MLB Top 10 Third Basemen- 2017

The Third Base position is another power position like First Base but it is also a difficult defensive position. The position has many veterans and many young players, which makes it a talented position. Many of the Third Basemen on this list have high amounts of HR and RBI but also more Errors than other positions because it is a tough defensive position. One qualification this list has is the players must have played full time Third Base in 2016.

(note: NL= National League, AL= American League, HR= home run, RBI= runs batted in, OBP= on base percentage, SLG= slugging percentage, SO= strike outs, BB= walks, SB= stolen bases, E= errors, TC= total chances with putouts, assists, errors put together)

10. Maikel Franco- 24, PHI

Maikel Franco is a young Third Basemen who has played three seasons with last year being his first full season. He has potential to become a very good Third Basemen with last year being his first very good season. In 2016 he batted .255, hit 25 HR, 23 Doubles, drove in 88 RBI, with a .306 OBP, a .427 SLG, only 40 BB, and 106 SO. He had a decent defensive year with a .960 fielding percentage and 13 Errors in 329 TC. He is number 10 because he is a young Third Basemen who has a lot of potential to become a top player at his position. He had a very good first full season and is young enough to continue improving. What holds him back from being higher on the list is his lack of experience from only one full season, but he can move up if he repeats his 2016 numbers or improves.

9. Anthony Rendon- 26, WAS

Anthony Rendon is a young Third Basemen who has played four seasons with two full seasons, and he faced injury problems in 2015. He has had one accomplishment with the NL Silver Slugger award in 2014. He has had two very good seasons with 2016 being his best season with similar offensive numbers to 2014 but with improved defense. In 2016 he batted .270, hitting 20 HR, 38 Doubles, driving in 85 RBI, with a .348 OBP, a .450 SLG, only 65 BB, and 117 SO. He improved defensively with his best season with a .976 fielding percentage and only 9 Errors in 382 TC. He is number 9 because he is a good Third Basemen who is still young enough to improve. He is lower on the list because he has not been as consistent as others on the list with injuries in 2015 holding him back. He can move up the list if he has another good season that shows he can be consistent with good numbers and durable by playing another full season.

8. Todd Frazier- 30, CHW

Todd Frazier is a six-year veteran who has had three great seasons in a row and has had some very good seasons defensively. He has had some accomplishments with two straight NL All-Star selections in 2014 and 2015. He has been consistent offensively with three seasons having 25 plus HR, five seasons with 20 plus Doubles, and 70 plus RBI in four seasons. He has been good defensively as well with a .970 plus fielding percentage in three seasons and less than 12 Errors in five seasons.

Last year he had a great season in some areas but not good in other areas. In 2016 he batted .225, hitting 40 HR, 21 Doubles, driving in 98 RBI, with a .302 OBP, a .464 SLG, only 64 BB, and 163 SO. He was very good defensively last season with a .972 fielding percentage and 11 Errors in 395 TC. He is number 8 because he has proven to a top Third Basemen with very good offensive and defensive statistics while also being durable with four straight sessions playing 150 plus games. What holds him back is he has not hit for high averages with higher SO totals every season and does not have as good of numbers as others higher up. He could move up but there might not be room for improvement with him being 30 but he is still in his prime so he may remain a top Third Basemen for several more seasons.

7. Kyle Seager- 29, SEA

Kyle Seager is a six-year veteran who has been a very good Third Basemen with last year being his best year and he is still in his prime being 29-years-old. He has had some accomplishments with an AL All-Star selection in 2014 and an AL Gold Glove award in 2014. He has had good offensive statistics with 20 plus HR in five seasons, 25 plus Doubles in five seasons, and 70 plus RBI in four seasons. He has strugged defensively with only one season being under 10 Errors and a .970 plus fielding percentage.

Last year was his best season offensively where he batted .278, hitting 30 HR, 36 Doubles, driving in 99 RBI, with a .359 OBP, a .499 SLG, 69 BB, and 108 SO. The problem is 2016 was his worst defensive season with a .956 fielding percentage and 22 Errors in 505 TC. He is number 7 because he has been consistent offensively for five seasons with good statistics and he has been durable playing 155 plus games for five straight seasons. What holds him back is his lack of consistency defensively with having his worst defensive year in 2016. He could move up if he improves his defense.

6. Evan Longoria- 31, TB

Evan Longoria is a nine-year veteran who has had a very good career with several accomplishments. He has not had many accomplishments in recent years but he won the Rookie of the Year in 2008, made three AL All-Star teams from 2008-2010, won an AL Silver Slugger in 2009, and won two AL Gold Gloves from 2009-2010. He has been durable for the most part playing 150 plus games in six seasons. He has been productive offensively with a .270 plus batting average in six seasons, 20 plus HR in eight seasons, and eight seasons with 25 plus Doubles, 80 plus RBI in seven seasons. He has been good defensively with a .965 plus fielding percentage in six seasons and less than 14 Errors in seven seasons.

He has been good over the years but 2016 was a return to his first few seasons where he batted .273, hitting 36 HR, 41 Doubles, driving in 98 RBI, with a .318 OBP, a .521 SLG, only 42 BB, and 144 SO. He was good defensively with a .975 fielding percentage and only 9 Errors in 366 TC. He is number 6 because he has been a good Third Basemen over his career offensively and defensively. He has been durable for most of his career but he was not as good as he was after injuries for two seasons in 2011 and 2012. Him not being as good as he was several seasons ago is what holds him back from being higher up. He may remain a top Third Basemen if he continues to be productive but there is not much room for improvement with him being over 30.

5. Kris Bryant- 25, CHC

Kris Bryant is a young Third Basemen who has played only two seasons and is already one of the best players at his position. He has had two consistent offensive seasons with him improving upon his rookie year in his second season. He has accomplished a lot in two seasons with 2 NL All-Star selections, the 2015 Rookie of the Year, the 2016 NL MVP, and was on a World Championship team in 2016. In his first two seasons he has hit 29 plus HR, 99 plus RBI, and a .275 plus batting average. One area that he has strugged with is fielding with a fielding percentage in the .950’s and over 10 Errors in both years.

He had a great season in 2016 where he batted .292, hitting 39 HR, 35 Doubles, driving in 102 RBI, with a .385 OBP, a .554 SLG, 75 BB, and 154 SO. His fielding was not as good as his offense with a .953 fielding percentage and 12 Errors in 257 TC. He had a very good first season but he improved in his second season with a great season, which was enough for him to win an MVP. He is number 5 because he has already proven to be a top Third Basemen with a lot of accomplishments and who is a major offensive force. He is also young so he is going to be a top Third Basemen for long time and he can make more improvements, which he needs to defensively. What holds him back from being the best Third Basemen is he does not have as much experience and he is below average defensively for a Third Basemen. He can easily move up the list if he improves defensively with the great offensive numbers.

4. Josh Donaldson- 31, TOR

Josh Donaldson is a six-year veteran who has emerged as one of the top Third Basemen over the last four seasons. He has had several accomplishments in his short amount of time with AL All-Star selections the last three seasons, he has won the last two AL Silver Slugger, and has he won the AL MVP in 2015. He has been consistent with 24 plus HR the past four seasons with 37 plus HR in two, 93 plus RBI the past four seasons with 123 RBI in 2015, and a .284 plus batting average in three seasons. He has not been very good defensively at Third Base with only two seasons with a .960 plus fielding percentage and less than 15 Errors in two seasons.

He had a great offensive season in 2016 where he batted .284, hitting 37 HR, 32 Doubles, driving in 99 RBI, with a .404 OBP, a .549 SLG, 109 BB, and 120 SO. He had an okay defensive season in 2016 with a .961 fielding percentage and 14 Errors in 361 TC. He is number 4 because he has proven to be a great offensive Third Basemen with great statistics and many offensive awards. What holds him back is his below average to okay defense, which is not as good as others higher up the list. He is in his prime years being 31-years-old and could remain a top Third Basemen for several more seasons.

3. Adrian Beltre- 37, TEX

Adrian Beltre has played a long time being a 19-year veteran with many accomplishments and is still producing very good numbers. He had has accomplishments through the years with four AL All-Star selections all within the last six seasons, he has won four Silver Sluggers, and five AL Gold Gloves. He has been a great Third Basemen for a long time and has put up a lot of numbers with 15 plus HR in 16 seasons, 20 plus HR in 12 seasons, and 30 plus HR in five seasons. His other numbers are more consistent with 25 plus Doubles in 17 seasons, 75 plus RBI in 15 seasons, 11 seasons with a .275 plus batting average, and less than 100 SO in 14 seasons. He has been good defensively with a .960 plus fielding percentage in nine seasons and 15 or less Errors in 11 seasons.

He is still productive because he batted .300, hitting 32 HR, 31 Doubles, driving in 104 RBI, with a .358 OBP, a .521 SLG, only 48 BB, and only 66 SO. He is also still good defensively with a .976 fielding percentage and 10 Errors in 415 TC. He is number 3 because he is still one of the best Third Basemen with great numbers over his career. He is in the top five for having top statistics among Third Basemen while still be durable especially for his age. He may not be a top Third Basemen for long due to his age because he may start to decline soon.

2. Manny Machado- 24, BAL

Manny Machado is 24 and is already a veteran playing for five seasons who is also a top Third Basemen. He has had accomplishments with three AL All-Star selections including two in a row and he has won two AL Gold Gloves with his last being in 2015. He has had two great seasons in a row with 35 plus HR, 30 plus Doubles, 86 plus RBI, 181 plus hits, and a .286 plus batting average. He has been good defensively have a .967 plus fielding percentage at Third Base in 3 seasons and less than 10 Errors in three seasons, although in two seasons he did not play a full season.

He has improved every season he has played full time with 2016 being his best season. 2016 was his best season where he batted .294, hitting 37 HR, 40 Doubles, driving in 96 RBI, with a .343 OBP, a .533 SLG, only 48 BB, and 120 SO. 2016 was also his best defensive season with a .979 fielding percentage and only 7 Errors in 329 TC at Third Base. He number 2 because he is a great offensive and defensive Third Basemen who has improved through the years and is still young enough to improve more. What holds him back him from being higher is that he does not have as good of numbers and the next one.

1. Nolan Arenado- 25, COL

Nolan Arenado is a young Third Basemen who has played four seasons with two seasons where he has put up incredible numbers. He has accomplished a lot already with two straight NL All-Star teams, has won two straight NL Silver Slugger, and has won four straight NL Gold Gloves as well. He has been great offensively with 25 plus Doubles every season and a .285 batting average for three seasons. His other offensive numbers are more impressive over the past two years with 40 plus HR, 130 plus RBI, and 175 plus hits both seasons. He has also been great defensively with a .965 plus fielding percentage in three seasons and 15 or less Errors in three seasons, which is good because he has had 490 plus TC.

He had a great season in 2016 where he batted .294, hitting 41 HR, 35 Doubles, driving in 133 RBI, with a .362 OBP, a .570 SLG, 68 BB, and 103 SO. His fielding was not as good as his offense but was still good with a .973 fielding percentage and 13 Errors in 490 TC. He is number 1 because he is the best overall Third Basemen who is a great hitter and fielder. He is also young where he can still improve and he could remain a top Third Basemen for years.