The Rookies, 2025

We've reached one of my favorite weeks of the year--MLB Awards Week!  This year, they've expanded it even more and are announcing a whole bunch of other stuff with the MVPs on Thursday (personally, I think you should do all that before Awards Week and let the MVP especially have its own spotlight, but I digress).  And as always, Awards Week starts with the announcement of the AL and NL Rookies of the Year. 

Last season, both awards went to pitchers, the first time that had happened since 2011.  This season, there's a very realistic chance that we could see teammates go 1-2 in the AL.  That's happened eight times previously (including the aforementioned 2011 season), most recently in 2022.  It hasn't happened in the AL since 1984.  We saw Yankees Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres go 2-3 behind Shohei Ohtani in 2018, but this year's Athletics will one-up that and become the first rookie teammates to finish 1-2 in the voting in 40 years.

Jacob Wilson was the starting shortstop in the All*Star Game, the first AL rookie shortstop ever elected to start by the fans.  He went back-and-forth with Aaron Judge for the AL batting title all season and ended up finishing second with a .311 average.  Wilson also had 151 hits to lead all Major League rookies and struck out just 39 times all season.  He was the odds-on favorite at the start of the year and would ordinarily be an easy call as a runaway winner.  However...

Wilson's teammate Nick Kurtz put together a rookie season that was pretty special and maybe even more impressive.  Kurtz was drafted last year and called up on April 23 after just 32 Minor League games.  All he did was hit .290 with 36 home runs and 86 RBIs, both of which led all Major League rookies.  Kurtz also scored 90 runs.  Those numbers could earn him some down-ballot MVP votes and should just give him the edge over Wilson in Rookie of the Year voting.

The third finalist (aka the guy who finished third in the voting) was a bit of a surprise--Boston's Roman Anthony.  He was only called up in June and played in just 71 games before getting hurt in early September.  The Red Sox went 40-26 in the 66 games he started.  It wasn't just Anthony, it was all those rookies who got called up in the middle of the season.  But Anthony's numbers definitely stand out.  A .292 average and a consistent bat from either corner outfield spot.

Although, for me, Anthony isn't the Red Sox rookie I would've chosen.  I would've gone with catcher Carlos Narvaez.  He ended up wresting away the starting catcher job and played 118 games behind the plate.  Narvaez led all MLB rookies with 27 doubles and added 15 homers.  That's more extra base hits than any rookie other than Kurtz.  While playing catcher.

And let's not forget Will Warren.  He ended up in the Yankees' Opening Day rotation out of necessity, yet he became one of their most consistent starters.  Warren actually tied for the Major League lead with 33 starts and finished the year 9-8.  He pitched much better than his 4.44 ERA, which was mainly the result of a few bad starts.

In the National League, the rookie sensation pitcher this season was the Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski.  He won't follow in Paul Skenes' footsteps and win the Rookie of the Year, though.  But his Milwaukee teammate Caleb Durbin just might.  When Durbin was called up in late April, the Brewers took off.  He was a big reason why.  Durbin stabilized third base and led all NL rookies with 18 stolen bases while belting 114 hits, which included 25 doubles and 11 homers.

Atlanta's Drake Baldwin, meanwhile, put his team in a very interesting predicament.  The Braves already had a starting catcher in Sean Murphy, but Baldwin made it impossible to keep him out of the lineup.  So, he and Murphy ended up splitting catcher and DH duties for most of the season.  Baldwin finished with 19 homers and 80 RBIs while hitting .274.  The fact that he was in the Majors all season is significant, too.

Then there's Cade Horton of the Cubs.  He was called up in May and made 22 starts before a season-ending injury prevented him from pitching in the Wild Card Series.  Horton's numbers (11-4, 2.67 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) were impressive enough before you consider his historically good second half.  From July 11 on, Horton had a ridiculous 1.03 ERA and allowed zero or one run in 12 of 14 starts.  That's Cy Young-caliber pitching!

Agustin Ramirez of the Marlins deserves some consideration, too.  His 124 hits, 33 doubles, 67 RBIs and 72 runs scored were all the most among National League rookies.  Like Baldwin, he was in the Majors all season.  Like Baldwin, he played a premium position--catcher.  Like Durbin, he ended up on his current team after being traded by the Yankees (in this case, the Jazz Chisholm trade, in Durbin's, the Devin Williams trade).

It's really difficult to see how this'll go.  I can see any of the three being the National League winner in what looks like it'll be a very close vote.  I'm not even really sure there's a favorite for NL Rookie of the Year.  So, it's hard to even handicap the race.  It's not like in the AL, where it's a pretty easy call to say the Rookie of the Year played in Sacramento.

If I had a vote in the National League, where would it go, though?  Out of the three finalists, I think I'd give Drake Baldwin the nod.  Atlanta's disappointing season wasn't his fault and his numbers are better than the other two finalists.  I'd actually put Horton at No. 2, with Durbin at No. 3 and Ramirez No. 4.

As for which A gets it in the American League, I've been thinking Wilson all along.  Kurtz's numbers really blow his away, though.  In any other year, I'd say Wilson no question, but I'm putting Kurtz first and Wilson second.  My third-place vote doesn't go to Roman Anthony, however.  It goes to Will Warren, who I suspect finished fourth in the voting.