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Top 20 MLB Rookies For 2025
Plus: Anthony, Campbell vs. past top prospects & Is Jace LaViolette still the No. 1 pick?
Ranking MLB Rookies Heading Into 2025
It’s difficult to know each spring which rookies 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 are our top 20 based on how we think they’ll perform in the 2025 season.
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.
HOW TO GET A FREE DIGITAL PROSPECT HANDBOOK
2025 HITTERS VS. PAST PROSPECTS
How Do Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell & Walker Jenkins Compare To Previous Top Prospects?
While 2025 might be the year of the pitcher in our Top 100 Prospects, there’s also a talented trio of hitters at the top of the list: Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Walker Jenkins.
To get a better idea of just how talented this year’s crop of hitters is, Geoff Pontes looked at past prospect trios to compare data and build hitter archetypes for big-time MLB names like Bobby Witt Jr., Jackson Chourio, Gunnar Henderson and more.
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BASEBALL AMERICA DRAFT PODCAST
Jamie Arnold Vs. Tyler Bremner & Is Jace LaViolette Losing His Case For No. 1 Pick?
On this week’s episode of the Baseball America Draft Podcast, Carlos Collazo and Peter Flaherty discuss a number of college baseball draft storylines, including SP1 battle at the top of the class between Jamie Arnold and Tyler Bremner.
After that, discussion turns to top-of-the-class college hitters, why Jace LaViolette could be losing his grip on 1-1 status in the class and why a trio of college shortstops are hot on his heels.
TRENDING NOW AT BASEBALL AMERICA
⛰️ Geoff Pontes introduced us to Benny Montgomery, the tooled-up Rockies outfielder with eye-popping 90th percentile EV numbers.
👀 Peter Flaherty previewed the weekend’s top college baseball action to follow.
📊 Jacob Rudner dropped this week’s college Freak Sheet featuring Liam Doyle’s ridiculous FB miss rate.
🃏Matt Pajak ran through the most-wanted baseball cards for BA’s top prospects.
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