Here is the May edition of my rest-of-season position rankings and overall top 300 for 5x5 leagues. As you might have noticed, the weekly Strike Zone is off the menu for load management reasons this year. However, I plan to continue to present monthly rankings updates in this spot.
As always, players are ranked by position and then combined into an overall top 300 list.
Click to see other May rankings:
Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C
Third Baseman Rankings
| May | Third basemen | Team | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Riley | Braves | 1 |
| 2 | Jose Ramirez | Guardians | 2 |
| 3 | Rafael Devers | Red Sox | 4 |
| 4 | Bobby Witt Jr. | Royals | 3 |
| 5 | Manny Machado | Padres | 5 |
| 6 | Nolan Arenado | Cardinals | 6 |
| 7 | Gunnar Henderson | Orioles | 7 |
| 8 | Ryan McMahon | Rockies | 8 |
| 9 | Alex Bregman | Astros | 9 |
| 10 | Ke’Bryan Hayes | Pirates | 11 |
| 11 | Matt Chapman | Blue Jays | 15 |
| 12 | Alec Bohm | Phillies | 13 |
| 13 | Max Muncy | Dodgers | 21 |
| 14 | Yandy Díaz | Rays | 26 |
| 15 | Anthony Rendon | Angels | 12 |
| 16 | Brett Baty | Mets | 39 |
| 17 | Brian Anderson | Brewers | 37 |
| 18 | Jose Miranda | Twins | 14 |
| 19 | DJ LeMahieu | Yankees | 16 |
| 20 | Josh Jung | Rangers | 17 |
| 21 | Jordan Walker | Cardinals | 10 |
| 22 | Nick Senzel | Reds | n/a |
| 23 | Justin Turner | Red Sox | 20 |
| 24 | Josh Rojas | Diamondbacks | 19 |
| 25 | Ha-Seong Kim | Padres | 22 |
| 26 | Jean Segura | Marlins | n/a |
| 27 | Jon Berti | Marlins | 23 |
| 28 | J.D. Davis | Giants | 38 |
| 29 | Brendan Donovan | Cardinals | 24 |
| 30 | Yoan Moncada | White Sox | 18 |
| 31 | Eugenio Suárez | Mariners | 28 |
| 32 | Jake Burger | White Sox | 45 |
| 33 | Spencer Steer | Reds | 33 |
| 34 | Patrick Wisdom | Cubs | 48 |
| 35 | Brandon Drury | Angels | 31 |
| 36 | Isaac Paredes | Rays | 34 |
| 37 | Ramón Urías | Orioles | 35 |
| 38 | Christian Encarnacion-Strand | Reds | 55 |
| 39 | Rodolfo Castro | Pirates | 54 |
| 40 | Gio Urshela | Angels | 32 |
| 41 | Josh Donaldson | Yankees | 30 |
| 42 | Luis Urías | Brewers | 25 |
| 43 | Curtis Mead | Rays | 42 |
| 44 | Luis Rengifo | Angels | 27 |
| 45 | Harold Castro | Rockies | 29 |
| 46 | Alan Trejo | Rockies | n/a |
| 47 | Jeimer Candelario | Nationals | 43 |
| 48 | Brad Miller | Rangers | 40 |
| 49 | Edmundo Sosa | Phillies | 52 |
| 50 | Oswald Peraza | Yankees | n/a |
| 51 | Wilmer Flores | Giants | 41 |
| 52 | Zach McKinstry | Tigers | 65 |
| 53 | Elehuris Montero | Rockies | 36 |
| 54 | Mike Moustakas | Rockies | 46 |
| 55 | Chris Taylor | Dodgers | n/a |
| 56 | Nick Madrigal | Cubs | n/a |
| 57 | Taylor Walls | Rays | 68 |
| 58 | Osleivis Basabe | Rays | NR |
| 59 | Evan Longoria | Diamondbacks | 51 |
| 60 | Mike Brosseau | Brewers | 59 |
| 61 | Joey Wendle | Marlins | 44 |
| 62 | Ezequiel Duran | Rangers | 58 |
| 63 | Eduardo Escobar | Mets | 47 |
| 64 | Nick Maton | Tigers | n/a |
| 65 | Tyler Freeman | Guardians | NR |
Dropping off: Bobby Dalbec (49th), Jace Peterson (50th), Jake Alu (56th), Hunter Dozier (57th), Eguy Rosario (60th)
- At second base, players are moving down the rankings whether they deserve to or not. That’s not as much the case with the third base rankings. I’m definitely down some on Manny Machado, who has slipped from 25th overall in the preseason to 43rd in the updated top 300. Still, no one here passes him for the fifth spot.
- One reason I don’t have Isaac Paredes ranked higher is because I think there’s a good chance the Rays will make room for a prospect at third base later this season. However, I’m starting to wonder whether that prospect might be Osleivis Basabe, rather than Curtis Mead. Basabe is hitting .350/.395/.500 for Triple-A Durham at the moment, and he’d offer better defense at third base than Mead. Mead, one of the top performers in the minors last year, is off to a .221/.286/.361 start for Durham. The Rays would also have the option of bringing up Kyle Manzardo to play first base and moving Yandy Díaz back to third. That seems less likely, though.
