Emerging A's slugger, burgeoning Braves backstop named Rookies of the Year

Facing Major League pitching is as difficult as it’s ever been, and the adjustment that hitters face coming from the Minors is a difficult one. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at what Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin accomplished in 2025.

On Monday night, Kurtz was unanimously named the American League Rookie of the Year, and Baldwin took home the National League honor with 21 of a possible 30 first-place votes, with the results of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) voting revealed live on MLB Network.

• All-time Rookie of the Year Award winners

On the AL side, shortstop Jacob Wilson finished second, making the A’s just the ninth team to have players finish 1-2 in a Rookie of the Year race, and the first to do so with a pair of position players since the 1989 Cubs (Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith). Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony finished third.

On the NL side, Cubs right-hander Cade Horton finished second followed by Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin.

• Here are the Rookie of the Year vote totals

Kurtz and Baldwin both extended proud Rookie of the Year histories for their franchises. While the Dodgers have far and away the most ROY wins (18), Baldwin pulled the Braves into a tie for second with the Yankees, at 10. And Kurtz lifted the A’s into fourth place with their ninth, passing the Orioles/Browns and Reds, with eight apiece.

Here is a closer look at the 2025 Rookie of the Year Award winners.

• Ranking every Rookie of the Year winner

AL Rookie of the Year: Nick Kurtz, Athletics

Simply put, Kurtz put together one of the best debut seasons for a hitter in Major League history and was rewarded with a unanimous selection.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Kurtz made his Major League debut on April 23, and in 117 games, he posted a .290/.383/.619 slash line with 36 home runs. He led all MLB rookies in homers, RBIs (86), runs scored (90), OPS (1.002), OPS+ (173) and wins above replacement (4.6 per FanGraphs, 5.4 per Baseball Reference).

Kurtz also became the third rookie in the Modern Era (since 1900) with an OPS+ of 170 or higher (minimum 450 plate appearances), joining José Abreu (173 in 2014) and Aaron Judge (171 in 2017).

“It’s really cool," Kurtz said. "It’s a great honor to kind of be put up with some of baseball’s greats who have also won the award. It’s nice to put the finishing touches on the year, look back at it and enjoy what I’ve done a little bit.”

Kurtz, 22, not only had an incredible rookie season, but he also made history with a performance for the ages in Houston on July 25, when he became the first rookie and first player in A’s history to launch four homers in one game. It was part of a 6-for-6, eight-RBI night at Daikin Park, making Kurtz the first player (rookie or not) with six hits, four homers and eight RBIs in the same game. With 19 total bases in that contest, Kurtz tied Shawn Green (2002) for the most total bases in a single game in MLB history.

“You kind of show up like it’s any other day,” Kurtz said of how that historic game unfolded. “During that time, obviously you feel like you’re seeing the ball well and just kind of everything that had to go right kind of went right.

“ … I couldn’t even dream about having a night like that, and it kind of just all came together.”

Kurtz is the ninth player in Athletics history to be named Rookie of the Year, joining Andrew Bailey (2009), Huston Street (2005), Bobby Crosby (2004), Ben Grieve (1998), Walt Weiss (1988), Mark McGwire (1987), Jose Canseco (1986) and Harry Byrd (1952, when they were in Philadelphia).

The A’s selected Kurtz with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 Draft out of Wake Forest, and just over nine months -- and only 32 Minor League games -- later, he was in the Majors as the club’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline (No. 35 overall). It was the sixth-fastest promotion to the big leagues, in terms of days from being drafted (283 days), in franchise history.

Kurtz has been lauded throughout his brief pro career for his advanced approach at the plate. He demonstrated that with impressive quality-of-contact and pitch-selection stats throughout his debut season, including elite barrel rate (18.4%, 98th percentile), hard-hit rate (51.1%, 92nd), bat speed (77.2 mph, 98th) and chase rate (22.2%, 86th) metrics.

One of the most impressive aspects of Kurtz’s rookie campaign was that of his 36 homers, a Major League-best 18 of them were hit to the opposite field.

“I think it’s something I learned, that when I’m going well and the swing is right, the ball is going that way,” Kurtz said. “So once I kind of learned that about myself, I kind of wanted to get really good at it. That’s a way for me to be my best at all times, to be consistent in my swing, so why not try to do that all the time.”

A hip injury caused Kurtz to miss some time in May and June, but it didn’t affect his performance at the plate. In July, he had one of the greatest individual months in recent memory, hitting .395/.480/.953 with 11 home runs and 27 RBIs in 23 games. In 59 games following the All-Star break, Kurtz posted a 1.107 OPS with 19 homers.

Kurtz said that the key to improving as his first season went on was getting more comfortable in the big leagues.

“Being someone in the big leagues, it comes with a lot of different stuff,” he said. “You’ve kind of got to learn about yourself and the game along the way. We’re all great players -- it’ll come at some point. But the timing is always different.”

NL Rookie of the Year: Drake Baldwin, Braves

When he reported to Spring Training in February, the assumption was Baldwin – the club’s third-round pick in the 2022 Draft out of Missouri State -- would need more seasoning at Triple-A before he’d be ready for the Majors. Nine months later, Baldwin is the NL Rookie of the Year.

“This is wild,” Baldwin said. “I mean, looking back at the start of the year, I never really thought I was gonna be in this position, even a couple of weeks in.

“There are so many ups and downs and stuff, and now being able to cap this year with this award is just so special. … Being able to get this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever had happen.”

With Braves starting catcher Sean Murphy beginning the 2025 campaign on the injured list due to a cracked rib, Baldwin -- then the organization’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline (No. 62 overall) -- was thrust into the spotlight as the club’s Opening Day backstop. And he made the most of it. Although he got off to a slow start at the plate, Baldwin, who turned 24 on the second day of the regular season, started hitting in May, a month in which he posted a .389/.411/.593 slash line.

As he continued to make adjustments throughout the year, Baldwin developed consistency at the plate, posting an OPS of at least .800 in each of the final three months of the season. Overall, he hit .274/.341/.469 with 19 home runs while leading all NL rookies with 3.1 fWAR.

As a result, Baldwin is the 10th player in Braves history to win the honor, joining Michael Harris II (2022), Ronald Acuña Jr. (2018), Craig Kimbrel (2011), Rafael Furcal (2000), David Justice (1990), Bob Horner (1978), Earl Williams (1971), Sam Jethroe (1950, when the team was in Boston) and Al Dark (1948, also in Boston, at a time when there was just a single Rookie of the Year winner for the entire Major Leagues). Williams is the only other Braves catcher to win it.

With a quick bat -- his average bat speed was 75.3 mph, which ranked him among the top nine percent of qualified hitters -- Baldwin proved that his numbers were no fluke. According to Statcast, Baldwin finished in the 80th percentile or better in whiff rate (19.5%, 80th), expected slugging percentage (.474, 81st), expected weighted on-base average (.354, 84th), strikeout rate (15.2%, 84th), hard-hit rate (49.6%, 85th), expected batting average (.276, 86th) and average exit velocity (91.7 mph, 86th).

Baldwin had several highlights from his debut season in the Majors, including a six-RBI game against the Giants on July 21. But perhaps Baldwin’s most memorable game from his rookie campaign came on Aug. 7, when he went 3-for-5 with two home runs and a late game-tying single to help propel the Braves to a comeback win over the Marlins at Truist Park. Afterward, then-manager Brian Snitker compared Baldwin to a former star catcher for Atlanta.

“When [Brian McCann] came up it was the same way,” Snitker said. “[He was] above his years behind the plate and as an offensive player, and Drake’s right there with him.”

Defensively, Baldwin was one of the best blocking catchers in the game, finishing with +7 Blocks Above Average, which ranked in the 92nd percentile among MLB backstops. By the time he stepped in to fill the vacancy created by Murphy’s injury, he received effusive praise from pitchers like Chris Sale and Spencer Strider for his ability behind the plate, an area in which he’s steadily improved.

“It’s huge,” Baldwin said about being defensively sound. “I think that’s one of the bigger jumps getting into the big leagues, especially as a catcher. Handling a pitching staff and doing all the scouting reports, learning what makes the pitchers tick, learning how to get hitters out, all of that.

“The only way I could do it is with all the help I had throughout the team. I had a locker right next to Sean Murphy -- he was just such a good help the entire year, even from the last couple Spring Trainings to now.”

Baldwin has come a long way from this past spring, and he now has the hardware to prove it.

Not bad for a guy who didn’t expect to make the Opening Day roster.