MLB: Ranking the Top 30 Third Basemen for the 2017 Season

Our MLB positional previews continues as we project the top 30 third basemen with the 2017 season just getting started.

Some of MLB’s best players reside over in the hot corner. Like first base, there is a ton of power coming from the position, and not just from the players at the top of the list.

Even with this being the case, when looking at the projected top 30 third basemen in MLB today, you have to notice a somewhat steep decline after getting past the first 15 players or so. There is still some potential for guys on the back-end of these rankings to move up.

Projecting how a player will perform over the course of 162 games is a rather difficult task considering the possibilities of injuries, off the field issues and lack of playing time to name a few factors.

With this being said, this list will use a combination of track record, 2016 performance, playing time, opportunity, potential, consistency, statistics and the eye test as the main sources of how these rankings shake out.

Also, just because a player is on the bench or not receiving as many plate appearances as a third baseman on another team doesn’t mean that they should automatically be disqualified. If a bench player projects as the better performer and he gets enough playing time to prove his worth, then there could be multiple players on this list from the same team.

However, if you don’t see a prominent minor league or bench player on this list, then odds are that they just won’t receive enough time as a MLB player to warrant consideration as a top 30 third baseman in the game right now.

Here’s how I see the third base position shaking out in terms of individual performance with the 2017 MLB regular season now alive and well.

*All stats are from 2016 unless otherwise indicated