2018 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Third Basemen

Nolan Arenado is as reliable as any fantasy player gets. 30+ HR, 100+ RBI, 100+ runs and he plays in Colorado. What's not to like?... And expect Josh Donaldson to have a great year so long as he fends off the injury bug...

Kris Bryant will also have a better year than last year. Look for Bryant to contend for the MVP again in 2018.

The fantasy third baseman rankings are tough to call in some ways. On one hand, you have some very obvious, can't-go-wrong picks like Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant and Josh Donaldson. On the other hand, you can also sneak a few base stealers in here at third base, too - not the usual strategy for a fantasy draft when it comes to drafting third basemen. 

In our top 50 list, we have 9 guys who had double-digit stolen bases, and a few more who have the potential to get there. Also, the 9 third basemen who had 10+ steals also had double-digit home runs, which is what you're really looking for in a corner infielder. 

It has been a long-held strategy at The Brass that we recommend you get any guy you can who can get as close to a 30/30 season as possible. Now, some of these guys we're mentioning only hit 11-19 home runs, but how many times have you won home runs by 6 or 7, only to lose stolen bases by 1? Let alone losing the stolen base category 1-0? 

We're not necessarily recommending that you draft specifically for speed at the third base position, but don't be shy picking up a few freebie stolen bases in the later rounds out of a backup third baseman. Nevertheless, check out the Top 50 fantasy third basemen in our list, below...

​Top 50 Third Baseman for 2018

Rank	PLAYER	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	SLG	OBP	OPS
1	Arenado, Nolan	159	606	100	187	43	7	37	130	62	106	3	2	.309	.586	.373	.959
2	Bryant, Kris	151	549	111	162	38	4	29	73	95	128	7	5	.295	.537	.409	.946
3	Ramirez, Jose	152	585	107	186	56	6	29	83	52	69	17	5	.318	.583	.374	.957
4	Donaldson, Josh	113	415	65	112	21	0	33	78	76	111	2	2	.270	.559	.384	.943
5	Shaw, Travis	144	538	84	147	34	1	31	101	60	138	10	0	.273	.513	.349	.862
6	Rendon, Anthony	147	508	81	153	41	1	25	100	84	82	7	2	.301	.533	.403	.937
7	Machado, Manny	156	630	81	163	33	1	33	95	50	115	9	4	.259	.471	.310	.782
8	Nunez, Eduardo	114	467	60	146	33	0	12	58	18	54	24	7	.313	.460	.341	.801
9	Lamb, Jake	149	536	89	133	30	4	30	105	87	152	6	4	.248	.487	.357	.844
10	Bregman, Alex	155	556	88	158	39	5	19	71	55	97	17	5	.284	.475	.352	.827
11	Moustakas, Mike	148	555	75	151	24	0	38	85	34	94	0	0	.272	.521	.314	.835
12	Castellanos, Nick	157	614	73	167	36	10	26	101	41	142	4	5	.272	.490	.320	.811
13	Turner, Justin	130	457	72	147	32	0	21	71	59	56	7	1	.322	.530	.415	.945
14	Devers, Rafael	58	222	34	63	14	0	10	30	18	57	3	1	.284	.482	.338	.819
15	Sano, Miguel	114	424	75	112	15	2	28	77	54	173	0	0	.264	.507	.352	.859
16	Suarez, Eugenio	156	534	87	139	25	2	26	82	84	147	4	5	.260	.461	.367	.828
17	Gallo, Joey	145	449	85	94	18	3	41	80	75	196	7	2	.209	.537	.333	.869
18	Healy, Ryon	149	576	66	156	29	0	25	78	23	142	0	1	.271	.451	.302	.754
19	Beltre, Adrian	94	340	47	106	22	1	17	71	39	52	1	0	.312	.532	.383	.915
20	Longoria, Evan	156	613	71	160	36	2	20	86	46	109	6	1	.261	.424	.313	.737
21	Seager, Kyle	154	578	72	144	33	1	27	88	58	110	2	1	.249	.450	.323	.773
22	Gyorko, Jedd	125	426	52	116	21	2	20	67	47	105	6	2	.272	.472	.341	.813
23	Harrison, Josh	128	486	66	132	26	2	16	47	28	90	12	4	.272	.432	.339	.771
24	Escobar, Eduardo	129	457	62	116	16	5	21	73	33	98	5	1	.254	.449	.309	.758
25	Davidson, Matt	118	414	43	91	16	1	26	68	19	165	0	1	.220	.452	.260	.711
26	Reyes, Jose	145	501	75	123	25	7	15	58	50	79	24	6	.246	.413	.315	.728
27	Franco, Maikel	154	575	66	132	29	1	24	76	41	95	0	0	.230	.409	.281	.690
28	Chapman, Matt	84	290	39	68	23	2	14	40	32	92	0	3	.234	.472	.313	.785
29	Frazier, Todd	147	474	74	101	19	1	27	76	83	125	4	3	.213	.428	.344	.772
30	Phillips, Brandon	144	572	81	163	34	1	13	60	21	73	11	8	.285	.416	.319	.735
31	Dietrich, Derek	135	406	56	101	22	5	13	53	36	98	0	1	.249	.424	.334	.758
32	Cabrera, Asdrubal	135	479	66	134	32	0	14	59	50	83	3	2	.280	.434	.351	.785
33	Schimpf, Ryan	53	165	24	26	2	0	14	25	27	70	0	0	.158	.424	.284	.709
34	Sanchez, Carlos	141	484	63	129	19	8	12	59	35	111	8	9	.267	.413	.319	.732
35	Headley, Chase	147	512	77	140	30	1	12	61	60	132	9	2	.273	.406	.352	.758
36	Flores, Wilmer	110	336	42	91	17	1	18	52	17	54	1	1	.271	.488	.307	.795
37	Solarte, Yangervis	128	466	49	119	21	0	18	64	37	61	3	0	.255	.416	.314	.731
38	Spangenberg, Cory	129	444	57	117	18	2	13	46	34	128	11	3	.264	.401	.322	.723
39	Perez, Hernan	135	428	47	112	19	3	14	51	20	78	13	4	.262	.418	.292	.710
40	Escobar, Yunel	89	350	43	96	20	1	7	31	29	51	1	4	.274	.397	.333	.730
41	Valbuena, Luis	117	347	42	69	15	0	22	65	48	106	0	2	.199	.432	.294	.727
42	Rivera, T.J.	73	214	27	62	13	1	5	27	9	32	1	0	.290	.430	.330	.760
43	Camargo, Johan	82	241	30	72	21	2	4	27	12	51	0	0	.299	.452	.331	.783
44	Torreyes, Ronald	108	315	35	92	15	1	3	36	11	43	2	0	.292	.375	.314	.689
45	Freese, David	130	426	44	112	16	0	10	52	58	116	0	1	.263	.371	.368	.739
46	Forsythe, Logan	119	361	56	81	19	0	6	36	69	109	3	2	.224	.327	.351	.678
47	Diaz, Yandy	48	152	24	40	8	1	0	12	20	33	2	0	.263	.329	.351	.680
48	Garcia, Adonis	52	173	19	41	4	0	5	19	7	23	4	0	.237	.347	.273	.620
49	Marrero, Deven	71	171	32	36	9	0	4	27	12	61	5	0	.211	.333	.259	.593
50	Romine, Andrew	122	313	44	71	17	2	4	25	21	66	6	4	.227	.332	.282	.615

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First off, we'll address the Jose Ramirez situation: he's awesome - draft him early, but draft him as your second baseman since that's a harder position to fill. There. Moving on to the Third Basemen...

Fantasy Value of Travis Shaw

We trued to tell you about Travis Shaw last year and the year before. He came up as a 25-year-old in Boston and had an immediate impact, but then he had a mediocre sophomore season. Naturally, the impatient Red Sox fans sent him packing, and he landed in Milwaukee. The Brewers had a somewhat surprisingly-potent lineup, but more importantly, Travis Shaw showed up with more power while hitting in a smaller ball park. More power + better hitter's park (for lefties, anyway) translated into deep fly ball outs in Fenway turning into home runs in Milwaukee. Also, Shaw managed to increase his walks from 43 in 2016 to 60 in 2017, too. All this translated into significantly more home runs, RBI, runs and a higher batting average. He also managed to get 76 more plate appearances once the Brewers committed to him being "the guy" at third base, so that also helped. Draft Shaw without fear, and - oh yeah - he also stole 10 bases, too. Sweet, huh?

Update on Justin Turner's Broken Wrist and Fantasy Value on Draft Day

Justin Turner broke his wrist - or we should say, had his wrist broken for him - by an inside fastball on March 19th during spring training. This injury happens every year to a handful of players, but this is a high-impact fantasy player. Justin Turner doesn't kill you in any one category, but he does something to fill up the box score in every game. On draft day, take Turner in the first 5-6 rounds. When he comes back, he'll be just fine, and the Dodgers' lineup is stacked from top to bottom. Remember that you're drafting guys for your playoff run. Turner is likely out until some time in May, so let him heal on your bench, then bring him in to break some fantasy-nerd hearts during your playoff run.

Anthony Rendon Over Manny Machado?

Yes, man! Anthony Rendon over Manny Machado. The stats don't lie, and you ain't drafting for defense, Broseph. Although - SIDE NOTE - there are rumors going around that Machado will be moving to shortstop. If that happens, that's a fantasy basebeall game changer for your lineup this year as well as your draft for next year... but for now, Anthony Rendon is better than Manny Machado almost across the board: better RBI, way more walks, way fewer strikeouts (hence the better RBI despite Machado's win in the HR category); the same number of runs despite Rendon playing in 9-fewer games; and Rendon is better across the board in the averages: batting average, slugging, on-base percentage and OPS. And for you Manny Machado die-hard fans out there, get over it - it's only one spot lower. Sheesh.

You Guys Sure About Eduardo Nunez at #8?

Predicting a Big, Breakout Year for Alex Bregman

To be honest with you, no - not really. But we just can't deny the numbers, the situation, the lineup around him, and the potential. Last season, Eduardo Nunez was on pace for 85 runs, 17 HR, 34 stolen bases, and 80+ RBI to go along with his .313 batting average. And don't forget, he played 76 games in the cold, cavernous chasm that is San Francisco with a horrible lineup around him. As proof, look at the statistical breakdown he had in San Francisco vs. Boston in 2017:

Eduardo Nunez Stats: 2017 (SF, BOS)

Team	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	Avg
SF	76	302	37	93	4	31	18	12	29	.308
BOS	38	165	23	53	8	27	6	6	25	.321

Eduardo Nunez played exactly twice as many games ​in San Francisco as he did in Boston, yet Nunez hit 8 HR in Boston vs. 4 in SF; he drive in 27 runs in 36 games in Boston to just 31 RBI in twice as many games in SF. On top of everything else, the stat that makes him legit is the fact that he was already hitting .308 in San Francisco (in that crappy lineup with no protection around him), then he went to Boston and hit even better (.321). He has legitimate potential to hit 20 HR with 20 stolen bases, as well as 80-100 runs and 80+ RBI. So, while maybe we aren't 100% sure about Eduardo Nunez being the 8th-best fantasy third baseman, at least now you can certainly see how we talked ourselves into it.

His stats last season were not a fluke, and his performance in the World Series was not a fluke, either (see: David Freese). Alex Bregman turns 24 just before the start of the season, and he's surrounded by great hitters all up and down the Astros' lineup. Even if he ends up hitting 7th in that lineup, there will be someone on base for him to knock in. Likewise, if Bregman hits in the #2 spot, Lord knows there are bats to knock him in. Bregman is in a can't lose situation in Houston... and don't forget that he stole 17 bases last year all while only striking out 97 times in 155 games. Best of all, you can probably get Bregman a little bit under the radar after the big names go, and it wouldn't surprise us at all if Bregman outperforms Manny Machado overall in 2018 - and Machado is almost certainly going t get drafted ahead of Bregman by a few rounds.

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