Fantasy Baseball 2026 third base rankings (1-15)

The hot corner has become a bit of a hot mess for fantasy production over the last couple of seasons, as it’s currently competing with second base as the position you can’t wait too long to fill without exposing yourself to carrying a zero at the position all year. There are a couple of studs at the top of this list, and a couple of Far East imports that have joined the talent pool for 2026, so all hope is not completely lost. Let’s take a look at our top 15 third basemen in fantasy baseball for 2026.

MORE: Fantasy Baseball 2026 Catcher Rankings (16-30)

1) Jose Ramirez, Guardians

Oct 1, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third base José Ramírez (11) celebrates in the dugout against the Detroit Tigers in the eighth inning during game two of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The list basically begins and ends right here with JRam. He’s the only 5-category stud of the group, and he’s the only one worth taking in the first round. While Father Time remains undefeated, Ramirez is giving him a run for his money by actually running more as he gets into his 30’s. Last year’s 44 steals broke his career high mark of 41, set just last year. He’s as steady as it gets, and he makes a great pick in the early part of the first round after the top 3 studs go off the board.

2) Junior Caminero, Rays

Caminero lived up to the hype and then some last year as he broke through in his first full season with 45 home runs and 110 RBI. He makes decent contact, only striking out 125 times in over 650 plate appearances, so the batting average should stay at a safe level, if not climb towards elite levels. He won’t run very much, but at just 23 years of age, he looks like he’s going to be a fixture at the top of this list for some time. He’ll cost you an early 2nd round pick, but he’s well worth it considering how shallow this talent pool is.

3) Jazz Chisolm, Yankees

Already covered in the second base article, he qualifies at both of these thin positions. This fact alone makes him a very attractive early 2nd round pick. The power and speed combo and the fact that he’s just coming into his prime at age 28 are all prime reasons to keep his name at the top of your draft list.

4) Manny Machado, Padres

Manny just keeps on posting every day, and he just keeps on piling up numbers. He’s getting up there in years, but his numbers have stayed steady, and he’s even run a little bit more recently. If he can stay healthy and give us 150+ starts as he has in 10 of the last 11 seasons in which that was possible, then we can expect another .275-30-100-90-10 season.

5) Alex Bregman, Cubs

Jan 15, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; L-R Scott Boras, Alex Bergman and Jed Hoyer as Bregman is introduced as a new Chicago Cubs player at a press conference at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

Bregman signed a big contract with the Red Sox, but opted out after last season and took his skills to the windy city to play for the Cubs. He was actually having a very good season until a quad strain sidelined him and forced him to miss over 40 games. The great eye is still there, and he should return to the levels we are used to for him. He’ll bat in the middle of that lineup and give you .260-25-90-80 with a couple of steals.

6) Austin Riley, Braves

He was the model of consistency until he wasn’t. For the first three full seasons of his career, he was locked in for almost 160 games played with 30+ home runs, 90+ RBI, and a high batting average. Then, two years ago, injuries started to eat into his stats. He’s still just 28 years old, and the injuries don’t seem to be related, so a bounce back is worth betting on here. He should come at a slight discount, but he should go before the end of the 5th round, come draft season.

7) Maikel Garcia, Royals

He took a major step forward last year across the board with his bat, and it only came at the expense of a handful of steals. At just 25 years of age, there’s room for another step forward, but the lack of a track record means there’s always a chance for some regression. This position is thin enough that he is easily a top ten option if he can just hold serve and repeat last year’s numbers.

8) Jordan Westburg, Orioles

He didn’t take the step forward we were hoping for due to a couple of injuries that ended up costing him almost half the season. He still has a ton of power potential, and coming into his age-27 season, this could be the year it all clicks for him. The early ADP numbers have him going in the 9-10th rounds, but he should move up draft boards as the season draws closer

9) Eugenio Suárez, Cincinnati

Just signed before the start of camp by the team where it all began for him, Geno will get to play half of his games in The Great American Ballpark this summer. Last year, Suarez blasted 49 homers last year for the second time in his career and drove in a career high 118 runs. Yet, there weren’t a ton of teams interested in him for this season, so he had to settle for a one-year deal with the Reds.

He’s 34 years old now, but he still looks like the same player he’s always been. A lot of power, and even more swing and miss. He’ll get most of his at-bats in the DH spot, with Ke’Brayan Hayes and others covering the hot corner. With every day at the plate, he’s basically a lock to hit around 40 homers.

10) Isaac Paredes, Astros

Sep 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Isaac Paredes (15) loses control of the bat on a foul ball during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Paredes may be a sleeping giant who is ready to have a big year in 2026. His power potential has always been there, but it seemed to go dormant when Tampa traded him to the Cubs in 2024. Last year, he was hampered by injuries, which held him to around 100 games played. This year, he’s a full go for camp and could give us 30+ homers with solid counting stats. He won’t steal more than a base or two, but we could be looking at a .250-35-100-80 type season.

11) Matt Chapman, Giants

We’ve gotten to the land of “those who waited too long for a 3B”. Chapman is a great defender, and that will keep him in the Giant lineup every day. His bat is capable of hitting 27 home runs (he’s done it in 3 of the last 5 seasons), but it’s also capable of missing the ball quite often. The positive note here is that he has low-key taken advantage of the new rules and has upped his running game a bit over the last 2 seasons. Take him, hope for a full healthy season and 25 homers and 10 steals. Deal with the lower batting average.

12) Royce Lewis, Twins

This year, he’s going to stay healthy! One can hope, can’t one? Lewis is on the verge of making Byron Buxton look like Cal Ripken if he has another season cut short by injury. Injuries have always been a part of the equation with Lewis, ever since he was drafted by the Twins. He has yet to play a full season, but when he does play, he flashes elite power potential, and last year, he even chipped in with 12 steals. At age 27, he’s young enough to where I’ll take him if he falls into the double-digit rounds.

13) Noelvi Marte, Reds

He’s still just 24, so we can forgive him for failing to get things going in each of the last two seasons. When he was suspended for PEDs in 2024, there were some questions about how much of a true prospect he was going to be. Last year, he began the season in the minors but was called up pretty quickly and almost immediately went down with an injury that cost him about two months. He put together a great July and August before falling off a cliff over the last month of the season.

His age and his home ballpark have me interested to see what he can do over a full season, so I’m taking a shot if he falls to the later rounds. The only thing that worries me here is the sheer number of right-handed hitters there are vying for at bats between four spots in the order (3B, 1b, LF and RF) with Eugenio Suarez now locked into at bats at DH. Marte should get a shot at every day at bats in rightfield, but could slip into the short side of a platoon if he struggles. His talent is worth taking a chance on.

14) Max Muncy, Dodgers

Nov 1, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (13) hits a single against the Toronto Blue Jays in the tenth inning during game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

He’s getting older now (35), and he’s had trouble staying in the lineup due to nagging injuries. When he does play, he still gives us solid power numbers, and those come with decent counting stats while playing in that stacked Dodgers lineup. He’s healthy now, and 400 at-bats will get us 20+ homers and 65+ RBI, so let’s go ahead and put that down as his baseline for this year.

15) Munetaka Murakami, White Sox

If only he had been posted 3 years ago, he’d be much higher on this list. It’s actually a good thing that he has struggled over the last couple of seasons in Japan, because if he did the same in America, his career might have gone the way of Rusney Castillo. Murakami was the best young power hitter in Japan back in 2022, hitting 56 homers while winning the triple crown and the MVP award.

Since then, his K rate has risen, and he hasn’t hit more than 33 home runs in a season. There is also a question as to whether or not he can handle 3rd base, so he may get moved to 1st or DH. The White Sox are the perfect team for him as they will give him every chance to figure things out. There’s a decent chance he is still a 30-home run bat in America, but it may take him some time to get there, ala Seiya Suzuki.