to go that high with my projections just yet, as it will be his first full Major League season in 2026, but as you can tell from my projection below, I'm quite high on Stewart in general, both in 2026 and beyond.

If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.

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