With the 2025 MLB season roughly a quarter of the way through, enough games have been played to realistically start evaluating players. Of course, things will shake up as the season goes on, but this is enough to go off of for now. Even though well over 100 games are left in the season, it isn’t too early for MLB Award Predictions.
Of the four major American sports leagues, the MLB by far gives out the most end-of-season awards, largely due to each position being recognized. As fun as it would be to look at potential Gold Glovers for each position, that would be a bit tedious. Thus, today’s focus will be on the Rookies Of The Year, Cy Youngs, and MVPs.
The Athletics are having one of their most memorable season in recent history (not that that means a lot), boasting a winning record halfway through May. This is in large part due to the numerous players having great years offensively, one of which being Shortstop Jacob Wilson.
Wilson appeared in 28 games last year in September, posting decent numbers across the board. Looking to build off his Major’s debut, Wilson came out of the gates on fire this year. The shortstop has appeared in 41 of 43 games this season, posting a batting average of .354, good for third-best in the league among qualified hitters. This high contact has come with power as well, as Wilson has an OPS of .880 as well as five home runs.
It’s unlikely Wilson can hit above .350 the entire year, but the young buck has been a cornerstone for a young team looking to get back to winning. If he’s able to keep up play remotely close to what he’s doing now, AL Rookie Of The Year is his award to lose.
Other Notable Candidates: Kristian Campbell (BOS), Jasson Dominguez (NYY)
The Atlanta Braves are having as rough a start as anyone (for their standards), but AJ Smith-Shawver has been a bright spot this year. Somehow on a roster with last year’s Cy Young winner, a 22 year-old has been the best pitcher in the rotation.
Smith-Shawver has started seven games for Atlanta so far, with the team winning five of those matches. The rookie has only allowed 10 earned runs through 38.2 innings, good for a 2.33 ERA. Each outing has been consistent as well, with opponents never managing more than three earned runs against Smith-Shawver, with most starts well under that.
Smith-Shawver hasn’t been talked about nearly enough, likely due to the rough start the Braves have had this season. Whether Atlanta starts winning or not, there’s no denying the dominant start to the year the young pitcher has had.
Other Notable Candidates: Augustin Ramirez (MIA), Luisangel Acuna (NYM)
The AL Cy Young may be the hardest award to predict, as the AL has been loaded with pitching talent. Still, one pitcher stands above the rest, and that’s the Yankees’ Max Fried.
Only a few weeks before the 2025 season began, the reigning AL champions Yankees suffered a brutal blow. Former Cy Young winner and ace Gerrit Cole was announced out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. For a team with already questionable rotation depth looking to make another postseason run, things looked grim, until Fried stepped up.
Fried has been nothing short of dominant this year, already accumulating a 6-0 record while posting an absurd 1.11 ERA, good for best in the league. Among the pitcher’s nine starts, he’s allowed multiple runs only twice, with four of his outings allowing no earned runs. The Yankees were undefeated in games Fried started up until May 13, when he allowed just one run in a 2-1 loss to Seattle. The top pitchers in the AL have been good to start the year, but Fried has been great.
Other Notable Candidates: Hunter Brown (HOU), Garrett Crochet (BOS)
The Mets made a surprise playoff run last season after narrowly clinching a wildcard spot on the final day of the regular season. After signing superstar Juan Soto, the goal this year is to make it all the way. The lineup card may be stacked in Citi Field, but that isn’t to say the starting pitching hasn’t been elite either, led by Kodai Senga.
Senga missed almost the entirety of 2024 with multiple injuries, but has bounced back stronger than ever. The Japanese native has started eight games in 2025 so far, posting a 1.22 ERA, second best in the league. Half of his starts have kept opponents scoreless, while he’s only allowed six total runs the entire season thus far. His strikeouts and WHIP are nothing too crazy, but pitching for contact has helped him keep his pitch count low.
Expectations were high for the 2023 Rookie Of The Year finalists, but no one could have expected such a dominant start to Senga’s 2025 campaign.
Other Notable Candidates: Jesus Luzardo (PHI), Hunter Greene (CIN)
Come on, who else could possibly be here besides Aaron Judge? Sure, other players are having great years, but they’re all competing for runner-up at this point.
These may be extremely early predictions, but this one can already be chalked up. Judge is not only tied for the league lead in home runs at 15, but is batting at a rate of .412(!) this season. It’s rare a player is able to hit over .400 this long into the season, but to do it with this level of power is unheard of. For reference, Judge is averaging 1.5 bases per plate appearance, meaning it is statistically smarter to walk judge than to pitch to him.
The public can make fun of Judge as much as they want for his drop in the World Series, but there’s no denying his greatness. With a 3.7 WAR already this season, the sky truly is the limit for the reigning MVP.
Other Notable Candidates: Bobby Whitt Jr. (KC), Alex Bregman (BOS)
Yeah, yeah, picking the reigning MVPs to repeat isn’t fun, but it’s highly likely. Shohei was the runaway MVP last year, and now he’s matching his totals from 2024, as well as getting ready to pitch after the all-star break.
Ohtani is doing everything expected of him, as he’s once again hitting well over .300 and tied for the league lead in home runs. He’s also been a threat on the bases, accumulating 10 stolen bags already. While other players can come somewhat close to matching his hitting, his versatility sets him apart. Ohtani will look to take the mound again in July for the first time since 2023, when he posted a 3.14 ERA. Being able to add elite pitching on top of his elite hitting makes it too tall of a task for anyone to steal the MVP away.
Other Notable Candidates: Corbin Carroll (ARI), Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD)
The dog days of the 2025 MLB are still to come, but early predictions have never hurt anyone. With plenty of games left, these awards can still go to anyone. Regardless, there’s no denying the strong start these six players have had to start the year. Whether the early favorites can maintain their leads, or if dark horse candidates can steal the awards away, only time will tell.
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