The National League is filled with star power when it comes to third basemen, as evidenced by three guys finishing in the top-7 of MVP voting. That doesn’t even include four others who hit at least 26 home run, another who hit .322, and another who was the face of Tampa Bay baseball for much of a decade.
Here are the rankings for projected starting National League third basemen. This is a subjective list, and there are instances where players can almost be considered interchangeable.
To see rankings for projected starting American League third basemen, click here.
1. Nolan Arenado - Colorado Rockies
2017 stats: 159 G, .309 BA, .959 OPS, 37 HR, 43 2B, 7 3B, 130 RBI, 100 R, 3 SB
Arenado has won a Gold Glove in all five of his seasons in the majors and finished fourth in National League MVP voting last year. The three-time All-Star has hit 120 homers, 121 doubles, and driven in 393 runs over the last three seasons. His 43 doubles in 2017 tied for the National League lead.
2. Kris Bryant - Chicago Cubs
2017 stats: 665 PA, .295 BA, .946 OPS, 29 HR, 38 2B, 4 3B, 73 RBI, 111 R, 7 SB
The 2016 National League MVP finished seventh in voting last season. Bryant has averaged 31 homers, 35 doubles, and 106 runs per year over his first three seasons. He has also cut down his strikeouts from 199 in 2015, to 154 in 2016, to 128 in 2017.
3. Anthony Rendon - Washington Nationals
2017 stats: 605 PA, .301 BA, .937 OPS, 25 HR, 41 2B, 1 3B, 100 RBI, 81 R, 7 SB
Rendon had a sixth-place finish in National League MVP voting in 2017. He had a multitude of career-highs including batting average, on-base percentage (.403), slugging percentage (.533), home runs, doubles, and RBIs.
He also plays the field well, although it will be hard for him to ever win a Gold Glove with Nolan Arenado in the same league.
4. Justin Turner - Los Angeles Dodgers
2017 stats: 543 PA, .322 BA, .945 OPS, 21 HR, 32 2B, 0 3B, 71 RBI, 72 R, 7 SB
Unfortunately for Turner, he fractured his wrist and may miss the first one or two months of the season.
Since joining the Dodgers in 2014, he has a .303 batting average and .881 OPS. He ended last year with more walks (59) than strikeouts (56).
5. Travis Shaw - Milwaukee Brewers
2017 stats: 606 PA, .273 BA, .862 OPS, 31 HR, 34 2B, 1 3B, 101 RBI, 84 R, 10 SB
Traded by the Red Sox last offseason, Shaw was excellent in his first year with Milwaukee. He also decreased his errors from the 16 he had in 2016 to nine last year despite making 43 more starts at the hot corner in 2017.
6. Eugenio Suarez - Cincinnati Reds
2017 stats: 632 PA, .260 BA, .828 OPS, 26 HR, 25 2B, 2 3B, 82 RBI, 87 R, 4 SB
Suarez is coming off his best season, both offensively and defensively. He showed much better patience at the plate, walking 84 times compared to 51 in 2016 despite just five fewer plate appearances in 2016.
Making 23 errors at third base in 2016, he made just nine last year.
7. Evan Longoria - San Francisco Giants
2017 stats: 677 PA, .261 BA, .737 OPS, 20 HR, 36 2B, 2 3B, 86 RBI, 71 R, 6 SB
After 10 seasons of being the face of the Rays' franchise, Longoria was traded to the Giants in the offseason. The 32-year-old has been nearly guaranteed to be penciled into the lineup, playing 156 games last year and 642 of a possible 648 from 2013-16.
8. Jake Lamb - Arizona Diamondbacks
2017 stats: 635 PA, .248 BA, .844 OPS, 30 HR, 30 2B, 4 3B, 105 RBI, 89 R, 6 SB
Lamb has basically put up the same offensive numbers in each of the last two seasons. While his 59 home runs and 61 doubles in the last two years put him near the top of all third basemen, he doesn’t quite have the range that others do.
9. Jedd Gyorko - St. Louis Cardinals
2017 stats: 481 PA, .272 BA, .813 OPS, 20 HR, 21 2B, 2 3B, 67 RBI, 52 R, 6 SB
Gyorko has totaled 50 home runs in his two seasons with the Cardinals. 2017 was his fifth year in the league, and he set career-highs in batting average, on-base percentage (.341), OPS, and RBIs. He is a valuable defensive player as his versatility allows him to be capable at all infield positions.
10. Todd Frazier - New York Mets
2017 stats: 576 PA, .213 BA, .772 OPS, 27 HR, 19 2B, 1 3B, 76 RBI, 74 R, 4 SB
Frazier has hit just .220 over the last two seasons but has also slugged 57 home runs and walked 147 times. His 27 homers were actually his least in the last four years as he has accounted for 131 long balls since 2014.
11. Chase Headley - San Diego Padres
2017 stats: 586 PA, .273 BA, .758 OPS, 12 HR, 30 2B, 1 3B, 61 RBI, 77 R, 9 SB
Headley returns to the Padres where he played from 2007 until July of 2014. After a slow start with the Yankees last year, he went on to hit .300 after the All-Star break. He’s not likely to hit 31 homers again like he did in 2012, as he’s hit between 11-14 in each of the last five years.
12. Martin Prado - Miami Marlins
2017 stats: 147 PA, .250 BA, .636 OPS, 2 HR, 9 2B, 0 3B, 12 RBI, 13 R, 0 SB
Prado will miss the beginning of the season after knee surgery, and it’s not quite clear when he will be back. Brian Anderson will take over third until he is ready. He played in just 37 games in 2017, but in 2016 he hit .305 with 37 doubles.
13. Maikel Franco - Philadelphia Phillies
2017 stats: 623 PA, .230 BA, .690 OPS, 24 HR, 29 2B, 1 3B, 76 RBI, 66 R, 0 SB
After hitting .280 with 14 home runs and an .840 OPS in 80 games in 2015, Franco has gotten progressively worse over the last two years. While he has showed power with 49 homers in 2016-17, he also has tallied under a .300 on-base percentage at .294 over those two seasons.
14. David Freese - Pittsburgh Pirates
2017 stats: 503 PA, .263 BA, .739 OPS, 10 HR, 16 2B, 0 3B, 52 RBI, 44 R, 0 SB
Freese has been a remarkably consistent hitter over the last five years, finishing with a batting average between .257-.270 in all of those seasons. His OPS has also remained similar over that time, as it has been between .704-.764.
15. Johan Camargo - Atlanta Braves
2017 stats: 256 PA, .299 BA, .783 OPS, 4 HR, 21 2B, 2 3B, 27 RBI, 30 R, 0 SB
Camargo was mildly impressive in his first MLB action last year. He also made starts at all infield positions other than first base. Small in stature (listed at 6-0, 160 lbs.), he never hit more than four homers in a minor league season.
