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Updated Fantasy Baseball Third Base Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues

Rafael Devers - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB DFS Picks, Betting Picks

Updated 2022 fantasy baseball third base rankings for 5x5 roto mixed leagues. Use our 3B rankings, tiers and analysis to win your fantasy baseball drafts.

Fall in line, RotoBallers, because we're heading to the hot corner on our final descent towards the 2022 fantasy baseball season. RotoBaller is constantly working to try and bring fantasy baseball managers the best advice, especially during draft season. A big part of that includes regular updates to our tiered rankings for all formats.

Our MLB rankers -- JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano -- have recently updated our 2022 Mixed League rankings to help you prepare for draft day. And now we make our way to the third base rankings for fantasy baseball.

You can also find our other draft rankings for all sorts of league formats, continually updated throughout the preseason, right here in our main fantasy baseball Rankings Wizard tool. Also, make use of all our premium resources with our MLB Draft Kit.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Updated 2022 Third Base Rankings

n case you missed it, our very own "Big Pick Nick" Mariano was named the #1 overall most accurate industry expert ranker for the 2018 season, and Ariel Cohen was the top ranker in 2019. In addition, ATC Projections by Ariel Cohen have been the #1 most accurate projections system for the past three years. Be sure to follow their updated rankings and projections all season long!

Ranking Tier Player Position
1 1 Jose Ramirez 3B
2 2 Rafael Devers 3B
3 2 Manny Machado 3B
4 3 Wander Franco 3B/SS
5 3 Adalberto Mondesi 3B/SS
6 3 Austin Riley 1B/3B
7 3 Kris Bryant 1B/3B/OF
8 3 Nolan Arenado 3B
9 4 Alex Bregman 3B
10 4 Anthony Rendon 3B
11 4 Justin Turner 3B
12 5 DJ LeMahieu 1B/2B/3B
13 5 Yoan Moncada 3B
14 5 Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B
15 5 Ryan McMahon 2B/3B
16 5 Chris Taylor 2B/3B/SS/OF
17 5 Matt Chapman 3B
18 5 Josh Donaldson 3B
19 5 Ty France 1B/2B/3B
20 6 Luis Urias 2B/3B/SS
21 6 Eduardo Escobar 1B/2B/3B
22 6 Eugenio Suarez 3B/SS
23 6 Jeimer Candelario 3B
24 6 Alec Bohm 3B
25 6 Josh Rojas 2B/3B/SS/OF
26 6 Jonathan Villar 2B/3B/SS
27 7 Patrick Wisdom 1B/3B/OF
28 7 Mike Moustakas 1B/3B
29 7 Gio Urshela 3B/SS
30 7 Luis Arraez 2B/3B/OF
31 7 Cavan Biggio 3B/OF
32 7 Evan Longoria 3B
33 7 Ha-Seong Kim 2B/3B/SS
34 7 Brian Anderson 3B
35 7 Joey Wendle 2B/3B/SS
36 7 Yandy Diaz 1B/3B
37 7 Hunter Dozier 1B/3B/OF
38 8 Kyle Farmer 3B/SS
39 8 Rougned Odor 2B/3B
40 8 Josh Harrison 2B/3B/SS/OF
41 8 Abraham Toro 2B/3B
42 8 Maikel Franco 3B
43 8 Wilmer Flores 1B/2B/3B
44 8 Tommy La Stella 2B/3B
45 8 Ramon Urias 2B/SS/3B
46 8 Leury Garcia 2B/3B/SS/OF
47 8 J.D. Davis 3B
47 8 Dylan Moore 2B/3B/OF
48 8 Carter Kieboom 3B
49 8 Andy Ibanez 1B/2B/3B
50 8 Edwin Rios 1B/3B
51 9 Tyler Wade 2B/3B/SS/OF
52 9 Zach McKinstry 2B/3B/OF
53 9 Kelvin Gutierrez 3B
54 9 Josh VanMeter 2B/3B
55 9 Santiago Espinal 3B/SS
56 9 Nolan Gorman 3B
57 9 Nolan Jones 3B
58 10 Mauricio Dubon 2B/3B/SS/OF
59 10 Jon Berti 2B/3B/OF
60 10 Aledmys Diaz 1B/2B/3B/SS/OF
61 10 Jace Peterson 1B/2B/3B/OF
62 10 Josh Jung 3B
63 10 Mike Brosseau 1B/2B/3B
64 10 Jake Burger 3B
65 10 Colton Welker 3B
66 10 David Bote 2B/3B
67 10 Yonny Hernandez 2B/3B/SS
68 10 Yu Chang 1B/3B/SS

 

Tier One

José Ramírez operates in a tier of his own at the top. Even in a down 2019 season, he still hit 23 home runs with 24 steals! In the shortened 2020, JoRam went 17/10 with a .292 average, and last season he went ballistic with 36 longballs while going 27-of-31 on the basepaths. The Guardians are not a good team, but this switch-hitting superstar is worth the price of admission. He is also worth a top-five pick in drafts! I don’t need to convince you of much regarding the unanimous top pick at the hot corner. Given the shallower nature of 3B, he’s widely accepted as a top-three pick with no other giving you 20-plus steals alongside enormous pop.

 

Tier Two

In my mind, Tier Two is more of a 2A/2B situation rather than an evenly-struck tier between Rafael Devers and Manny Machado. While I’m encouraged that Machado hustled for 12 steals, he may not push beyond 30 home runs in San Diego. No matter how you slice things, missing Fernando Tatis Jr. is going to hurt the R+RBI production coming out of that order. That said, I’m thrilled when Machado’s solid pop and modest speed slide to the back end of Round 2 because the top-three are truly cornerstone bats.

But Devers is the one sneaking into some first rounds after thwacking 38 home runs and going for 214 R+RBI and five steals in a scary Boston lineup. Even as a left-handed bat, Fenway Park is still a strong place to swing it and Devers’ 2021 pull rate of 36.4% was his lowest figure since the short rookie campaign of 2017. After we saw him push in the shortened 2020 with career-worst marks in plate discipline (5.2% BB rate, 27% K rate, 16.1% SwStr rate), he rebounded on all fronts in ‘21. He remains inefficient on the basepaths (5-of-10), but that’s better than zero attempts in 2020. Remember, he’s only 25-years-old and we may see another level emerge from that swing! For what it's worth, he is demolishing spring pitching:

 

Tier Three

Are you feeling lucky, punk? It can feel like a high-noon standoff out of an old Western film when staring down Adalberto Mondesi and his insane volatility. Are you willing to take such a big risk this early in drafts? With speed getting more difficult to get a stranglehold on, there will always be more than one drafter willing to fight for Mondesi’s skill set. 

In just 35 games last season, Mondesi muscled six home runs with 15 steals. Give that a casual 4x to reach 140 games played and you get a 24 HR/60 SB pace. Any pop above the 12-15 range feels like a bonus, but that 60-steal potential was echoed by 24 swipes in 59 games of 2020 and 43 in 102 games in ‘19. At 26-years-old, is this the year KC manages his playing time enough to keep him healthy?

Following last season, Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore and general manager J.J. Picollo made statements covered by The Athletic that outlined a desire to have Mondesi play in 125-140 games. Hopefully, the lockout didn't mess up their meticulous training regimen too much, but we'll see how often they trot him out in April.

If that’s not your cup of tea, you can go for another risky young player in Austin Riley. One of Atlanta’s stretch-run heroes, Riley abstained from walks and turned his aggression in the batter’s box up to 11. He was rewarded with a .333 batting average in the second half (.276 in the first) with 19 home runs and 18 doubles over 72 games. Atlanta is a hitter-friendly park, especially when it warms up in the summer, but if he orients his future approach on one that leaned on a .397 BABIP then I’m wary at this lofty price point.

 

Tier Four

You can see from this small grouping that you get a couple of steady floors who look to provide 25-30 home runs and a strong batting average to compensate for lead feet. The outlier is Alex Bregman, who has shown incredible upside but is coming off of a wrist injury that required surgery and whose Statcast profile has never supported the power shown. And yet, he’s shown said power! Was his recent downswing tied to an ailing wrist or natural regression given his Statcast data? That answer is usually a combination of factors, but that’s not what scares me. 

Even if you buy into Breg’s recent dip being more about the injury, he will now (allegedly) have to contend with a deader ball that shouldn’t sail so casually into the Crawford Boxes. Someone with his lackluster Statcast data isn’t the type who can write off a change to the ball by the weight of his swing alone. It’s something to note, though I still believe a healthy Bregman is worthy of this tier and Houston’s lineup remains a playoff-caliber machine.

 

Tier Five

I’m a fan of targeting this tier if I miss out on one of the top-three, especially with Josh Donaldson going to the Bronx and Matt Chapman heading to Toronto. If you had to choose two offenses to toss your mid-round flier onto, those would be at the top of the list. We’ll have to see how Chris Taylor responds to treatment. I remain hopeful, but if an IL stint is necessary, then so be it. His spot on a stacked Dodgers roster with all sorts of positional eligibility is worth the slot.

If you can need to sprinkle in a bit of speed, Ke’Bryan Hayes is the move. While Hayes is battling a minor ankle injury, he reportedly joined live batting practice on Saturday and looks to have a full rebound in 2022. That danged wrist injury sapped his swing in 2021 but we still saw him go 9-of-10 on the basepaths in 96 games. This is someone I expect to give us 30 HR+SB, generating plenty of fantasy value even on Pittsburgh.

 

Tier Six

Here’s where you really start to drill down into category-based needs. If you need a well-rounded average, then you’re going for Jeimer Candelario or hoping that Alec Bohm rebounds without defensive woes at third dragging his mindset down. But the Phillies may stick with him there instead of shifting him to 1B or DH, and then we keep those fingers crossed. Philly’s offense is so stacked that I’m okay taking the shot here.

We can’t ignore Jonathan Villar either, who brings double-digit power and speed to the table even without an everyday job. The Cubs boast a deep infield at the moment, with Frank Schwindel planted at first, Patrick Wisdom at third, and then Nick Madrigal, Andrelton Simmons, Nico Hoerner, and Villar all slotting in the MI slots. Of course, Villar can also play third and the DH provides another avenue. Target his talent late and let his versatility sort out where the playing time falls.

 

Tiers Seven, Eight & Beyond

How high do you need to aim here? Are you in deep leagues where you’re just trying to score cheap volume, looking for PAs from Yandy Diaz? Or are you like me, swinging for the fences with a Mike Moustakas resurgence in Great American Ballpark? There’s something for everyone, but we’ll hone in on a few others that interest me.

Some are ranked as accumulators, banking on a slow drip of contributions to get you by. A few are relatively-unknown players who could catch fire and ride a hot start to a full-time gig worthy of higher draft capital. That’s where you’ll get Ramon Urias in Baltimore, Ha-Seong Kim in San Diego, Josh Harrison in Chicago, Andy Ibanez in Texas, and Edwin Rios in Los Angeles.

The latter has seen the most recent spotlight shift following AJ Pollock’s trade. With one fewer bat between Ríos and steady playing time, the 27-year-old could unleash the hell we expected in 2020. His right shoulder had been a problem since college ball and things came to head with a partially torn labrum last May, which led to season-ending surgery. Now healthy, Ríos is 7-for-18 with three home runs thus far in spring training and demands additional attention. Prior to his surgery, Ríos had clubbed eight home runs in just 83 plate appearances back in ‘20. That is the kind of power on display!

When you go further than this, you’re simply hoping for a lucky break on a deeper prospect or someone like Jon Berti having a hot week with some speed. Most of you with never have to worry about treading so deeply into the player pool, but maybe we see Mauricio Dubon deliver on that ..908 OPS he snuck in at Triple-A last year! Hope springs eternal.



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RANKINGS

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RANKINGS
C
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