2025 Fantasy Baseball 3B Rankings, Draft Targets & Sleepers

Third base. Or, as it’s known to fantasy baseball players, the place where Jose Ramirez plays.

Once again, Ramirez is far and away the best option at 3B as we head into the 2025 season. The real questions start to come as quickly as the No. 2 spot in the rankings.

Intrigued? Let’s break down the top 30 at the position with some interesting names to monitor as you get ready for your season-long drafts.

2025 MLB Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP | Top 250

2025 Fantasy Baseball 3B Rankings

2. Austin Riley, Braves

After the aforementioned Ramirez, there’s a group of four third baseman that could conceivably go off the board as 3B2. At this point, I’m leaning towards Riley as the best of the rest. Though the soon-to-be 28-year-old is coming off a down season where he missed some time due to injury, Riley still registered a 96th percentile average exit velocity (93.3), a 94th percentile barrel rate (14.9%) and a 92nd percentile expected wOBA (.361). This is a man who also averaged 36.0 home runs, 99.3 runs and 99.0 RBI from 2021 to 2023. Needless to say, I think his .256 average and 116 wRC+ from 2024 are an aberration. This isn’t really an opportunity to buy low on Riley, but a reminder to not get too cute chasing Jazz Chisholm’s steals or Manny Machado’s second half. Riley is a stud and he’ll once again be hitting in the middle of one of MLB’s best lineups.

7. Matt Chapman, Giants

Matt Chapman is truly a mashup of contrasting and sometimes frustrating ideals. On the one hand, Chapman remains an absolute Baseball Savant king. In 2024, the veteran third baseman finished the year with 97th percentile bat speed (76.6), 96th percentile average exit velocity (93.2) and an 88th percentile hard hit rate (48.3%). However, like in his time in Toronto, all that only translated into slightly above-average stats, as Chapman hit 27 home runs, drove in 78 and wound up with a 121 wRC+. Each passing season, it feels more and more likely that Chapman will never again reach the highs of his 2019 campaign — a thought that is only amplified by the memories of juiced balls and the 31-year-old’s new long-term home at Oracle Park. Still, Chapman posted his lowest strikeout rate in a half-decade in 2024 (24.4%) and he stole a career-high 15 bases. Steals are not a category that’s overly available at third base and Chapman’s 84th percentile sprint speed makes me believe it wasn’t just some fluke. Chapman is clearly a tier below the top five 3Bs heading into 2025, but his high floor and new found ability on the base paths puts him ahead of younger, sexier names like Mark Vientos, Junior Caminero and Jordan Westburg.

13. Isaac Paredes, Astros

The Crawford Boxes better get to know Isaac Paredes. While it won’t take anyone very long to point out the red flags in Paredes’ 2024 campaign, he and the short porch in left field at Daikin Park feel like a match made in fantasy baseball heaven. Paredes is an extreme pull hitter. In fact, at 53.7%, only two qualified bats had a higher pull rate than Paredes last season. Add in a 45.8% fly ball rate — another top 20 mark among qualified hitters — and it’s easy to see how the Mexican third baseman has managed to collect 50 home runs since the beginning of 2023 despite very underwhelming figures in exit velocity and barrel rate. According to Baseball Savant’s metrics, Paredes would’ve had 30 long balls had he played all his games in Houston last season. That’s four more than any other field in the league. Paredes is assuredly outside the top 12 at his position, yet he presents value and upside going after pick 200 in most formats now that he’s working in ideal conditions.

21. Matt Shaw, Cubs

I’m going to level with you. There’s a clear line of demarcation between the top 20 names at third base and the rest of the pack. As such, I’m far more willing to take a chance on an asset like Shaw — someone who carries an incredible amount of potential in 2025 despite never having taken a single at-bat in the majors. According to MLB Pipeline, Shaw is the top prospect in the Cubs’ organization and the 19th-best in all of baseball. In 2024, across both Double-A and Triple-A, Shaw slashed .284/.379/.488 with 21 home runs, 31 steals and a 146 wRC+. Over 464 plate appearances, Steamer projects Shaw to hit 15 long balls with 14 stolen bases in 2025 with Chicago. Now, it’s not 100% clear that the 23-year-old will break camp with the Cubs, yet the team’s willingness to trade the aforementioned Paredes this offseason and open up a spot at third base says a lot. There will be growing pains, but I’ll invest in pedigree with the former first-round pick.