MLB Top Third Basemen of the First Third Through May 26, 2026

American League	National League
Miguel Vargas	Max Muncy
HM – Jose Ramirez	HM – Nolan Arenado

For these third base rankings, I focused on a combination of offensive production, defensive value, and overall impact. Metrics such as WAR, wRC+, OPS, batting average, and home run production were used alongside advanced statistics like batting run value, chase rate, barrel rate, sweet spot percentage, and defensive value. Third base requires players to contribute on both sides of the ball, making overall value a key factor in separating closely ranked candidates. All statistics are from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant and are current through May 26.

When I was looking at third base stats, I was a little surprised. Not many high averages, and a lot of young guys in the top ranks through the first third of the season. However, two veterans are at the top of the list. American League Honorable Mention Jose Ramirez, who is striking out the second lowest rank amongst qualified third basemen, and National League top third baseman Max Muncy, who leads in WAR with 2.3. (ahead of the next highest, Ramirez, by .5) Ramirez has had a distinct drop in hitting production (.239/.348/.396) but I think we can attribute that to a few things. Ramirez is hitting 4% more of hit plate appearances as fly balls. Only 2% of his appearances are labeled as weak contact. However… he’s barreling up about 2% less of plate appearances, too. Eventually the barrels will come, and his power will only get better, right? His defense is always strong, and he’s in the top 94th percentile for defensive range. For Muncy, his batting average and slash line is up from last season (.259/.365/.519). Not only is he leading the league in WAR in general, but his defensive stats at third are the highest next to Maikel Garcia, both with a 5.3 value. Muncy also leads in wRC+ with 150. His chase rate is down, and his walk rate is higher. The crazy part for Muncy? He’s doing this while seeing less fastballs. He’s seen 7% more offspeed pitches this season compared to last. His elite ability to hit, paired with his defense this season make him the best third baseman in the MLB so far. 

If you were to look at Nolan Arenado’s Baseball Savant page for 2026, you’d be shocked. He’s… average… he isn’t great, maybe not even good. He’s just average at everything on a baseball field, and that’s actually… makes him really good. His WAR is a 1.2 which is second in the NL, but still top 5 in the MLB. His slash rates are good, .268/.348/.463, top 10 in all categories for third baseman, top 5 in average and slugging. He’s barreling more balls this season, but doesn’t have as solid of a hit rate as last year. That’s confusing right? He’s barreling up baseballs more, but his solid hit rate is down? You can barrel a ball (meaning hitting it right on the sweet spot) but still be under it, or “just missing it”. So Arenado is having more of those moments than last year. Who is having less of those “just missed it” moments? Our American League leader Miguel Vargas. If you looked only at his slash line, (.245/.366/.497) you’d be deceived. His wRC+ is at 143, fourth highest in MLB, and his WAR is tied with Jose Ramirez for second highest at 1.7. If you looked at Baseball Savant, Vargas is elite in almost every hitting category, including a top 99th percentile in chase rate (he knows the strike zone), a 90 percentile barrel and sweet spot rating, as well as a top 92% walk rate. His season most resembles… Jose Ramirez… just a little bit better. I would go as far to say that, with a 7 year age gap, Vargas might be the next J-Ram. And he’s already here. 

Do you agree with these third base rankings? Let me know who you would put at the top of each league, and come back tomorrow as I break down the best shortstops in baseball through the first third of the season.