In recent years, the third base position has thinned out just a bit, but you’ll certainly find that’s no longer true with our 2016 Fantasy Third Basemen Rankings.
While it’s true that Edwin Encarnacion and Miguel Cabrera have defected over to the not-so-defense-heavy first base side, along with Ryan Zimmerman, there’s still no reason to panic!
OK, yeah, it’s also true that Evan Longoria has slowly fallen back in the rankings, in each of the past couple years (down to about 10th this spring).
But look at the sudden power surge at the top, with Josh Donaldson, Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado, Kris Bryant and Todd Frazier flexing in the first few rounds of Fantasy drafts.
Heck, there are plenty of people ready to draft three third basemen in the first round of 12-team mixed leagues!
Big Decisions on Big Bats
Personally, I’m fine with Donaldson and Arenado in the first round, but I do have Machado pegged as a possible bust candidate among third basemen heading into the 2016 Fantasy baseball draft season. That’s due to the fact he has torn his ACL in both knees in the past few years, and I’m just not comfortable with that injury history in my first-round picks – especially when Kris Bryant is available a round later.
There’s not a whole lot of help coming from the third base prospects this season, with Boston’s Rafael Devers and Colorado’s Ryan McMahon still under 22 years old. They both rank among the top 50 prospects over at Baseball America heading into the 2016 season.
2016 Fantasy Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP | Top 250 | Rookies
2016 Fantasy Third Basemen Rankings
These 2016 Fantasy Third Basemen Rankings are for 5×5 Rotisserie Mixed leagues, and we’ll work to update these frequently. You can also check out the SCFE staff rankings on 2016 Fantasy Third Basemen here.
2016 Fantasy Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP | Top 250 | Rookies
After looking at our 2016 Fantasy Third Basemen rankings, we think you’ll agree that it’s top heavy, with some solid potential available later on.