Top 20 MLB Rookies For 2025
Image credit: Roki Sasaki (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
Rookies and other young players are the lifeblood of an organization.
It’s just hard to know which ones will click right away, and which ones will require additional lessons while learning on the job against MLB competition.
But that doesn’t stop us from trying to forecast this year’s top rookies. Here we rank our top 20 based on how we think they’ll perform in the 2025 season.
Consider this version 1.0 of our rookie ranking, with a late spring training update to follow.
1. Roki Sasaki, RHP, Dodgers
Age: 23
What To Know: Led by Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and now Sasaki, the Dodgers have more Japanese starpower than any team outside the NPB. Sasaki is the best pitching prospect in the world, one capable of sitting 96-100 mph and backing his heater with a plus slider and elite splitter. He throws a ton of strikes and should instantly be an effective MLB starter—and possibly a top-of-rotation one.
Key Number: 102 — The peak velocity in miles per hour that Sasaki recorded—with remarkably little effort—while pitching for Chiba Lotte in Japan.
2. Dylan Crews, OF, Nationals
Age: 23
What To Know: Crews zoomed from No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft to his MLB debut in August 2024. Now, he has a clear path to the right field job in Washington for the next six seasons, and maybe more. Crews does a little bit of everything well and is a big part of the Nationals’ future core, along with James Wood, CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore.
Key Number: 5 — The number of above-average tools—or better—credited to Crews. The Tigers’ Max Clark is the only other hitter in the 2025 Prospect Handbook who can say the same.
3. Jackson Jobe, RHP, Tigers
Age: 22
What To Know: Drafted third overall in 2021, Jobe turned in his first mostly healthy season on the farm in 2024 and made his MLB debut in September, even making two postseason appearances. He added a curveball this season to go with his sweeper, cutter and changeup, and his wide arsenal of swing-and-miss pitches gives him a good chance to adapt quickly.
Key Number: 3 — The number of above-average secondary pitches, according to the Stuff+ model at FanGraphs.com, thrown by Jobe in his brief MLB debut.
4. Kristian Campbell, 2B, Red Sox
Age: 23
What To Know: Red Sox hitting development helped turn Campbell from a nondescript 2023 fourth-rounder out of Georgia Tech into one of the top prospects in the game a year later. Now, he has a good chance to factor for a Boston lineup that could use a righthanded bat and a long-term second baseman.
Key Number: .997 — The OPS compiled by Campbell in his Minor League Player of the Year season in 2024. Only one qualified hitter outpaced him.
5. Matt Shaw, 3B, Cubs
Age: 23
What To Know: Following a 21-homer, 31-steal season in the upper minors last year, Shaw is ready for his rollout as the Cubs’ third baseman this season. If the natural shortstop can stick at the hot corner, he will help solidify a deep, balanced Chicago lineup that has been infused with Kyle Tucker this season.
Key Number: 13 — The overall pick number the Cubs used to draft Shaw in 2023, making him the highest-drafted player in Maryland program history.
6. Jasson Dominguez, OF, Yankees
Age: 22
What To Know: Dominguez burst on the MLB season late in 2023 when he homered off Justin Verlander in his first at-bat. But then he spent most of 2024 working his way back to the Bronx as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Now, the switch-hitter has a clear path to everyday reps in left field.
Key Number: 6 — The number of times Dominguez has ranked as a top prospect for the Yankees. He lost 2020 to the pandemic and half of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
7. Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics
Age: 23
What To Know: About a year after being drafted sixth overall in 2023, Wilson made his MLB debut for the A’s. On his way to Oakland, he hit .433 with a 6.6% strikeout rate in the upper minors. A hamstring injury sidelined him in MLB and keeps him rookie eligible for 2025, when he will make plenty of contact and play shortstop every day for the A’s.
Key Number: 9.7% — The strikeout rate Wilson recorded in his 2024 MLB debut, the fifth-lowest by any batter with at least 100 plate appearances.
8. Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox
Age: 21
What To Know: Anthony ascended to No. 1 overall prospect status last summer and fell out of the top spot only when Roki Sasaki signed with an MLB club. Anthony is the youngest player to rank in the top 20, so he faces the steepest learning curve—but his power-and-patience approach and lefthanded bat seem tailor-made for a big league outfield.
Key Number: 116 — The max exit velocity in miles per hour recorded on a batted ball by Anthony in the minor leagues last season. No Top 100 Prospect hitter struck one harder.
9. Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pirates
Age: 22
What To Know: A two-way star in high school who initially tried to play both ways as a pro, Chandler has steadily risen in stature as a pitching prospect since focusing his time on the mound. Now, he’s ready to bring his elite fastball and strong secondary stuff to a Pirates rotation that saw Paul Skenes and Jared Jones debut last year.
Key Number: 96.8 — The average four-seam fastball velocity for Chandler in miles per hour last season in the minor leagues. Only Jacob Misiorowski threw harder among those who threw the pitch at least 1,000 times.
10. Chase Dollander, RHP, Rockies
Age: 23
What To Know: Let’s get the bad news out of the way first: Dollander will make half his starts in Coors Field. Now, for the good news: He is the best pitching prospect the Rockies have ever developed. Dollander has the type of power stuff and wide arsenal that portends success at sea level—or above.
Key Number: 8 — Dollander’s rank on the 2025 Top 100 Prospects, which ties Franklin Morales in 2008 for the highest ever for a Rockies pitching prospect.
11. Kumar Rocker, RHP, Rangers
Age: 25
What To Know: Rocker had Tommy John surgery in 2023, but he didn’t let that slow his ascent to the big leagues. The third overall pick in 2022 required just 65 total minor league innings before making his MLB debut last September. Rocker throws hard, throws strikes and owns one of the best sliders in the business. He has the goods to be a No. 4 starter or better.
Key Number: 40.6% — The swinging-strike rate against Rocker’s slider by minor league hitters in 2024, the highest for any pitcher to throw at least 100 sliders.
12. Drake Baldwin, C, Braves
Age: 24
What To Know: The Braves bid adieu to part-time catcher Travis d’Arnaud in the offseason, clearing the way for Baldwin to win a share of Atlanta’s catching job with Sean Murphy. The lefthanded-hitting Baldwin did his best to prove he was ready in the upper minors last year by getting on base, hitting for power and improving his work behind the plate.
Key Number: .407 — Baldwin’s on-base percentage at Gwinnett last season. Only one Triple-A catcher had a higher mark at the 300 plate appearance threshold.
13. Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies
Age: 22
What T Know: Painter turned in an all-time season in 2022, reaching Double-A as a 19-year-old and recording a 1.56 ERA at three stops. Elbow trouble and eventual Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2023 and 2024 seasons, but he made a triumphant return in the Arizona Fall League. Now, the Phillies are targeting July to unleash Painter’s deadly pitch mix on MLB hitters.
Key Number: 15.2 — The number of innings Painter threw in the 2024 Arizona Fall League, his first official game action since his last start for Double-A Reading on Sept. 16, 2022.
14. Colson Montgomery, SS, White Sox
Age: 23
What To Know: Montgomery looked out of sync at the plate for much of 2024 at Triple-A, but he appeared to right the ship in September and on into the Arizona Fall League. If those gains hold, he has the inside track to most of the shortstop reps in Chicago for the rebuilding White Sox. Power is his calling card, but he’s a sturdy shortstop defender as well.
Key Number: 130 — Number of games played by Montgomery last season at Triple-A to pave the way for his 2025 rookie year. It was his first full, healthy pro season.
15. AJ Smith-Shawver, RHP, Braves
Age: 22
What To Know: A one-time high school teammate of Bobby Witt Jr., Smith-Shawver made his MLB debut as a 20-year-old in 2023. He spent most of 2024 at Triple-A, but it was not time wasted. Smith-Shawver truly refined a changeup to go with his fastball, slider and cutter. Now, he is vying for rotation innings in Atlanta.
Key Number: 1,127 — The amount of spin, measured in revolutions per minute, on Smith-Shawver’s changeup in the minor leagues last season, one of the top 20 lowest—or best—readings among pitchers to throw at least 100 changeups.
16. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Brewers
Age: 23
What To Know: The Brewers developed the power-armed Misiorowski as a starter through Double-A before setting him loose as a reliever at Triple-A late in the 2024 season. He allowed just five hits in 14 appearances for Nashville while unleashing a fastball up to 100 mph and wicked breaking stuff. Misiorowski should be a big factor in the Milwaukee bullpen this season.
Key Number: 7.4 — The elite extension, measured in feet, that Misiorowski gets off the rubber, positioning him that much closer to the hitter, thus making his filthy stuff that much more difficult to hit.
17. Quinn Mathews, LHP, Cardinals
Age: 24
What To Know: Drafted in the fourth round out of Stanford in 2023, Mathews defied all expectations in 2024 by climbing from Low-A to Triple-A and winning Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors. Adding power to his fastball keyed Mathews’ rise, but his secondary pitches and plus control give him a chance to succeed as a rookie starter.
Key Number: 202 — Number of minor league-leading strikeouts registered by Mathews in 2024, one of just 13 seasons of at least 200 strikeouts in a minor league season since 2000.
18. Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics
Age: 22
What To Know: The Athletics drafted Kurtz fourth overall out of Wake Forest in July, pushed him to Double-A by the end of August and then had him raking in the Arizona Fall League. If he hits in the minor leagues at the outset of 2025, he will get an MLB look for the upstart A’s in relatively short order.
Key Number: 1.283 — Kurtz’s OPS in pro ball last summer in a scant 12-game sample up to Double-A. He also put up a 1.058 OPS in 13 Arizona Fall League games.
19. Rhett Lowder, RHP, Reds
Age: 23
What To Know: Drafted seventh overall in 2023 out of Wake Forest, Lowder finished 2024 in the big leagues and stands poised for a larger role in 2025. Lacking premium velocity or movement, he relies on hitting his spots and avoiding opponents’ barrels. The touch on his pitches could make him a midrotation option as soon as this season.
Key Number: 1.17 — Lowder’s ERA in six starts as a callup to Cincinnati last year. That was the lowest ERA by a Reds debut since Tom Browning posted a 0.95 ERA in his first six starts between 1984 and 1985.
20. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Twins
Age: 22
What To Know: Rodriguez produces numbers that look like misprints. In 2024 he posted a .459 on-base percentage via 51 walks in 47 games, mostly at Double-A, and he hits the ball as hard as any prospect. Health is Rodriguez’s bugaboo. He has topped 50 games in only one of his four pro seasons. If he stays on the field this year, he probably will make his MLB debut.
Key Number: 110.5 — The 90th percentile exit velocity in miles per hour recorded by Rodriguez in the minor leagues last season. That was tops among Top 100 Prospects hitters.
