2019 MLB Season: Top 10 Third Basemen in Baseball

In honor of the inauguration of the 2019 MLB season, today we’re looking at who the top third basemen in baseball are. Third base is a unique position because this year Manny Machado returns to that conversation, adding another star to a position that is already overflowing with them.

The 2010s have gifted us some of MLB’s top talent in the entire game at third base. Many of the players on this list can even be considered the top-10 players in the entire game. Surprisingly, that doesn’t even include Adrian Beltre, who retired prior to the 2019 MLB season.

As such third base is undoubtedly going to be one of the most contentious positions of any of these lists and the one that could change the most by season’s end.

There are legitimate All-Stars throughout and a handful of MVP candidates as well, including some MVP winners. The top four or five spots especially could really be in any order, with all of those players being worthy of being top three or two or even one for that matter.

When ranking these individual players, it is important to remember that this is a projection of how well they will do in the 2019 MLB season, but past performance and other factors like injury are taken into account as well. There are familiar faces and some upcoming stars, but from 10 to 1 these are all solid guys.

Credit as always to Baseball Reference and Fangraphs for stats and numbers.

10.  Eugenio Suarez, Cincinnati Reds

In his age 26 season, Suarez broke out for the Reds. He slashed .283/.366/.526 with 34 home runs and 104 RBI. He earned his first All-Star appearance, setting career highs in homers, RBI, OPS, and slugging percentage.

Suarez’ breakout entering his prime is part of the reason the Cincinnati Reds felt confident adding pieces like Yasiel Puig and Sonny Gray in an effort to end their long rebuild.

What stands out most about Suarez is the type of contact he consistently makes. When making contact with a pitch, Suarez made “soft contact” just 8.4% of the time, among the lowest in the league. Meanwhile, his hard contact rate was almost 50%, and in a ballpark like Great American, this should only be the beginning of Suarez’ breakout.

9. Matt Chapman, Oakland Athletics

It can be argued that Chapman should be higher on this list, but given the strength of the position, it is admittedly difficult to place him higher. But at just 25 years old and having a breakout year in 2018 with .278/.356/.508 and 24 home runs.

His walk rate of nearly 10% and a strikeout rate in the low 20s tells us that he has an above average approach at the plate too, which should allow him future success. Chapman’s contract is also well above average, with a 57% hard-hit rate, and fly ball rate above 40%.

Defensively Chapman is a complete star, with 29 DRS and a 9.4 UZR last year, earning his first Gold Glove award in his only full season.

Chapman has already started the 2019 MLB season with a bang too, hitting a home run against the Mariners in the opening series in Japan last week, and the A’s third baseman could be on his way to his first All-Star appearance.

6. Justin Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers

Turner played in just 103 games last year, but on the year slashed .312/.406/.518 and was a huge part of the Dodgers returning to the World Series.

What is interesting about his season though is that in the first half Turner was merely average, slashing .258/.354/.393.

But in the second half, Turner returned to his normal form slashing .356/.447/.619 in 55 games and propelling the Dodgers in their return to the World Series.

As long as he stays healthy Turner will again be one of the main cogs of the 2019 MLB season and the Dodgers will look to make a three-peat and finally host the trophy.

5. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres

Machado, the now 300-million-dollar man, had the best year of his career in 2018 slashing .297/.367/.538, setting career highs in average, slugging percentage, OPS (.905) RBI (107) and tying a career high in homers with 37.

In that season, Machado earned his fourth All-Star appearance and put up these numbers despite splitting time between two teams as he was traded from the Orioles to the Dodgers in July.

The knock on Machado in 2018 was his defense. Usually a superb defender at third base, Machado insisted on moving to shortstop and posted the worst metrics of his career, with -13 DRS and -6.4 UZR.

Now, for the 2019 MLB season Machado will be moving back to third base, and a lot of that is due to the fact that on Opening Day the Padres will be starting the third overall prospect in baseball Fernando Tatis Jr. Moving back to third will only help Machado increase his value and he could conceivably crack 7 WAR for the second time in his career.

4. Alex Bregman, Houston Astros

The top of these rankings is where it got hard to do this list. The next four players are all legitimate MVP contenders, and really could be in any order.

But we kick off the top 4 with Alex Bregman, who broke out for the Astros in 2018 and was their best player on the season. That’s saying a lot considering the Astros employ guys like Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer.

But with Altuve and Correa dealing with injuries all year, Bregman seized the opportunity and ran with it. He slashed .286/.394/.532 with 31 homers and 103 RBI and leading the AL in doubles with 51.

Bregman set career highs in just about every offensive stat, except stolen bases and triples, finishing 5th in the MVP voting.

This Spring, Bregman has picked up right where he left off, slugging .677 with three home runs and two doubles in 15 games. He’s also walked nine times compared to just four strikeouts, which is in line with his 2018 where he walked (13.2%) more than he struck out (12.1%).

With Altuve and Correa expected to be completely healthy and protecting him in the lineup, Bregman is primed to continue his breakout and climb the MVP voting even more.

3. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians

In 2017 Jose Ramirez finished third in MVP voting, and in 2018 he did the same thing but changed his game. You have to wonder what the 2019 MLB season will bring.

The 2018 version of Ramirez sacrificed contact for power, dropping his average to .270 but setting a career high in home runs (39) and  RBI (105). It was his second consecutive All-Star appearance and second consecutive Silver Slugger.

Ramirez is another player who walks more than he strikes out (15.2% walk rate vs 11.5% strikeout) and has really good plate discipline.

The thing is Ramirez may just get better. He had a .252 batting average on balls in play, when the league average was .296 in 2018. With a little better luck some more of those hits will fall and his counting stats could climb even higher.

The bad news now is that Ramirez is in danger of missing Opening Day with a leg injury, but even so, it would only be the first week or so which would give him plenty of time to make another MVP campaign.

2. Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs

Kris Bryant is a former MVP and the biggest star on the Chicago Cubs. Despite missing 60 games last year and dealing with multiple injuries Bryant is still one of the most feared hitters in the league and will be the main threat in a Chicago offense that already features Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez.

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In the games he played Bryant wasn’t terrible. He wasn’t inspiring either, slashing .272/.374/.460 with just 13 home runs, the lowest of his career.

But despite the time missed, Bryant still avoided soft contact for the most part, and kept his strikeout rate in the low 20s.

With a fully healthy 2019 MLB season in front of him, Bryant should have no problem returning to the form that made him an MVP and All-Star in the past. With the aforementioned Baez and Rizzo protecting him in the lineup, Bryant is primed for a bounce back year, and his value will increase as he gets his legs at the plate and on defense again.

1. Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies

In every sense of the word, Nolan Arenado is a star in major league baseball. That’s why the Rockies have decided to pay him $260 million over the next eight years.

It makes sense. Arenado has been an All-Star every year since 2015, hitting no less than 37 home runs, driving in no less than 110 runs, having an OPS no lower than .898 and winning Gold Glove awards every year in that same span.

Also in 2015 Arenado was 8th in MVP voting. Since then he has finished 5th, 4th and last year 3rd. Hopefully, the 2019 MLB season might finally be the year.

More than his bat though is Arenado’s defense. Since 2015, Arenado leads the league in DRS by 15, and is third in UZR.

Turning 28-years-old in April, Arenado is in the early stages of his prime and could continue getting better, especially with Trevor Story also improving and the addition of Daniel Murphy, providing Arenado with more protection.