The third base tiers for 2024 fantasy baseball are well-defined at this point. There is the elite, no-worries tier of Jose Ramirez, Austin Riley, and Rafael Devers. After them is the upside tier or Elly De La Cruz, Gunnar Henderson, and Royce Lewis. After this group, however, there is a mixed bag of options that need to be considered. 

 

 

 

When digging into our 2024 third base rankings, we want to look to the end of drafts to see where the best value lies. Are there third basemen who, at the end of 2024, we look back and notice there were signs that a breakout was imminent? 

Three names at third base stand out heading into the heart of the 2024 draft season. Those names that will certainly be higher in drafts next year are Josh Jung, Jordan Westburg, and Jake Burger. With these three players, you can find help in all fantasy categories after the 10th round in most drafts.

Josh Jung, Texas Rangers

With 23 home runs, 70 RBI, and a .467 slugging percentage in 2023, there is a case to be made that Josh Jung has ALREADY broken out. But I'm here to tell you that there is an even greater case to be made that Jung could have a whole other level to his power and average heading into 2024. 

Let's start with the easy stuff. Jung missed 40 games in 2023 due to injuries and rest purposes, so additional plate appearances this season should pad his counting stats. He was coming back from a broken thumb he suffered over the summer, which explains the 19 first half home runs, and just four in the second half. 

From his cup of coffee in 2022 to 2023, Jung increased his contact rate, he increased his swing rate on pitches in the zone, and increased his walk rate. All of these are clear pieces of evidence that he was seeing the ball better, learning to be more patient with pitches, and driving the ball when it was in the zone. 

Jung is a power hitter to all fields (as shown in the spray chart above from Baseball Savant), and it won't surprise anyone if he crosses the 30-home-run mark for the first time this season. 

Jordan Westburg, Baltimore Orioles

Star prospect Jordan Westburg is doing everything he possibly can to win the Baltimore Orioles' starting third base gig out of Spring Training, and all signs point to him getting the role. Westburg is hitting .286 with a .642 slugging percentage in 28 at-bats that include two home runs, two doubles, and a triple. 

Westburg put up a tremendous .297/.372/.567 line in AAA last year before the Orioles called him up for a 68-game tryout with the big club. His three home runs and four steals didn't exactly blow any doors off, but Westburg proved what he could do with his bat and legs the year before. Between AA and AAA in 2022, Westburg amassed 27 home runs and 12 steals. 

He has been on on-base machine in the minor leagues, and still has power and speed that he is growing into having just turned 25 years old during Spring Training. He is going around pick 295 across all fantasy sites this spring, meaning he is basically free in just about every league. If the Orioles give him 550 plate appearances this season, there is basically no way he won't return massive value from that spot. 

Jake Burger, Miami Marlins

Does Jake Burger, now with the Miami Marlins, have a case to be one of the top eight third basemen off the board in drafts? There are a lot of good candidates, but let's look at his case. Diving into the The Bat's projections for 2024, only seven third basemen are projected to hit at least 27 home runs, score 70 runs, and have at least 80 RBI: Riley, Devers, Machado, Muncy, Ramirez, Arenado, and… Jake Burger.

The power is real for the 27-year-old who is fresh off a 34-home-run, 80-RBI campaign with the Chicago White Sox in 2023. From his 51-game sample in 2022 to last year, Burger was able to improve his strikeout rate (30.6% to 27.6%), his hard-hit rate (43% to 49%), and his max exit velocity (114.4 mph to 118.2 mph). 

In fact, his 118.2 max exit velocity last year was sixth-best in the league, ahead of guys like Yordan Alvarez, Aaron Judge, and Bryce Harper. Burger has a 98th percentile barrel rate last season and is poised to take it to another level in 2024 in his prime age 27/28 season.