MLB Rookie Of The Year Races: JJ Wetherholt, Kevin McGonigle Set The Early Pace

Munetaka Murakami’s home-run party has been put on hold as he deals with a hamstring injury, but the Rookie of the Year race continues forward in what should be an interesting battle the rest of the way. From World Baseball Classic standouts to phenom middle infielders to surprising stars on the mound, the game is clearly in a good place when it comes to young talent. After breaking down the Cy Young race at the end of May, here’s our way-too-early check-in on the top AL and NL Rookie of the Year award contenders: AMERICAN LEAGUE The Frontrunner By wins above replacement, the 21-year-old has been the most valuable rookie in MLB. In fact, McGonigle and Kansas City Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. are the only MLB shortstops worth more than 3.0 bWAR this year. McGonigle leads all rookies in hits and on-base percentage, ranks second in doubles and OPS and has more walks than strikeouts on the season. The Contenders The polarizing NPB star has given the White Sox everything they could have hoped for while catalyzing Chicago’s terrific start to the season. The embodiment of a three-true-outcome slugger, Murakami ranks third in MLB in home runs and also has the fifth-highest strikeout rate and fourth-highest walk rate among all qualified hitters. Add it all up, and he has been the most productive rookie hitter in MLB. However, his hamstring strain could put a … well, strain … on his Rookie of the Year hopes. One of many Cleveland ROY contenders, Messick has the distinctive honor of also possibly challenging for a Cy Young Award. He has been the most productive rookie pitcher in baseball and ranks third among all qualified AL starters in ERA behind only Cam Schlittler and Nick Martinez. Messick has earned his way to this point, picking up wins against the Dodgers, Braves and Phillies among his six victories. Basallo is a bit banged up, but the 21-year-old slugger ranks second in slugging, third in homers and fourth in OPS among all qualified AL hitters. He is prone to chase and whiff, but his quality of contact is among the best of any rookie in MLB. He ranks in the top 30 among all qualified hitters in average exit velocity. He doesn’t have the power of his teammate on the list, Murakami, but Peters should be getting more attention in the ROY race. Acquired for cash considerations from the Rays, the 2021 seventh-round pick of the Brewers is taking advantage of his first extended MLB action. He leads all qualified AL rookies in batting average, ranks third among AL rookie position players in both bWAR and fWAR and brings elite center field defense. Bazzana got a late start compared to his fellow Cleveland teammates on this list, so his counting stats lag behind other top contenders. But the top prospect is making the most of his opportunity. He has an OPS near .800 and is already tied for the AL rookie lead in stolen bases in just 37 games. If Everything Breaks Right Since his electric start, during which he joined Trevor Story as the only two players in MLB history with four home runs through their first three regular-season games, DeLauter has just three home runs over his past 60 games. He’s now hitting only slightly above league average, but his elite plate discipline and strong underlying numbers suggest better days ahead. Tolle began the year at Triple-A, but he shouldn’t be going back anytime soon. He struck out 11 batters and allowed one run to the Yankees over six innings in his first start of the year on April 23 and hasn’t looked back, registering the lowest ERA (2.28), WHIP (0.97) and opponents’ batting average (.192) and the highest strikeout rate (27.3%) of any qualified AL rookie starter over his eight starts this season. For both Tolle and Yesavage, if they can build on their short sample so far, they’ll put themselves in the Rookie of the Year conversation. We’ve already seen the potential for Yesavage, the 2025 postseason standout who had a 2.84 ERA over three World Series appearances. A shoulder issue delayed his start to the year, but he has a 3.16 ERA through eight starts. Okamoto trails only fellow NPB standout Murakami for the most home runs and RBIs by a rookie this year. Okamoto has run hot and cold in his first MLB season — he’s only hitting slightly above league average overall — but he has caught fire in June again. He’s hitting over .400 in his first six games of the month and is consistently making hard contact, but he will likely need to cut down his 31.9% strikeout rate if he hopes to make a run at the top rookie award. AL Honorable Mentions: Sam Antonacci, 2B/OF, Chicago White Sox; Connelly Early, SP, Boston Red Sox; Brandon Valenzuela, C, Toronto Blue Jays; Colt Emerson, SS/3B, Seattle Mariners NATIONAL LEAGUE The Frontrunner By WAR, the Cardinals’ 2024 first-round pick is lapping the National League field. Wetherholt provides value across the board, hitting well above league average, running the bases well and leading all MLB second basemen defensively in outs above average. His .358 on-base percentage is the highest mark among all qualified NL rookies. The Contenders Stewart has cooled off since his blistering start — he had an OPS over 1.000 through his first 27 games — but he still leads all qualified NL rookies in most offensive categories, including hits (62), home runs (12), doubles (13), RBI (40), slugging (.455) and OPS (.803). He has also stolen 10 bases, adding some value on the basepaths in addition to his power. The Pirates’ wunderkind, the top prospect in all of baseball at the time of his call-up on April 3, struggled out of the gate — not that surprising, considering he was 19 years old at the time — but was starting to find his groove when he hit the injured list with a forearm strain. Griffin hit over .300 in May and currently leads all NL rookies with 14 stolen bases, though he remains sidelined with his arm injury. One of the favorites to win the Rookie of the Year honor after starring late last season, McLean had an ERA over 4.00 at the end of May. But that mark is down to 3.98, and McLean leads all NL rookie pitchers in strikeouts (82) and fWAR (1.2). His expected ERA is even better this year than it was last year, suggesting better days ahead. Expect him to challenge for the top NL honor by year’s end. After a dreadful start to the year offensively, Benge is turning it on. He had a five-hit day Sunday while finishing a double short of the cycle and is batting .328 since May 3. Benge is tied for second among NL rookies in hits and steals, and the underlying numbers support the surge. If Everything Breaks Right Rumfield had the highest OPS among qualified NL rookies in May and took home Rookie of the Month honors. He ranks second among NL rookies in hits, slugging and OPS and is third in RBIs. It’s a bit bizarre to have a 30-year-old here, but the veteran lefty still has rookie status after spending the past three years in Japan. Griffin is 7-2 with a 3.63 ERA in his first year back stateside, already tallying more than twice as many wins as the next closest NL rookie starter. He leads all qualified NL rookies in WHIP and has been effective despite a four-seamer that sits in the low 90s. Waldschmidt didn’t make his MLB debut until May 8, but the 2024 first-round pick hit over .300 through his first 19 games. He has fallen back down to earth over the past week and is still looking for his first home run, but the speedy outfielder leads all qualified NL rookie hitters with a .278 batting average. Eldridge is not yet qualified with fewer than 100 plate appearances to this point, but Giants manager Tony Vitello is finding him more consistent opportunities now. The 21-year-old slugger is slashing .429/.488/.657 over his past 10 games. His .812 OPS is the highest mark among all NL rookies with at least 50 at-bats this season. Honorable Mentions: A.J. Ewing, OF, New York Mets; Moisés Ballesteros, DH/C, Chicago Cubs; Bubba Chandler, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates; Logan Henderson, SP, Milwaukee Brewers