The 2024 season was only the second time in the last nine full seasons that less than 15 third base eligible players hit 20 home runs or more. Are we going through a mini power drought or was it just a bad luck season? I lean towards bad luck. Austin Riley fell one home runs short but he had only 469 plate appearances; Jordan Westburg would have hit 20 had he been in the majors all year; Royce Lewis fell four short because he was injured again, but he also only had 325 PA; Isaac Paredes missed by one because he was traded from a favorable home park to a dreadful one; and Junior Caminero only had 177 PA. With favorable health for Riley and full seasons out of Westburg and Caminero, the hot corner will once again be a home run haven. It also might be home to two 30/30 players in 2025, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. gaining eligibility in the Bronx last season, so he and Jose Ramirez could become the first pair of third basemen to have a 30/30 season in the same season (a 30/30 season has happened at third base seven times; three by Howard Johnson, two by Jose Ramirez, one by Tommy Harper and one by David Wright). The hot corner is also an extremely young position, with only two of the top ten older than 30 years old and eight of the top thirty. It’s fairly easy to find a solid third baseman in the draft as well, with quality corner men available as late as the 205th pick.

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