Kurtz and then ... ? Ranking the top 25 rookies of 2025

2:43 AM UTC

Impact rookies certainly left their mark on the 2025 season.

Nick Kurtz made history with an iconic four-homer game, on top of one of the best debut seasons we’ve ever seen. Trey Yesavage emerged as a bona fide postseason hero, as did Roki Sasaki and Cam Schlittler. From triple-digit heat (hello, Jacob Misiorowski) to feel-good stories and prodigious power, rookies gave us a little bit of everything.

Here’s a breakdown of the 25 best rookies from the 2025 season, as ranked by MLB Network.

1) , 1B, ATH: It’s not hyperbole to say that Kurtz just had one of the best rookie seasons of all time. Among rookie hitters to have at least 400 plate appearances in a season, no one has ever posted a higher OPS+ than Kurtz (173). Beyond winning AL Rookie of the Year honors, the 22-year-old also established himself as one of the game’s elite sluggers. His .619 slugging percentage and 1.002 OPS trailed only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani (min. 450 PA). Kurtz also had one of the greatest single games ever on July 25 in Houston, smashing four home runs and recording 19 total bases -- tying the all-time single-game records.

2) , SS, ATH: These two A’s teammates couldn’t be any different, but Wilson is impressive in his own right. The 23-year-old started the All-Star Game at shortstop for the American League, becoming the first fan-elected rookie shortstop to start the ASG. Wilson led all rookies in hits (151) and batting average (.311). In fact, among qualified hitters, only Judge hit for a higher average than Wilson, and Bo Bichette was tied with him at .311. Wilson dazzled with elite bat-to-ball skills -- a rarity in today’s game -- with a 7.5% strikeout rate that ranked as the second lowest in MLB.

3) , SP, CHC: Horton stabilized a Cubs rotation that dealt with a rash of injuries throughout the season, pitching to a 2.67 ERA in 23 games (22 starts). He also looked the part of a frontline starter, with a high-90s fastball and three plus non-fastball offerings. In 12 starts after the All-Star break, Horton led all pitchers (min. 60 IP) with a 1.03 ERA. The next closest ERA belonged to Paul Skenes, whose 1.89 second-half ERA was nearly a full run higher.

4) , C, ATL: In what was otherwise a lost season for the Braves, Baldwin emerged as a potential franchise cornerstone. Sean Murphy’s cracked rib in Spring Training opened the door for Baldwin to make the team, and he ran with the opportunity. Baldwin led all NL rookies with 3.1 fWAR, hitting 19 home runs with an .810 OPS. He took home 21 of 30 first-place votes to capture the NL Rookie of the Year Award, becoming the first catcher to win it since Buster Posey in 2010. In total, only 10 catchers have won the award since its inception in 1947.

5) , OF, BOS: Anthony only played in 71 games, but he sure made a lasting impression -- so much so that he finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting. The 21-year-old hit .292/.396/.463 with a 140 OPS+, the highest by a Red Sox player in his age-21 season since Ted Williams in 1940. Anthony paired elite plate discipline with a rare ability to punish the baseball; his 60.3% hard-hit rate was better than every hitter with at least 100 batted balls. It’s no wonder the Red Sox were compelled to sign Anthony to an eight-year, $130 million contract extension in August, less than two months after his much-anticipated MLB debut as MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect.

6) , SP, TOR: No rookie made a splash quite like Yesavage. The righty began the 2025 season in Single-A Dunedin and ended it as a headliner in the World Series. Yesavage recorded 12 strikeouts in Game 5 of the Fall Classic against the Dodgers, setting a new rookie record for a World Series game. In fact, there have only been seven games in postseason history where a rookie struck out at least 11 batters, and Yesavage owns two of them (also Game 2 of the ALDS against the Yankees, when he K'd 11). With an extreme over-the-top arm angle and a splitter that “comes from the sky,” Yesavage helped steer the Blue Jays to the brink of a championship. Among all his accolades, perhaps this one is most improbable: He made more starts in the postseason (five) than he did in the regular season (three).

7) , SS, CWS: With tremendous raw power, Montgomery secured his place as a fixture of the young White Sox core. A first-round pick in 2021, Montgomery benefitted from an early-season reset at the organization’s Camelback Ranch complex. All 21 of his home runs came after the All-Star break, with only four players (Kyle Schwarber, Shohei Ohtani, Cal Raleigh and Junior Caminero) hitting more home runs than Montgomery in that span. His .529 slugging percentage ranked 14th best among players to take at least 250 plate appearances. He wasn’t too shabby at shortstop, either, posting +7 Outs Above Average.

8) , 3B, MIL: The Brewers didn’t win a franchise-record 97 games last season because of superstars. Rather, unheralded players became key cogs -- Durbin among them. Acquired in the trade that sent All-Star closer Devin Williams to the Yankees, Durbin became Milwaukee’s everyday third baseman after spending the first two weeks of the season in the Minors. The 5-foot-7 infielder posted a 101 OPS+ with 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases, making 119 starts at the hot corner.

9) , SP, KC: Cameron earned the call to the Majors at the end of April to replace Kansas City’s injured ace, Cole Ragans. As it turns out, he could have bought a one-way plane ticket. Cameron carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his MLB debut and subsequently emerged as a rotation fixture, finishing the year with a 2.99 ERA in 24 starts. Despite below-average velocity, Cameron flourished with plus command and a wicked curveball. He became the third rookie to post a sub-3.00 ERA (min. 20 starts) in Royals franchise history.

10) , OF, MIA: Marsee didn’t make his MLB debut until Aug. 1, but he made an instant impact. He reached base four times in his debut, becoming the first Marlins player to do so in the first game of a career. Ultimately, the left-handed slugger hit .292/.363/.478 with a 132 OPS+ in just 55 games, finishing eighth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He earned NL Rookie of the Month honors in August, a month that featured a seven-RBI performance, which tied the franchise single-game record.

11) , 2B, MIN: In a lost year for the Twins, Keaschall became an unquestioned bright spot. Though limited to just 49 games due to injury, Keaschall hit .302/.382/.445 with a 128 OPS+, recording 14 steals and 18 extra-base hits. A second-round Draft pick in 2023, he began his career on an 11-game hitting streak, falling two shy of the Twins’ record.

12) , SP, MIL: With the exception of maybe Yesavage, no one burst onto the scene quite like The Miz. Equipped with premium velocity -- a fastball that sits at 99.3 mph and a slider that averages 94.1 mph -- Misiorowski became an overnight sensation. He opened his career with an 11-inning hitless streak, the longest by exclusively a starting pitcher to begin their career in the Modern Era (since 1900). He even earned an All-Star bid after five eye-popping starts. While Misiorowski finished the year with a 4.36 ERA, his underlying numbers -- like a 3.62 FIP and an 11.9 K/9 ratio -- are promising, as was the 1.50 ERA he posted in the postseason.

13) , OF, MIL: Originally a ninth-round pick of the Rockies in the 2019 Draft, Collins finally broke through in 2025. He hit .263/.368/.411 with a 118 OPS+ -- the third-best OPS+ on the Brewers, behind Brice Turang and Christian Yelich (min. 350 PA). Collins perfectly resembled Milwaukee’s pesky approach in the batter’s box, with a chase rate in the 98th percentile. He played above-average defense in left field, too, with +4 Outs Above Average. Collins was traded to the Royals in December.

14) , SP, CWS: The White Sox felt highly enough of Smith to make him the top pick in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft. Yet, even in their wildest imagination, they probably didn’t think that Smith would represent the organization at the Midsummer Classic. But that’s what happened, as Smith joined Dan Uggla as the only players in Major League history to make an All-Star team in the year after being selected in the Rule 5 Draft. The 25-year-old righty pitched to a 3.81 ERA in 29 starts.

15) , OF, WSH: Lile closed his rookie season on a tear, hitting .391/.440/.772 in September on his way to National League Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month honors. The 23-year-old became the first player since Willie Mays to record at least seven triples and six home runs in a calendar month (Mays accomplished the feat in June 1957). In 91 games, Lile hit .299 with a 137 OPS+ and 11 triples -- tied for the most in a single season in Nationals history (2005-present).

16) , SP, TEX: Leiter took a big step forward in 2025, emerging as a mainstay in one of the league’s best rotations. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 Draft made 29 starts and posted a 3.86 ERA, accumulating 2.3 fWAR, which was third most among rookie pitchers. The 25-year-old still throws hard -- with his fastball averaging 97 mph -- but he also revamped his arsenal in Spring Training, adding a kick changeup and a two-seam fastball to attack hitters in different ways.

17) , SP, NYY: Schlittler made a strong impression in 14 regular-season starts, posting a 2.96 ERA and overwhelming hitters with triple-digit heat. The Walpole, Mass., native etched himself into the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry with a masterpiece in Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series. He became the first pitcher in postseason history to throw at least eight scoreless innings with at least 12 strikeouts without permitting a walk -- all while vaulting the Bombers into the ALDS.

18) , C, MIA: Ramírez rewrote the Marlins’ franchise record books with a powerful rookie season. He launched 21 home runs with 55 extra-base hits and swiped 16 bases, becoming the first rookie in Miami history to reach 30-plus doubles, 20-plus homers and 10-plus steals in a single season. And the power was on display right away. Ramírez needed just 79 games to reach 15 career home runs, making him the second-fastest Marlins player to reach that mark in their first Major League season, behind Giancarlo Stanton.

19) , C, BOS: Though Narváez entered the season as Boston’s backup catcher, he quickly seized the starting job thanks to a legitimate two-way impact. He excelled defensively, posting a +12 Fielding Run Value that ranked in the 96th percentile of MLB. By that Statcast metric, Narváez was the third-best defensive catcher in baseball, behind Patrick Bailey and Alejandro Kirk. Narváez also showed plus pull-side power, launching 15 home runs as a league-average bat (100 OPS+).

20) , SP, NYM: McLean, New York’s top-ranked pitching prospect, did not make his MLB debut until Aug. 16. But the righty was well worth the wait. He arrived in Queens at a tenuous time, inserted into a reeling rotation as the Mets tried to stave off a second-half collapse. McLean certainly did his part to try to help turn the team around: He pitched to a 2.06 ERA and posted a 10.7 K/9 ratio in eight dynamic starts, with an uncanny ability to spin the baseball.

21) , C, CWS: The centerpiece of Chicago’s return package for Garrett Crochet, Teel looked the part after debuting in early June. His 121 OPS+ was sixth highest among primary catchers (defined as players with at least 50% of their games at catcher) to take at least 250 plate appearances. The No. 14 overall pick in the 2023 Draft, Teel finished the year with a .273/.375/.411 slash line.

22) , SP, CIN: The No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Burns took the fast track to the Majors. In 13 games, he pitched to a 4.57 ERA, but that number doesn’t quite tell the full story. Thanks in part to a four-seam fastball that averaged 98.7 mph, Burns recorded strikeouts aplenty. His 13.9 K/9 ratio was third highest among pitchers to throw at least 40 innings. At one point, he became the second Reds pitcher in the last 125 years to notch 10+ strikeouts in three straight starts.

23) , OF, TB: Simpson arrived in the Majors with a reputation for speed, fresh off the first 100-stolen base season in the Minors since 2012. He sure wreaked havoc on the bases for Tampa Bay, too. His 44 steals were tied for the second most in MLB, while his sprint speed graded out in the 97th percentile. He held his own at the plate, too, posting a .295 batting average in 441 plate appearances thanks to excellent bat-to-ball skills, including a 9.8% strikeout rate.

24) , SP, ATH: When the A’s acquired Jeffrey Springs from the Rays in December 2024, they also netted Lopez, a former 26th-round pick with eight career appearances in the Majors. As it turned out, Lopez emerged as a rotation mainstay, posting a 4.08 ERA in 21 games (17 starts). The funky left-hander doesn’t throw hard (his fastball averaged just 90.7 mph), and yet he racked up 113 strikeouts in 92 2/3 innings. His 28.3% strikeout rate ranked in the 85th percentile of MLB.

25) , SP/RP, LAD: Sasaki’s evolution into a lockdown closer in October was one of the best storylines from the 2025 season. The Japanese phenom struggled in his first taste of the Majors, pitching to a 4.72 ERA before spending four months on the IL with a shoulder injury. But in September, Sasaki overhauled his mechanics, regained velocity and returned to the Dodgers as a reliever -- and an entirely different player. He became the team’s go-to high-leverage option in the postseason, when he allowed just one run in 10 2/3 innings and helped lead L.A. to a World Series title.