
Eric Cross provides his 2025 fantasy baseball prospect and dynasty rankings for the third base position and discusses 3B to buy, sell, or hold moving forward.
After being down for several years, the hot corner has been heating up for the last year or two, and that has continued here in 2025.
We've seen breakouts from Junior Caminero, Addison Barger, Maikel Garcia, and others, while also having some notable performances from veterans like Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suarez. At the same time, this third base position also has some struggling young players who many fantasy managers were relying on to be their long-term solution for this position.
Below you'll find my current Top 20 dynasty rankings and Top 15 prospect rankings for the third base position, along with thoughts on several notable players, their values moving forward, and whether to buy, sell, or hold right now. You can check out all of the other positions here: Catcher | First Base | Second Base
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Third Base Dynasty Rankings
Rank | Player | Team | Age |
1 | Junior Caminero | TBR | 22.0 |
2 | Jose Ramirez | CLE | 32.8 |
3 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | NYY | 27.4 |
4 | Austin Riley | ATL | 28.3 |
5 | Rafael Devers | SFG | 28.7 |
6 | Manny Machado | SDP | 33.0 |
7 | Alex Bregman | BOS | 31.3 |
8 | Jordan Westburg | BAL | 26.4 |
9 | Maikel Garcia | KCR | 25.4 |
10 | Matt Chapman | SFG | 32.2 |
11 | Addison Barger | TOR | 25.7 |
12 | Isaac Paredes | HOU | 26.4 |
13 | Royce Lewis | MIN | 26.1 |
14 | Coby Mayo | BAL | 23.6 |
15 | Eugenio Suarez | ARI | 34.0 |
16 | Alec Bohm | PHI | 28.9 |
17 | Marcelo Mayer | BOS | 22.6 |
18 | Zach McKinstry | DET | 30.2 |
19 | Matt Shaw | CHC | 23.7 |
20 | Josh Jung | TEX | 27.4 |
Tier 1: Junior Caminero, José Ramírez
Tier 2: Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Riley, Rafael Devers
Tier 3: Manny Machado, Alex Bregman, Jordan Westburg, Maikel Garcia
Tier 4: Matt Chapman, Addison Barger, Isaac Paredes, Royce Lewis, Coby Mayo, Eugenio Suarez
Tier 5: Alec Bohm, Marcelo Mayer, Zach McKinstry, Matt Shaw, Josh Jung
Third Base Prospect Rankings
Rank | Player | Team | Age | ETA |
1 | Luis Pena | MIL | 18.8 | 2027 |
2 | Jordan Lawlar | ARI | 23.0 | Debuted |
3 | Coby Mayo | BAL | 23.6 | Debuted |
4 | Sal Stewart | CIN | 21.6 | 2025 |
5 | Cam Collier | CIN | 20.6 | 2026 |
6 | Brady House | WAS | 22.1 | Debuted |
7 | Luke Adams | MIL | 21.2 | 2026 |
8 | Otto Kemp | PHI | 25.8 | Debuted |
9 | Brock Wilken | MIL | 23.1 | 2026 |
10 | Jacob Reimer | NYM | 21.4 | 2026 |
11 | Shay Whitcomb | HOU | 26.8 | Debuted |
12 | Sam Antonacci | CHW | 22.4 | 2026 |
13 | LuJames Groover | ARI | 23.2 | 2026 |
14 | Kyle Karros | COL | 22.9 | 2026 |
15 | Andrew Fischer | MIL | 21.2 | 2027 |
Tier 1: Luis Peña
Tier 2: Jordan Lawlar, Coby Mayo, Sal Stewart
Tier 3: Cam Collier, Brady House, Luke Adams, Otto Kemp
Tier 4: Brock Wilken, Jacob Reimer, Shay Whitcomb, Sam Antonacci, LuJames Groover, Kyle Karros, Andrew Fischer
Third Basemen to Buy/Sell/Hold
Jordan Westburg, Baltimore Orioles (Buy)
One of my favorite dynasty buys right now, regardless of position, is Jordan Westburg. In 196 plate appearances so far this season, Westburg has slashed .262/.311/.470 with 10 home runs and 32 runs scored. But since he's been limited to 48 games, has driven in 21 runs, and is playing on a scuffling, last-place Baltimore squad, Westburg's value has taken a hit this season. That's why he's such a good buy right now.
Give that baseball our West Regards. pic.twitter.com/WrIaLSFdL0
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 10, 2025
This is still the same player many of us were excited about last season. If you couldn't already tell, I'm still as high on him now as I was entering the season several months ago. Westburg's quality of contact metrics are nearly identical to his 2024 metrics with a 12.6% barrel rate, 90.6 mph AVG EV, and a 45.2% hard-hit rate. He's also increased his zone contact rate from 79.3% to 80.2% and his overall contact rate from 70.7% to 73.9% while dropping his chase rate by 6%.
There are still some issues in the profile, mainly his low walk rate and struggles against offspeed pitches (.185 AVG, .185 SLG), but Westburg still profiles as a .260 hitter who can push 25-30 home runs annually. Long-term, Westberg settling in as a top-10 third baseman and top-75 overall player is my expectation.
Coby Mayo, Baltimore Orioles (Hold)
A lot of people are down on Coby Mayo right now. Frankly, I don't blame anyone for being down on him or being frustrated with how the last year has gone, especially this season. Mayo has bounced back and forth between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk this season, with inconsistent playing time and performance when up with Baltimore. Overall, Mayo has slashed .195/.250/.293 in the Majors this season and .163/.231/.228 with just one home run in his first 134 plate appearances overall.
If you roster Mayo, let's put aside the frustration and think about the big picture here. Selling right now would be selling for 80 cents on the dollar, and I'd be surprised if you had any team in your league willing to pay a solid price to get him. So, for now, I'd hold Mayo and hope that he gets more regular playing time down the stretch. If Mayo is able to rebuild some value over the final 10 weeks of the season, you could deal him this offseason if you still want to.
Personally, I'm far from out on Mayo. Yes, my long-term expectations have dulled, but I still believe that a .260/25 player is lurking in there somewhere. Additionally, Mayo has actually played more first base this season, but I'm not ruling out his retaining third base eligibility long-term.
Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins (Buy or Avoid Depending on Price)
Outside of hitting a bunch of grand slams back in his 2023 rookie campaign, it's been a rough time for Royce Lewis in the Majors so far. Back in that 2023 season, Lewis was looking like the next big thing at the hot corner after he slashed .309/.372/.548 in 239 plate appearances with 36 runs, 15 home runs, 52 RBI, and six steals. The hype surrounding Lewis late in 2023 was similar to the hype surrounding Junior Caminero now.
However, Lewis followed up that exciting rookie season by slashing .233/.295/.452 in 82 games last season and .233/.293/.360 in 45 games so far this season. At least Lewis hit 16 home runs last season, which still helped fantasy managers when he was in the lineup.
That hasn't been the case this season, though, as Lewis has managed just four home runs in 45 games. He's also combined to steal just one bag in one attempt over the last two seasons. I guess we can channel our inner NSYNC and say bye, bye, bye to any speed production from Lewis moving forward.
A 451-foot solo shot from Royce Lewis 😮 pic.twitter.com/7huFGhBcMx
— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2025
While I definitely wanted to include and discuss Lewis in this article, I struggled to decide which label to throw next to his name. It really all comes down to the price tag. In general, Lewis is a risky investment due to his notable durability concerns. However, if the price tag is low enough, I wouldn't be opposed to buying low right now either, as the metrics under the hood are actually encouraging right now.
Lewis is still hitting the ball hard with a 10.9% barrel rate, 91.4 mph AVG EV, and a 45.3% hard-hit rate. That AVG EV and hard-hit rate are up 4.3 mph and 7.6% respectively, from last season. On top of that, Lewis has dropped his strikeout rate from 22.8% to 14% and his chase rate from 33.3% to 27.8% while increasing his zone contact rate from 80.6% to 83.6% and his overall contact rate from 73% to 79.2%. Proceed with caution is the moral of the story here.
Matt Shaw, Chicago Cubs (Hold... But I'm concerned)
Part of me wanted to put Matt Shaw as a sell here, but it's not an ideal time to do so given how far his perceived value has plummeted this season. Outside of his 12 steals and 88th percentile sprint speed, not much has gone right for Shaw this season, especially at the plate.
First, the positives. Shaw has recorded a solid 8.6% walk rate, 82.8% zone contact rate, and a 78.9% overall contact rate this season while only striking out 18.5% of the time. This would be fine if he were hitting average to above-average power, as many thought he would, but that simply has not been the case.
Shaw is running a 5.7% barrel rate, 83.5 mph AVG EV, and a 28% hard-hit rate this season. That EV is the worst mark in baseball, and Shaw's hard-hit rate ranks 17th worst out of the 251 qualified hitters on Baseball Savant.
As was the case with Mayo, Shaw isn't an ideal sell right now, so your best course of action would be to hold and cross your fingers that he can start impacting the ball more at the plate, because the contact skills, approach, and speed are all decent.
Luke Adams, Milwaukee Brewers (Buy)
In my opinion, Luke Adams is one of the most underrated prospects in baseball. While all the focus for this Milwaukee system has been on Jesús Made, Luis Peña, and Jacob Misiorowski, Adams has quietly been putting together a solid season in Double-A. In 260 plate appearances, Adams is slashing .241/.422/.477 with 13 doubles, 11 home runs, and 10 steals.
Don't let the .241 average deceive you either. Adams brings a high-level blend of contact and approach, which has translated to a 77% contact rate, 7.4% SwStr rate, 15.8% walk rate, and a 20.8% strikeout rate this season. Adams also brings enough power to be an annual 20-homer threat, and while he's far from a burner, Adams has shown the willingness to run consistently on the basepaths.
The upside to being a 20/10 hitter who provides a decent average and a high OBP is there, and you can likely acquire Adams for a non-top-100 prospect price tag right now.
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