James Outman, Hunter Brown and the 2023 MLB Rookie Rankings After 1 Month
The first month of the 2023 MLB season is in the books, which means it's time for the first edition of our rookie power rankings.
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder James Outman and Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown would get my first-place vote for NL and AL Rookie of the Year honors if the season ended today, but there is still a lot of baseball left to be played.
Those two sit atop the rankings in their respective leagues, but do they check in No. 1 and No. 2 in the overall rankings? Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll will certainly have something to say about that.
These rankings will be updated each month throughout the season, with rookies rising and falling based on their recent performances, but for now we only have one month's worth of games to go on, so it's simply a rundown of the best overall rookie performers.
Future expectations, long-term upside, preseason prospect rankings and minor league track records were not a factor in these rankings. The sole focus was 2023 production.
Let the debate begin!
Honorable Mentions
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Pitchers
LHP Logan Allen, CLE
RHP Peyton Battenfield, CLE
RHP Tanner Bibee, CLE
RHP Xzavion Curry, CLE
RHP Noah Davis, COL
RHP Ian Hamilton, NYY
LHP Jose Hernandez, PIT
RHP Brent Honeywell, SD
RHP Easton McGee, SEA
RHP Grayson Rodriguez, BAL
RHP Gregory Santos, CWS
RHP Kodai Senga, NYM
Hitters
3B Brett Baty, NYM
OF Alec Burleson, STL
IF/OF Ji Hwan Bae, PIT
OF Corey Julks, HOU
OF Garrett Mitchell, MIL
SS Zach Neto, LAA
C Logan O'Hoppe, LAA
3B Spencer Steer, CIN
2B Miguel Vargas, LAD
OF Jordan Walker, STL
OF Joey Wiemer, MIL
10. 1B Ryan Noda, Oakland Athletics
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Stats: 83 PA, 143 OPS+, .242/.398/.439, 16 H, 7 XBH (3 HR), 6 RBI, 1 SB
The Oakland Athletics selected Ryan Noda in the Rule 5 draft in December, and his MLB debut on Opening Day coincided with his 27th birthday as he is finally getting a chance to prove himself in the majors.
A 15th-round pick in 2017 by the Toronto Blue Jays, he spent the last two seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, hitting .259/.396/.474 with 25 home runs and 90 RBI in 135 games at Triple-A last year.
With solid power production and an elite 20.5 percent walk rate, he has logged a 143 OPS+ through the first month. His 34.9 percent strikeout rate and extremely lucky .382 BABIP point to likely regression ahead, but he has earned a spot in the rankings for the time being.
9. RHP Taj Bradley, Tampa Bay Rays
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Stats: 3 GS, 3-0, 3.52 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 12 H, 2 BB, 23 K, 15.1 IP
With left-hander Jeffrey Springs headed for Tommy John surgery, the Tampa Bay Rays called on top prospect Taj Bradley to fill his spot in the rotation.
The right-hander ranked No. 44 on the Baseball America Top 100 prospect list at the start of the year after going 7-4 with a 2.57 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 141 strikeouts in 133.1 innings in the upper levels of the minors last season.
The 22-year-old made three starts before he was returned to the minors, but his demotion is expected to be brief and had nothing to do with his performance, which included a terrific 23-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 15.1 innings.
"There are some things that still need to take place within his career development," manager Kevin Cash told reporters. "I'm not talking about pitching because he showed that he can pitch; he can execute, all those things ...
"[A five-day pitching schedule] is something that we're going to prioritize getting him back down there. Let's make sure that he's pitching a couple turns on normal rest and then see where it goes from that."
That's an awful lot of words to mean "service-time manipulation," but sure.
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8. OF Esteury Ruiz, Oakland Athletics
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Stats: 117 PA, 84 OPS+, .252/.325/.301, 26 H, 5 XBH (0 HR), 10 RBI, 11 SB
The stolen base is back!
With larger bases and new pickoff rules making it easier for runners to get a big jump, steals are way up across baseball, and Esteury Ruiz is seeing his first extended MLB action at the perfect time.
The 24-year-old swiped 85 bases in 114 games in the minors last season, and he has gone a perfect 11-for-11 so far this season while taking over as Oakland's starting center fielder.
He has yet to provide much in the way of power production and his defensive metrics in center leave a lot to be desired, but Ruiz has game-changing speed and should have ample opportunity to rack up steals on a terrible Oakland squad.
7. SS Anthony Volpe, New York Yankees
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Stats: 104 PA, 90 OPS+, .216/.337/.330, 19 H, 5 XBH (2 HR), 8 RBI, 8 SB
After hitting .129 over his first 10 games, Anthony Volpe looked like he might be headed for an early demotion back to Triple-A after forcing his way onto the Opening Day roster with a strong spring.
Instead, he is starting to look much more comfortable in the majors of late. Over his last 68 plate appearances, he is hitting .263/.382/.404 with two doubles, two home runs and a terrific 16.2 percent walk rate.
The 22-year-old has also been a rock-solid defender at shortstop, posting strong defensive metrics (1 DRS, 9.3 UZR/150) and making a number of highlight-reel plays. His slow start kept him from ranking any higher, but he's trending in the right direction.
6. RHP Yennier Cano, Baltimore Orioles
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Stats: 8 G, 1 SV, 5 HLD, 0.00 ERA, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 9.2 IP
Yennier Cano was one of four players the Baltimore Orioles acquired from the Minnesota Twins last summer in exchange for All-Star closer Jorge López, and he struggled to an 11.50 ERA across 18 innings in his first MLB action last season.
Despite those cringeworthy numbers, he showed plenty of promise in the minors, including a 2.90 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings in 31 appearances at Triple-A last season.
The 29-year-old started the year back at Triple-A, but he was recalled when Cole Irvin and Keegan Akin were demoted in mid-April. He has since quickly established himself as one of the team's go-to relievers with 9.2 no-hit innings where the only baserunner he has allowed has been on a hit-by-pitch.
Pitching primarily off a heavy mid-90s sinker and a changeup that has generated a 50 percent whiff rate, he has the stuff to be one of the breakout relievers of 2023.
5. 3B Josh Jung, Texas Rangers
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Stats: 103 PA, 114 OPS+, .260/.311/.458, 25 H, 9 XBH (5 HR), 16 RBI, 1 SB
Josh Jung has proved to be worth the wait for the Texas Rangers early on in his MLB career.
The No. 8 overall pick in the 2019 draft was expected to move quickly through the minors following a standout collegiate career at Texas Tech, but a stress fracture in his left foot, a torn labrum in his left shoulder and the canceled 2020 MiLB season limited him to just 153 minor league games.
He finally made his long-awaited MLB debut as a September call-up last season, tallying five home runs and 14 RBI in 26 games, and he is settling in nicely as the everyday third baseman and No. 5 hitter in Texas this year.
The 25-year-old still has work to do cutting down a 34 percent strikeout rate, but the potential is there for him to be a fixture at the hot corner.
4. OF Masataka Yoshida, Boston Red Sox
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Stats: 98 PA, 124 OPS+, .274/.367/.452, 23 H, 7 XBH (4 HR), 16 RBI, 2 SB
The Boston Red Sox gave Masataka Yoshida a massive five-year, $90 million deal in free agency after a seven-year run with the Orix Buffaloes in the Japanese League.
He hit .336/.449/.559 with 28 doubles, 21 home runs, 89 RBI and almost twice as many walks (82) as strikeouts (42) during his final season in Japan, and that was followed by a strong run in the World Baseball Classic to help further build the hype heading into his MLB debut.
The 29-year-old has made a smooth transition, spending the bulk of his time hitting cleanup while continuing to show a great understanding of the strike zone with more walks (11) than strikeouts (10) through 98 plate appearances.
His defensive work in left field has left a lot to be desired from a metrics standpoint, but that should improve as he gets more comfortable at Fenway Park.
3. RHP Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
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Stats: 5 GS, 3-0, 2.37 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 22 H, 10 BB, 32 K, 30.1 IP
Right-hander Hunter Brown pitched his way onto the Houston Astros playoff roster last season with a 0.89 ERA and 9.7 K/9 in 20.1 innings as a September call-up, and he added another 3.2 scoreless innings in October.
With Justin Verlander departing in free agency and Lance McCullers Jr. on the injured list, he joined the starting staff this year and immediately looked the part of a rotation staple for years to come.
Armed with a mid-90s fastball he can run into the triple digits, a hard-biting slider and a slower curveball, he has three plus pitches and does a great job keeping hitters off-balance.
The 24-year-old stands as the AL Rookie of the Year front-runner after one month.
2. OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
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Stats: 107 PA, 148 OPS+, .309/.374/.536, 30 H, 13 XBH (4 HR), 9 RBI, 10 SB
After demolishing minor league pitching last season while establishing himself as one of the top prospects in baseball, Corbin Carroll made his MLB debut at the end of August and posted a 133 OPS+ with 15 extra-base hits and 1.1 WAR in 32 games.
The Arizona Diamondbacks front office saw enough in that brief debut to sign him to an eight-year, $111 million extension during the offseason. With his 104 at-bats last year leaving him 26 shy of becoming rookie-eligible, he entered the year as the favorite in the NL Rookie of the Year race.
The 22-year-old is living up to expectations in the early going with 13 extra-base hits and 10 steals in 28 games, and with terrific batted-ball metrics and elite speed, he could be a serious threat in the NL batting title race.
His .309 average ranks 12th among qualified NL hitters.
1. OF James Outman, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Stats: 105 PA, 162 OPS+, .290/.371/.624, 27 H, 14 XBH (7 HR), 20 RBI, 3 SB
The Los Angeles Dodgers were expected to have a serious contender in the NL Rookie of the Year race this year as they ushered in a small youth movement of sorts, but it was infielder Miguel Vargas who topped most prognosticators' lists.
Instead, it's outfielder James Outman who has stolen the early headlines while taking over as the team's primary center fielder after former NL MVP Cody Bellinger was non-tendered during the offseason.
Outman, 25, enjoyed a breakout season in the upper levels of the minors last year when he hit .294/.393/.586 with 31 doubles, 31 home runs, 106 RBI and 13 steals in 125 games. He also went 6-for-13 with two doubles and one home run in a four-game cup of coffee in early August.
An unsustainable .392 BABIP and a 33.3 percent strikeout rate do raise some red flags about the sustainability of his red-hot start, but there is little doubt he has earned the No. 1 spot in these rankings as the top rookie in baseball during the first month of the season.
All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and accurate through Saturday's games.
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