Fantasy Baseball Third Basemen Breakdown: Can Alex Bregman Continue to Lead the Position?

On Wednesday, I started a new fantasy baseball series where I do breakdowns of individual positions.

We looked at first basemen to kick things off and are now going to move across the diamond and look at third basemen today.

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Top Performers

Again using ESPN settings and roster eligibility, here's who are the top-end fantasy third basemen right now.

Alex Bregman leads the way, narrowly ahead of teammate Rafael Devers. Jose Ramirez is a few points behind Devers before there's a little dropoff.

Isaac Paredes sits in fourth, while Eugenio Suarez claims the fifth spot. Manny Machado has fallen to sixth after his hot start to the season. Maikel Garcia, Nolan Arenado, Matt Chapman and Austin Riley round out the top 10.

Bregman and Machado lead third basemen with 32 runs scored each. Devers is at 31, while Suarez has scored 30 runs.

Bregman has the most total bases (108). The next closest third baseman is Devers, and he's at 98 total bases. Suarez has 90 total bases.

Devers leads third basemen with 39 RBIs, while Suarez is just an RBI behind him. Bregman is the only other one with over 30 RBIs, sitting with 35 so far.

Devers leads the way in walks with 39. Chapman has 32, while Ryan McMahon has 30. McMahon also leads the way in strikeouts though, having a whopping 62 already. Riley is second with 58 Ks, Devers is third with 55 punchouts and Chapman is next with 54 strikeouts.

Jose Caballero is eligible at third base on ESPN, and leads the way in stolen bases with 15. Ramirez has 12 stolen bases, while Garcia is at 10 and is the last one in double digits.

ADP Check In

Using FantasySP ADP data, let's now look at third basemen and where they stand in relation to where they were drafted this season.

Ramirez was taken first among the third basemen, so him being near the top is a positive. Devers was the second 3B drafted, so he's right where he should be.

Machado went off the board third. He was near the top end of the fantasy leaders at the position early on, but has dropped back now. There's still plenty of time for him to get back into the mix where he was drafted.

Riley was taken fourth, so him sitting 10th right now is definitely a bit disappointing. You'd rather have a top-end draft pick sitting in the top five, but at least he's in the top 10.

Bregman was taken next, so him sitting first is a major win. He's got a great chance to end up as a top-five finisher at the position, as long as he stays healthy.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the sixth fantasy third baseman off draft boards. He started the season pretty well, but has been out since April 29 with an oblique injury.

Arenado was taken seventh, so he's only slightly lower than where he started. Alec Bohm was taken next - he currently sits 18th, so he's been a disappointment and bust so far.

Paredes was taken ninth overall on average at the position. He's been one of the bigger surprises this season and now has a great chance to be a top-10 finisher because of his hot start.

Junior Caminero rounded out the top-10 draft fantasy third basemen. He sits 15th right now. He's underperformed a bit, but is within striking distance of a top-10 spot, so he's not a big-time bust.

Trending Up

Over the past 15 days, there's been a number of fantasy third basemen who are raking at the plate.

Paredes has a .419 on-base percentage and .308 average over that timeframe. He's popped six homers and drove in 14 runs in that span, which has helped him close in on the top-end fantasy 3B.

McMahon has a .417 OBP despite just a .286 average over the past 15 days. He has six extra-base hits and just five RBIs in that span. McMahon's 11 walks are great, but his 18 punchouts in that same timeframe are a big concern too.

Garcia has a .356 average and .400 OBP across the past 15 days. He's got six extra-base hits and seven RBIs in that span, and continues to be a pleasant fantasy surprise in 2025.

Max Muncy has a .293 average and .392 OBP over the past 15 days. He started the season extremely cold, so having him heating up now is a great sign for his fantasy outlook.

Bohm has a .333 average and .377 OBP over the past 15 days. He too started the season really cold, so he's working his way back to fantasy relevance, and might not be such a big draft bust for the owners who stick with him.

Addison Barger is a surprise name among the recent leaders. He has a .326 average and .367 OBP across the past 15 days. Barger has seven extra-base hits and eight RBIs in that span.

Suarez has a .271 average and .362 OBP over 14 games in the past 15 days. He has eight extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in that span, and is actually building on what was an already good start to his fantasy season.

Josh Jung is hitting .327 and getting on base at a .352 clip over the past 15 days. He has five homers and 10 RBIs in that span.

Bregman is hitting just .250, but is getting on base at a .350 clip over the past 15 days. He's got six extra-base hits and eight RBIs in that span.

How to Proceed

Bregman, Devers and Ramirez lead the way among fantasy third basemen right now, and they are all likely to stick in the top five at the position all season. 

Bregman has the biggest chance to drop from his top-end spot, but if he sticks in that top five, he'll still live up to preseason expectations. I like Ramirez being able to hop Devers and Bregman and finish atop the position by the end of the season. His talent always seems to win out over the course of a full season.

Paredes and Suarez sit fourth and fifth at the position right now. Paredes was drafted high enough to expect him in the top 10, but his current standing doesn't seem sustainable. He could be a sell-high candidate after his recent hot streak.

Suarez has been one of the bigger fantasy surprises this season, and with his recent hot stretch, he's showing that he's maybe capable of sticking in the top five, even though a top-10 finish would be more than acceptable. 

Machado sitting sixth after his hot start is a little concerning, but there's a chance he heats back up and is a top-five fantasy 3B again by the end of the season. Depending on how you view Machado, now might be the time to trade for him, or send him away in a deal.

Garcia is another surprise name in the top 10. He's nearly owned in all leagues now, and that should remain the case until he cools off significantly. Him being eligible to play multiple spots makes him even more valuable too. He might not cost a ton in a trade, so that makes him a great trade target right now.

Arenado and Chapman are pretty big names at the position. Arenado is sitting where he should be based on preseason expectations, while Chapman is exceeding expectations. Chapman is a sell-high candidate now if you don't believe in him remaining a top-10 fantasy third baseman the rest of the season.

Riley sitting 10th is not what his fantasy owners were hoping for. With him not standing out over the past couple of weeks either, it's a time to buy low on Riley if you still believe in him in the long run.

Caminero, Jung, Bohm and Chisholm are some names sitting outside the top 10 right now to keep an eye on moving forward. They are either cheaper trade targets or waiver pickups who could be near top-10 fantasy assets the rest of the season.

If you're looking for some waiver wire help, Muncy, Bohm, Barger or Jung are options right now. If you can overlook or offset his strikeouts, McMahon is an option too.

The fantasy third base position has some good top-end talent, but there's really a number of guys who could still finish as top-10 fantasy performers.