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Top 10 third basemen of 2018

By Matt Whitener | Last updated 2/28/18

The state of affairs at the hot corner headed into 2018 is a star-studded one. It is a collective of talents that features a pair of MVP winners over the past handful of years, a newly crowned postseason hero and the newest member of the 3,000 hit club.

As if that was not enough seasoning, there is also the presence of an all-time franchise great moving into a new scene, an All-Star shortstop from a year ago making the spot his new home and the most critical part of the American League’s top team from a year ago. And all of this comes to mention before even tipping our cap towards the best player at the position!

If not for the historically unprecedented amount of talent inhabiting shortstop right now, third base could easily be crowned as the most talented position in the game – even after Manny Machado has (temporarily) exited the ranks of the position.

Let’s have a look at the star-studded collection of cornerstone performers on the hot corner today.

10. Zack Cozart, Angels. After making his All-Star debut at age 31 last season with the Reds as a shortstop, Cozart will shift over to the hot corner in his new digs in Anaheim. It will be a good move for maximizing his still solid defensive range, and his bat should carry over as well. While his health has limited him to 121 and 122 games, respectively, in each of the last two seasons, he has performed admirably when active. His .933 OPS in 2017 led all MLB shortstops, and would have placed sixth among all third basemen.

9. Alex Bregman, Astros. The cat is out of the bag on Bregman, whose breakout performance for Houston last October positively proved that the ‘Stros have yet another young star in the making. In his first full season, the second overall pick in the 2015 draft connected for 19 homers and a .284/.352/.475 split line, along with 39 doubles (ninth best in the American League). The 23-year-old plays with a confidence that belies his age, and could be set for a breakout season that stacks the deck even further for the potent defending champs this year.

8. Evan Longoria, Giants. Seeing Longoria in anything except for Rays garb will take some getting used to, but that is exactly what is ahead as the long-time face of Tampa baseball will join the rapid rebuilding effort in the Bay this year. In his early 30s, Longoria has settled in as an exceptionally solid player with both the bat and the glove. And while he certainly is not at the peak of his powers anymore, there's nothing to be ashamed of with the current player. Though his power numbers dipped from 36 home runs and an .840 OPS in 2016 to 20 homers and a .737 mark a year ago, he remained elite in the field, winning his first Gold Glove since 2010.

7. Adrian Beltre, Rangers. Entering year 21, the ageless Beltre is showing no signs of slowing up when he’s active, even on the other side of hit No. 3,000. Injuries kept him out of action until May 29 last year and also took the first half of September from him, but he still topped .300 for the fifth time in six years and remained serviceable in the field. For preservation’s sake, a turn towards life as a designated hitter could be a good thing for Beltre as age 40 creeps nearer and nearer, and as he continues to put the final touches on his Cooperstown-bound career.

6. Anthony Rendon, Nationals. Beneath the superstardom of Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer, alongside the notability of Stephen Strasburg, Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman, Rendon’s regularly impressive impact at the core of the Nats goes criminally underappreciated. He posted career-highs in doubles (41), home runs (25), batting average (.301) and RBI (100), while finishing third amongst all MLB third basemen with a 5.9 WAR. Yet despite it all, he still was overlooked for the All-Star Game and finished outside of the top five in MVP voting.

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5. Justin Turner, Dodgers Throughout much of the Dodgers’ run of ruling the NL West, Turner has been the secret weapon at the heart of the club’s everyday attack. Since 2015, he has been good for 14.6 Wins and has topped four offensive Wins over the past two seasons. He made tremendous strides at the plate in pitch judgement in 2017, lowering his strikeout total by over 50 from 107 to 56, while raising his walk total by 11. The final product paid out in the form of career bests with a .415 on-base percentage, .322 batting average and .945 OPS.

4. Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays After a slow start to 2017 due to battling a calf injury that cost him half of April and nearly all of May, Donaldson went on a tear in the second half, hitting 24 home runs and producing an AL-best .992 second half OPS after the All-Star break. It produced a full-year total of 33, the third consecutive year Donaldson has topped 30 homers. Along with the plus defensive marks he continues to earn, Donaldson remains one of the most complete players in the game. He is entering a year that stands to be an advertisement year, both as a trade chip and for his upcoming foray into free agency, as it appears that Blue Jays and Donaldson will not enter the year on agreeable terms for a long-term extension to keep him in town past 2018.

3. Jose Ramirez, Indians It is well past the time to be surprised at the breakout of Ramirez, as he is firmly entrenched as the engine that drives the Indians' all-around effort. He was a tour de force in 2017, leading the majors with 56 doubles. In June alone, he had nine consecutive multi-hit games, amid a stretch of raising his average on the year over 50 points in just over 20 games. His career-best effort was capped by a five-hit game in September, when he racked up three doubles and two home runs against the Tigers, good for a whopping 14 total bases. Since 2016, the switch-hitting 25-year-old is averaging a .315/.368/.523 split line, along with 51 doubles, 96 runs scored and 20 stolen bases a year, on top of 29 home run breakout of a year ago that bested his previous high by 18.

2. Kris Bryant, Cubs There are some that may be disappointed by Bryant’s 2017 showing. After all, it was the first time that we ever saw his seemingly unstoppable tear through professional baseball have its momentum halted somewhat. After all, his home run, RBI, runs scored and hits totals were all down from his MVP effort of 2016, while the Cubs struggled to live up to expectations throughout much of the year. However, when the dust settled, Bryant had actually managed to continue to progress as a hitter, raising his batting average and OPS from the year before, all while cutting down on his strikeout total and improving his walks by 20. Bryant remains within a handful of the most fearsome talents in the game, and his best is still yet to come.

1. Nolan Arenado, Rockies With all due respect to the other finalists, it is a crime that Arenado only finished fourth in the NL MVP voting. After all, the modern-day Mike Schmidt posted yet another stunningly dominant overall season, with both the bat and glove. Perhaps it's just comparison bias, because his 37 home run, 130 RBI season marked the first time in three years that he did not lead the circuit in either category. But along the way, he still managed to hit a personal high of .309 while topping the NL with 43 doubles. His .959 OPS was a personal best, as was his 355 total bases. And with the glove, he took home the fifth Gold Glove of his five-year career, as he ran up his lead in Defensive Runs Saved among third basemen in his career to 30 more than his closest competition (104 to Manny Machado’s 74).

Tally in the breakthrough season the Rockies experienced on the back of his effort, and Arenado is value defined. If only the idea of those that make their home at Coors remaining separate but not equal could age out – as Arenado hit only one more home run at home than he did on the road in three fewer games.

Just a bit outside: Jake Lamb (Diamondbacks), Kyle Seager (Mariners), Eugenio Suarez (Reds)

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