When glancing at a certain leaderboard the other day, I noticed that third base was very well represented against other positions. Every third baseman I saw was under 30 years old and several were under 25.

Considering injuries (Anthony Rendon), recent and future minor-league promotions and where the position was about a decade ago, the hot corner has gotten a lot more exciting.

Back in 2005, the all-around third baseman who was good year-in, year-out was rather uncommon. We had A-Rod, of course, back in his pre-innocence lost days. There was an exciting, young David Wright, an underappreciated Adrian Beltre, speedy Chone Figgins, run-producing Aramis Ramirez, steady Eric Chavez and big-time power threat Troy Glaus.

It wasn't awful, for sure, but just a cursory glance at the Fangraphs WAR leaderboard for 2005 shows Melvin Mora, Bill Mueller, Bill Hall and Brandon Inge in the 5-8 spots at third. Quality players at the time, of course, but I also just yawned while I typed that.

That's the same leaderboard I mentioned in the introductory paragraph here, but it was for all of Major League Baseball in 2015. Seven of the top 33 players thus far in WAR are third basemen under 30. Heading into Thursday, it goes: Josh Donaldson (2nd, behind Bryce Harper), Todd Frazier (8th), Matt Carpenter (11th), Mike Moustakas (19th), Kyle Seager (29th), Kris Bryant (30th) and Nolan Arenado (33rd). That's 21 percent of the top 33 at just one of the eight positions.

Now, something to consider here is this polariazing WAR stat shouldn't be used as the be-all, end-all stat and no one with a brain actually thinks we should. With only two months in the books, especially the defensive component here can't be greatly trusted and that's without even mentioning what small sample size judgments turn into long-term. This was just the basic jumping off point for my initial thought that the state of third base right now is very exciting.

Let's highlight some of the more fun and exciting -- and, again, these are under-30 guys, so I have to leave out a few favorites such as Beltre.

The established

Matt Carpenter, Cardinals: He didn't even get semi-regular playing time until he was 26, but the following season Carpenter finished fourth in MVP voting for a World Series team, leading the majors in runs, hits and doubles. He had a down year last season but is once again in MVP-caliber form and appears to be cruising toward his third All-Star Game in three seasons for a first-place team.

Evan Longoria, Rays: Not much really needs to be said here. He has been with the Rays since they made us forget about the Devil Rays and is still the face of the franchise. He's still also only 29.

Pablo Sandoval, Red Sox: Still just 28, he's a two-time All-Star with three rings.

The Underrated

Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays: In 2013, he finished fourth in AL MVP voting and was eighth last season, making his first All-Star Game. He's second in voting for the All-Star starter but it's by almost 1,000,000 votes, yet he's playing as well as anyone in baseball. My guess is that you could walk up to casual fans in the majority of ballparks -- especially Central Division and especially NL Central -- and you would get a "who?" from people who aren't avid fantasy baseballers when discussing Donaldson. This guy deserves a lot more credit.

Todd Frazier, Reds: My guess is the consensus of the masses is "nice player," but he's much better than that. He's a stud. After a 29-homer season in 2014, he'll easily top 30 this year while his strikeout rate is down, his walk rate is up and his OPS is way up. He can run (20 steals last season) and plays good defense. I don't know if the average is high enough to call him a five-tool player, but he's close.

Kyle Seager, Mariners: One of my crusades in recent years is to continually point out that Seager is criminally underrated. In judging by the latest All-Star voting tallies, even Mariners fans aren't getting the message. A superb defender with good gap and home run power, Seager is a beast.

The sub-25 studs

Nolan Arenado, Rockies: Well, he's 24 years old, already has 13 homers and 39 RBI and does stuff like this on defense:

Manny Machado, Orioles: We've seen plenty of him thus far, but he's still only 22 years old. There are good signs this season, too, as he's walking more, striking out less, hitting for more power and stealing more bases. He already has a Platinum Glove (best defender in the league) for his defensive efforts and is sure to win another at some point.

Ho hum, just a couple young, studly third basemen enjoying the game of baseball.
Ho hum, just a couple young, studly third basemen enjoying the game of baseball. (USATSI)

Kris Bryant, Cubs: It took him a while to hit his first homer, but once he did the balls started flying out of the yard. He's on pace for 105 RBI and I expect him to approach, if not exceed, 30 homers. As a rookie.

Brand new toys

Joey Gallo, Rangers: We've seen him for two games, and that includes a historic debut and a follow-up that included a home run.

Maikel Franco, Phillies: In just 18 games, Franco has four homers and 13 RBI, including two ninth-inning, game-tying home runs in the past two games. Yeah. He has also had a few highlight-reel plays from third base.

Yasmany Tomas, Diamondbacks: He shouldn't stick here defensively, but Tomas can hit. We haven't (yet?) seen the power, but he's hitting .331 with a .364 on-base percentage through his first 140 plate appearances at the top level in America. He's only 24.

"Late" bloomers

Josh Harrison, Pirates: At age 26 in 2014, I think it's fair to subjectively say he was the most exciting player in baseball. He's having a down year in 2015 so far, though he's hitting .365/.402/.518 in his past 20 games. Here he comes again.

Mike Moustakas, Royals: Similar to the route of teammate Alex Gordon, highly touted prospect Moustakas had four seasons in the bigs heading into 2015 and could have been called a "bust," given his high draft position and career .236/.290/.379 line. He had some nice postseason moments last fall and has carried it over into a breakout season. Heading into Thursday, he carries a .322/.375/.475 slash line with excellent defense. He'll be the All-Star Game starter for the AL, too. Moose is here to stay.

Coming attractions

Miguel Sano, Twins: He's coming off Tommy John surgery and is in Double-A, but he has prodigious power. After a slow start, he's hitting .337/.410/.616 with seven doubles, five homers and 21 RBI in his last 23 games.

Corey Seager, Dodgers? The question mark is whether or not the Dodgers put Seager at third or shortstop. He's an almost-certain star, say most scouts, but shortstop seems more likely.

Javier Baez, Cubs? He played third base in Triple-A on Wednesday night while Bryant could move to left field to make room in The Show. Given his talent level and that he's only 22, only fools would give up on Baez after his unsuccessful stint in the majors last season (I'll be writing more on this in the coming days). His new swing is doing wonders in Triple-A. In 33 games, he's hitting .325/.404/.545 with seven homers and a vastly improved contact rate. In the past 13 games, by the way, he's hitting .388 with five homers and a 1.211 OPS.

Don't forget about us

Anthony Rendon, Nationals: He turns 25 on Saturday. Last season, Rendon finished fifth in NL MVP voting --  in his first full season in the bigs -- and he's back with the Nationals after a stint on the DL. It's probably too late a return to make his first All-Star Game, but he'll see many in his career.

Also under-30 regulars: Lonnie Chisenhall, Nick Castellanos, Brett Lawrie, Trevor Plouffe, Luis Valbuena

That's a great mix of talent with a wide range of skill sets. There might not be a more exciting position in all of baseball and it's only improving as the year progresses and we add to the mix. As noted, many deserve more credit than they are getting on a national level -- baseball's an increasingly regional sport and every region loves its down guy without caring a ton about outsiders -- and I'm just trying to do my part to get out the word to more than fantasy baseballers. Every casual fan should easily recognize the likes of Frazier, Donaldson, Arenado and Machado.

More succinct: The hot corner is hot.