Jordan Westburg Fantasy Baseball 2025: Value Elsewhere, Not As Primary 3B
When you’re drafting players in the top 10 of any position regarding fantasy baseball rankings, you would like to think the range of outcome over the course of an entire season is a top-three finish. If you watched Jordan Westburg of the Orioles before his wrist injury of 2024, you would’ve thought he finished off a monster campaign and was poised for another in 2025.
But that wasn’t the case, and I’m not confident he pays off his current fantasy baseball ADP. He did not play well after the injury and yet, is still being drafted as the sixth third baseman off the board ahead of Junior Caminero, Mark Vientos, Jake Burger, Royce Lewis, Alex Bregman, and Matt Chapman.
First and foremost, let’s take a look at Jordan Westburg stats from the perspective of the two halves of the 2024 season.
Jordan Westburg Stats (2024)
First Half
- Base Numbers: .271 AVG, 15 HR, .496 SLG% .814 OPS, .348 wOBA
- Batted Ball: 20.2% line drive, 40.5% ground ball, 39.3% fly ball
Second Half
- Base Numbers: .233 AVG, 3 HR, .411 SLG%, .693 OPS, .301 wOBA
- Batted Ball: 15.5% line drive, 48.3% ground ball, 36.2% fly ball
Yes, there was a wrist injury as mentioned, but all the power was sapped from his bat in the second half of the year. All of the data above shows that off, yet now, he’s drafted as the sixth third baseman off the board?
Fantasy Baseball Projections 2025: Jordan Westburg
We’re projecting ahead, and looking at fantasy baseball projections industry wide as a whole per FanGraphs:
That is, altogether, solid production across the board. But Westburg being drafted as your primary third basemen versus being drafted for someone as their second basemen are two different stories. Especially when drafting a player based on four months of production like the industry is doing this season with the above Westburg fantasy projections.
Let's talk about the guys in his range that do things better than him and are better values, shall we?
Both Junior Caminero and Mark Vientos’ power ceilings are significantly higher. Both guys’ ceilings for run production are also superior too. Waiting for third baseman such as Alex Bregman and Matt Chapman are established third baseman that look similar to Westburg, but are guys you can get 50 picks later according to their current fantasy baseball ADP.
Bregman saw a MASSIVE park upgrade moving to Fenway Park and should have a big bounce-back campaign, and Matt Chapman found himself in an elite situation in San Francisco and looks like one of the absolute best values at the position in fantasy.
Let's talk ballpark shift, because Baltimore IS in fact bringing the walls back in left field after realizing their overcorrection was, well, a death sentence for right-handed hitters. Although it will help, below is more Jordan Westburg stats – specifically, his spray chart from 2023 and 2024:
There was a major shift in the way Westburg hit the ball in 2024, so will the shrunken wall even make that much of a difference? He pulled the ball 45% of the time in ‘23 and it was at just 38% in ‘24, which also coincides with fantasy baseball projections not liking his power to really pop despite what he looked like in the first half of last season.
Jordan Westburg Fantasy 2025
While I admit Jordan Westburg in fantasy is a safe play, especially if paired with another third baseman later in drafts and he’s used as your second baseman, there are plenty of third baseman that we can draft with a higher ceiling.
Not to mention, you can allocate draft capital elsewhere in the round you have to draft Westburg in fantasy baseball drafts.
Player News
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.