Unlike other positions that have already experienced an invasion of young stars, third base is just now entering the very early stages of a makeover.
Some of the top names on this list have been superstars at the position for the past decade. Now that those stars are in different stages of career declines, third-base rankings will look completely different in just a few years. There's a chance for newcomers (a couple of whom are on this list) to climb up to the top-five before the decade is over.
Our eight-part series continues here with the top 10 third basemen entering the 2025 season.
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2024 stats: .232/.358/.494, 15 HR, 135 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR
2025 ZiPS projection: .214/.341/.434, 21 HR, 119 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR
It seems like every year Muncy enters the season with expectations that he'll decline, but besides his missed time with injuries, he's stayed consistent at the plate. With the Dodgers, Muncy doesn't have the luxury of shifting to designated hitter with Shohei Ohtani batting leadoff, so give him credit for posting up at third in his mid-30s, all while carrying a high ceiling of 35 home runs, which he's achieved four times since 2018.
2024: .264/.312/.481, 18 HR, 125 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .256/.317/.437, 17 HR, 116 WRC+, 3.6 fWAR
Coming off a breakout 2024 season that earned him his first career All-Star nod, Westburg is a first-timer on our third-base rankings with the possibility of a huge year in front of him. He split his time between second and third last year and now has the green light to begin settling into the hot corner full-time. He's not as flashy of a young O's star as Adley Rutschman or Gunnar Henderson, but that's not at all a knock on his talented skill set. Westburg, with a quieter disposition, has the same potential to make a big leap in his second full season in the big leagues this year.
2024: .266/.322/.516, 27 HR, 133 wRC+, 2.9 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .250/.313/.459, 26 HR, 116 WRC+, 3.1 fWAR
It's incredible to think Vientos didn't make the Mets' 2024 Opening Day roster given the way he rose to prominence by the All-Star break. Now he enters 2025 with the starting third-base job and a ton of pressure to replicate last year's numbers in a Juan Soto-powered offense. Vientos' production trailed off by September, so the key for the 25-year-old will be to make in-season adjustments to continue building off his early-career success.
2024: .272/.325/.394, 16 HR, 102 wRC+, 3.1 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .264/.321/.423, 18 HR, 107 wRC+, 3.1 fWAR
Let's be honest: Arenado's down year in 2024 was a bit overemphasized in the context of the Cardinals missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year. He still hasn't missed more than 20 games since 2014, and he still finished the year as an above-average player. The veteran is starting to decline, no doubt. But it's time for us to adjust our expectations of Arenado. His days of being a perennial MVP candidate are likely behind him, but he still had the sixth-highest fWAR among qualified third basemen last year.
2024: .247/.328/.463, 27 HR, 121 wRC+, 5.5 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .241/.328/.438, 23 HR, 115 wRC+, 4.1 fWAR
Chapman fell just short of becoming the Giants' first 30-home run hitter since Barry Bonds in 2004. Entering his age-32 season, he still has the chance to break that record in 2025. Power numbers aside, Chapman went from attempting to steal 3–4 bases per season to successfully swiping 15 bags in 17 attempts last year on his way to recording the second-highest WAR among his peers at the hot corner.
2024: .260/.315/.453, 26 HR, 118 wRC+, 4.1 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .252/.333/.430, 22 HR, 119 wRC+, 3.9 fWAR
Bregman and the Green Monster seem like a match made in heaven given how much the veteran likes to pull fly balls, so it'll be fascinating to see how he hits in his new home, with a bump in batting average all but certain after singles turn into doubles at Fenway. A dramatic drop in his walk rate (12% in 2023, to 6.9% in 2024) remains concerning, and he no longer plays at the level of his MVP-caliber days. But he sure looked like vintage Bregman in the second half of last year (.266 BA, 14 HR, .833 OPS). We're not counting him out of our top-five just yet.
2024: .256/.322/.461, 19 HR, 116 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .275/.343/.499, 29 HR, 131 wRC+, 4.4 fWAR
Riley was attempting to record a fourth consecutive 30-homer season when a hit by pitch led to a fractured wrist and ended his season in August. But when he's healthy and at his best, he deserves to be moved up our rankings. A third baseman with an OPS+ in the 130-140 range doesn't come around all that often, and that's the type of production the Braves are expecting from the 28-year-old power hitter for at least the next several years.
2024: .272/.354/.516, 28 HR, 134 wRC+, 4.1 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .269/.349/.505, 30 HR, 131 wRC+, 4.0 fWAR
As of this writing, Devers hasn't played a single game at third base during spring exhibition games — making it clear he'll be taking over designated-hitter duties in Boston's ideal lineup construction. Still, he's one of the best and most consistent offensive third basemen in the game, he's been adamant about wanting to play third (glaring defensive woes aside), and there's no telling how the roster will look next season. With nine years left on his contract, this figures to be an ongoing topic within the Red Sox organization.
2024: .275/.325/.472, 29 HR, 122 wRC+, 3.5 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .266/.323/.462, 26 HR, 119 wRC+, 4.0 fWAR
Machado looked sluggish and was a below-average hitter to start the 2024 season, only to turn it on with a .900 OPS in June and never look back. If you look closely at his yearly production, that's just what Machado does. But his Baseball-Reference page paints the better picture: a consistent, 30-ish homer dude with 90-105 RBIs per year. Machado is still as dependable as they come at the hot corner.
2024: .279/.335/.537, 39 HR, 141 wRC+, 6.5 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .270/.342/.496, 29 HR, 131 wRC+, 5.6 fWAR
Ramirez's brilliance and durability can sometimes be taken for granted. He did, after all, fall one home run short of a 40/40 season last year and hardly anyone outside of Cleveland was talking about it. Now entering his age-32 season and 13th year in the big leagues, Ramirez has finished in the top 10 in MLB voting in seven of the past eight years. He remains the best of the bunch among the top third basemen in the league.
Honorable mentions: Eugenio Suarez, Arizona Diamondbacks; Isaac Paredes, Houston Astros; Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins; Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies; Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
Deesha Thosar is a MLB reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for four years as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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