There is little doubt that the MLB talent pool is improving every year. Even today’s rookies are making it faster to the big leagues than ever before in league history.
The players are bigger, faster, and stronger, which allows them less time to be called up to baseball’s grandest stage.
There are still cases where a player may be ready to join an MLB team, but there’s no opening due to another starter already holding down that position.
Let’s look at the Rookie of the Year Candidates for 2025. We will start with the American League first:
Wilson was drafted sixth overall by the Athletics in the 2023 MLB Draft and enjoyed the last two years the team was in Oakland.
He is for sure among the leaders in the clubhouse for all of the rookies in the MLB. The Athletics’ rookie boasts a .366 batting average with a .922 OPS with eight home runs. Since the beginning of May, he has had 24 multi-hit games, with three of them including four hits.
While he might never be on the Aaron Judge type of level, Wilson continues to improve on his .250 batting average from 2024.
What makes Wilson an impressive choice for Rookie of the Year is the fact that he hits for average, along with great power and speed for a shortstop.
If he keeps working on being a complete all-around player, especially on defense, look for the talented shortstop to potentially be the AL ROY Candidate for 2025.
The 24-year-old is among the many rookies benefiting from the organization’s move from Oakland to Sacramento. If he is lucky, he may be able to stay on the A’s in 2028 when they expect to move into Las Vegas.
On paper, organizations can picture Dominguez as the perfect MLB rookie. The 22-year-old has paid his dues since making his MLB debut at age 20 in late 2023.
He was initially acquired in 2019 as an international signing at the age of 16. The switch-hitter began making a name for himself and rose through the minor league system.
Last year in the minors, “The Martian” batted a remarkable .309 in Triple-A with the Scranton Wilkes Barre Railriders before being recalled up to the Yankees in September.
In his first full season in pinstripes, the native Dominican has posted solid numbers for a rookie on a minimum salary. He’s batting a respectable .246 with six home runs and 25 RBIs, and his .742 OPS is no slouch either.
Dominguez has earned this honor due to his hitting power and his improvement on defense, particularly at left field. He most likely hits just as well as any major leaguer from the left side of the plate, and still has to correct his hitting from the right side.
If the rookie turns into more of a complete hitter in the second half of the season, with more games played, he could be unstoppable and become that replacement for Juan Soto. In having those kinds of numbers in your repertoire, an AL ROY Candidate nomination would definitely be in his cards.
The Yankees did the rookie catcher more than just a favor. They revised his professional career, to say the least.
Narvaez was born on Nov. 26, 1998 in Maracay, Venezuela. His teammates nicknamed him “Narvdog” for his tough, hard-nosed style of hitting. His intense work ethic makes everybody love playing with him.
Last season, the then 25-year-old catcher batted .254, hitting 20 doubles and 11 homers. He also hit 58 RBIs in 96 games for Triple-A Scranton.
As a reward, Narvaez was called up to the Yankees and batted .231 in only six games. While he was a nice young player to have, there would never be a moment when he would be the number one catcher in New York due to the rise of another young catcher, Austin Wells.
Therefore, the Bombers dealt him to the Boston Red Sox for a strong-armed righty pitcher prospect named Elmer-Rodriguez-Cruz.
After starting in the Sox Organization at the team’s No. 29 prospect and backup catcher to Connor Wong, Narvaez was placed into the starting lineup after Wong fractured his left pinky finger on April 7.
This season has been extraordinary. The talented catcher is hitting .281 with six home runs and an .815 OPS.
Narvdog should be considered for the AL ROY Candidate. After all, he never would have had this chance had the Yankees not traded him to the Red Sox.
What type of soup are they eating at Fenway Park these days? Well, they’re definitely hungry for a dose of Kristian Campbell’s Chunky Soup with New England Clam Chowder on the side.
Campbell made his debut for the Sox on opening day in 2025 and hasn’t looked back on it since.
He was born on June 28, 2002, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Red Sox drafted him in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
It only took him a couple of years, but now, he’s been earning more playing time and drawing more attention nationally from the baseball media.
This young man is another one of the top young guns in the Red Sox organization, well deserving of the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Campbell is currently batting .232 with six home runs and a .684 OPS.
He is also very athletic and versatile. He plays his natural second base position very well, but he can also move over to centerfield and try to channel his inner Johnny Damon (without the caveman beard).
Campbell should win this award because of his defensive versatility and his speed around the base path. His batting average will come, as long as he gives himself a chance to showcase his wheels by just getting on base.
Kurtz is another young buck from the A’s organization capitalizing on early time in the Major Leagues.
He was born on March 12, 2003, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Athletics selected Kurtz fourth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, and he debuted this season in 2025.
He’s already hitting .235 with five home runs and a .732 OPS.
While Kurtz is still fine-tuning his offense, he’s already a decent defender on the field, as he can play first base and the outfield.
The 22-year-old is only going to get bigger, faster, and more mature as his career goes on, and if he keeps chugging along, his growth will be why he’s in consideration for AL ROY Candidate.
Now let’s move on to the National League:
The Dodgers make great use of their dollar by signing this international delight. By international delight, I don’t mean the coffee creamer. Sasaki, who is from Japan, has been a joy to watch in his MLB debut.
Sasaki was born on November 3, 2001, in Rikuzentakata, Japan. He debuted in the big leagues with the Dodgers on March 29, 2025, in Japan vs. the Chicago Cubs.
He once threw a wicked 102.5 mph fastball in 2023 and boasts a nasty 88-90 mph splitter pitch, making him a complete ace in the City of Angels. The incredible pitcher may even be a better Rookie of the Year Candidate than former Red Sox Japanese import Daisuke Matsuzaka was back in 2007.
The 23-year-old also has a strong case for the NL ROY Candidate due to his nasty stuff and complete control of the strike zone as a pitcher.
What Crews brings to the cards that most of these other rookies don’t is his past MLB experience from last year.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and former college teammate of Paul Skenes at LSU definitely made Nationals fans excited about his chances to reach the big club.
Both Skenes and Crews were taken back-to-back with the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the 2023 MLB Draft.
Crews was born on February 26, 2002, in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
He also drew excitement from their Triple-A farm team and my local minor league team, the Rochester Red Wings.
By July of last year, Crews had already made it to the Red Wings and earned his first professional call-up last season in September.
This year is his first full MLB season, as he brings a complete skill set in a small package. The 23-year-old is naturally a gifted athlete with 37 stolen bases in three levels last year, and he has a very powerful bat that will make him a superstar in the MLB.
If the young Nationals keep developing their team, then this core should be named “Crews” Control.
While Crews may only be batting .196, the fact that he made it to the MLB in the timeline that he did is rewarding for all his hard work and dedication to the game of baseball.
The skilled athlete excels best on the base paths as he’s so fast and athletic, he’s harder to catch than a running refrigerator. Look for the exciting outfielder to get many NL ROY votes this season.
Kim is in the same category as Sosaki, and if he weren’t playing on a Dodgers team that is drafted like a fantasy squad, he would be a Rookie of the Year Candidate, a shoo-in.
Kim was born on January 27, 1999, in Goyang, South Korea.
The 26-year-old has been playing in a utility role since his debut on May 3. He currently plays second base, shortstop, and center field and makes a deafening noise during everyday play.
He’s also batting .410 with two home runs and a 1.028 OPS.
With a batting average and OPS like Kim’s, and his intense play on the field, it’s no wonder that he should be up for the NL ROY Candidate award.
If he doesn’t earn Rookie of the Year, it will be due to circumstances rather than production.
When he was a prospect in the Bronx last year, one of the New York Yankees’ coaches praised Ramirez as a hopeful “generational player.”
The Yankees traded the young catcher to the Miami Marlins for Jazz Chisholm Jr. Ramirez made his MLB debut with the Marlins on April 21, 2025.
While the early investments worked out better for the Yankees, they made the World Series with Chisholm. Ramírez is now part of a young core of rookie hopefuls earning their time in South Florida.
He’s batting .238 with eight home runs and a .751 OPS. The standout catcher is finally at peace with being one of the best players on the Marlins, rather than an organizational depth piece on the Yankees.
The 23-year-old is a strong choice for Rookie of the Year, as he is a multi-talented player who wants to improve his team.
Look for the talented rookie who leads his team to pick up many votes for the NL ROY this season.
Agnos is the top rookie pitcher in the league with four saves and has closed out 33% of the Colorado Rockies’ victories this season.
The reliable relief pitcher was selected by the Rockies in the 10th round of the 2022 MLB Draft while playing college ball with the East Carolina Pirates (2020-2022). Agnos is a former two-way player.
He has also limited the other teams’ batters to a .095 average with his cutter, while backing that up with a splitter that has created a 40.0 percent swing and miss rate.
The 24-year-old boasts a respectable 2.70 ERA and has been one of the bright spots on a young but historically awful Rockies team.
Look for Agnos to get some NL ROY votes for being a saving grace on a team with a poor record.
While these may have been very early predictions, remember that baseball is a 162-game season, and stats and player movement can change before and after the trade deadline.
But for right now, these are the 2025 MLB AL and NL Rookie of the Year Candidates pending changes after the 2025 season is in the rearview mirror.
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