SPORTS TODAY
Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin have been named the 2025 Rookies of the Year. Kurtz won the award unanimously following his monster debut season. In most other years, A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson or Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony would have taken home the hardware. They instead finished behind Kurtz. The National League class was stacked — Baldwin beat out the equally deserving Caleb Durbin (Brewers) and Cade Horton (Cubs).
No award gets you excited about the future the way Rookie of the Year does. It’s a young player being recognized for his greatness, and great young players are what sports hopes are built on. With that in mind, here’s a look ahead at the 2026 rookie class and, more importantly, who could be in the running for the 2026 Rookie of the Year awards.
MLB Rookie of the Year awards: Athletics’ Nick Kurtz takes home AL honors, Braves’ Drake Baldwin wins in NL
R.J. Anderson
SPORTS TODAY American League
C Samuel BasalloOrioles: The O’s believe so much in Basallo that they signed him to an eight-year, $67 million extension in August. The 21-year-old mostly struggled during his late-season cameo (.559 OPS in 31 games), though he’s already had two walk-off hits, and those 31 games were valuable experience. There’s something to be said for taking your lumps, learning what adjustments you have to make, and spending the offseason getting better. Basallo, who did not play enough to exhaust his rookie eligibility, figures to share catcher/DH duty with Adley Rutschmanin 2026, which could equal more playing time than the typical rookie catcher. That won’t hurt his Rookie of the Year chances.
SS Kevin McGonigleTigers: Arguably the best prospect in baseball, McGonigle slashed .305/.408/.583 with 19 home runs and more walks (59) than strikeouts (46) across three minor league levels in 2025. He has yet to reach Triple-A and the lack of minor-league seasoning could work against him, but teams increasingly view Triple-A as a pit stop more than a level to spend a full season for development. The shortstop position is wide open in Detroit. McGonigle may not make his MLB debut until June or July, though he wouldn’t be the first Rookie of the Year winner to play only half a season in the big leagues, or thereabouts.
RHP Trey YesavageBlue Jays: Baseball fans are already more than familiar with Yesavage given his postseason heroics. He made only three regular-season starts, however, and postseason play does not count toward rookie status, so Yesavage is still eligible for next year’s Rookie of the Year award. We’ve already seen how good he can be on the game’s biggest stage, and he’ll have the added advantage of not having to compete for a big-league job in spring training. We already know Yesavage will break camp in Toronto’s rotation. There’s a long way to go between now and then, but given what we know right now, Yesavage has to be considered the 2026 Rookie of the Year frontrunner.
SPORTS TODAY National League
RHP Bubba ChandlerPirates: The Pirates slow-played Chandler’s development this season, so much so that he admitted he was “mad” he was not called up sooner. He pitched well following his August debut, striking out 31 batters against only four walks in 31 ⅓ innings. Impressive command for a rookie, that is. Chandler, 23, neither pitched enough nor spent enough time in the big leagues to exhaust his rookie status. He’s eligible for the 2026 Rookie of the Year award and is likely to be part of Pittsburgh’s rotation right out of the gate on Opening Day.
RHP Nolan McLeanMets: McLean could’ve been the National League’s version of Yesavage in the postseason had the Mets, you know, made the postseason. The 24-year-old was impressive in his MLB debut this year, pitching to a 2.06 ERA with 57 strikeouts in eight starts and showing lively stuff with movement that can best be described as cartoonish. McLean threw 48 innings for the Mets, two fewer than the 50-inning rookie limit. He remains Rookie of the Year eligible going into next season and is certain to be in New York’s season-opening rotation. It’s not out of the question that McLean will start Opening Day in 2026.
IF JJ WetherholtCardinals: Arguably the best all-around prospect in the minors, Wetherholt hit .306/.421/.510 with 17 home runs and nearly as many walks (72) as strikeouts (73) in the minors this season. He played 47 games in Triple-A too. He’s knocking on the door. Wetherholt won’t unseat Winn Mass at shortstop but he shouldn’t have any trouble playing second or third. The only question is how the Cardinals will make room for him (Brendan Donovan trade?) and how soon they will do it. Wetherholt is about as close to MLB ready as a prospect can get.
SPORTS TODAY Mystery League
Several prominent Japanese veterans are expected to make their way over to MLB via the posting system this offseason. We don’t know where they will sign yet, but the rules say these players will be Rookie of the Year eligible regardless of their age or years of experience in Japan, so we’re going to include them here.
RHP Tatsuya Imai: Imai, 27, has been one of Japan’s top pitchers with the Seibu Lions the last few years, and this year he threw 163 ⅔ innings with 178 strikeouts and a 1.92 ERA. It’s the mid-to-upper-90s fastball with the usual deep array of secondary pitches you find with Japanese starters (slider, splitter, curveball, etc.). Imai is not the next Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He’s viewed as more of a mid-rotation starter with untapped potential than a plug-and-play ace. The Lions posted Imai this week.
3B Munetaka Murakami: The 25-year-old Murakami has been on the radar since his historic 56-homer season for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2022, which is the single-season record for a Japanese-born player. The years since have not been quite as dominant, and an oblique injury limited him to 69 games this season, but in that timeframe he hit 24 home runs. There are real questions about Murakami’s bat-to-ball ability (his 27.0% strikeout rate in 2025 was well north of the 19.5% league average) and his third base defense, but no one doubts the power. Murakami’s 45-day posting window closes Dec. 22.
1B/3B Kazuma Okamoto: Perhaps a safer bet to perform right away than Murakami, Okamoto has been one of the Japan’s top hitters the last decade. He hit .322/.411/.581 with 15 home runs in 77 games around a non-throwing elbow injury this year (it was a fluke injury suffered in a collision at first base) and has a history of big pull power and excellent contact rates. Okamoto is a bit older than Imai and Murakami (30 in June), which will be baked into the contract. The Yomiuri Giants have never posted a position player in their history (Hideki Matsui left as a free agent). Okamoto will be the first and could land with a team willing to stick with him at third base. He not yet been officially posted.
