Every October it seems like there’s a rookie who wows us on the postseason stage. Eight years ago, it was Jorge Soler, who recorded a rookie-record 1.705 OPS. In 2020, it was Randy Arozarena, who set an MLB record with 10 home runs in a single postseason. And last year it was Jeremy Peña, who became the fifth rookie to win LCS MVP honors and the third to win World Series MVP honors.

It appears as if that theme will ring true this postseason as well, as Tuesday’s four-game Wild Card Series slate featured plenty of head-turning performances from rookies who played beyond their years in their postseason debuts.

• MLB Pipeline | Top 100 prospects | Prospect video

Don’t believe us?

Here’s a look at the stats for all the rookie performers across the four games on Tuesday:
10-for-29, .345/.474/.724/1.198 OPS
2 2B
3 HR
6 RBI
21 TB
8 BB
9 K

And the veterans:
55-for-238, .231/.291/.315/.606 OPS
11 2B
3 HR
14 RBI
75 TB
20 BB
68 K

That’s right -- rookies slugged the same number of home runs as the veterans in 200 fewer at-bats than non-rookies.

• Rookie postseason stats

That youth movement was led by Minnesota’s Royce Lewis, Arizona’s Corbin Carroll and Texas’ Evan Carter -- all of whom picked up big hits in their respective team's Game 1 win. Here’s a quick look at how each player performed.

Royce Lewis, Twins
2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB
While Lewis missed the last two weeks of the regular season with a left hamstring strain, he was healthy enough to make the Twins’ roster, where he immediately introduced himself to October with a two-homer game against the Blue Jays. Lewis’ double-dinger showing came with some history as well, as he became the second Twins player to hit multiple homers in a postseason game (joining Gary Gaetti), and also became the third player in AL/NL history to homer in their first two postseason plate appearances, joining Gaetti and Evan Longoria.

Evan Carter, Rangers
2-for-2, 2B, 2 BB, SB
When Texas manager Bruce Bochy started to formulate the Rangers’ Game 1 lineup in his head, he initially thought about hitting Carter third, but decided to move him to ninth in the order so he didn’t put any more pressure on the 21-year-old. Carter responded by having a perfect day at the plate while also adding a fantastic catch in the outfield in the Rangers’ Game 1 win. At 21 years and 35 days, Carter is the second-youngest player in Rangers history to appear in a postseason game, older than only Jurickson Profar in the 2012 AL Wild Card Game (19 years, 228 days). Carter is also the second-youngest in franchise history with a postseason hit, behind Profar.

Corbin Carroll, D-backs
2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 BB
After serving as Arizona’s offensive catalyst all season, Carroll once again led the way in his postseason debut by rocking a two-run home run off Milwaukee ace Corbin Burnes that helped put the D-backs back into the game. Not only did Carroll become the fourth rookie in D-backs history to homer in the postseason, but he also became the youngest D-backs player to hit a postseason home run (23 years and 43 days old). Carroll helped pad the lead in the ninth inning when he reached on a walk and came around to score on Christian Walker’s game-breaking double.