Anthony Volpe, Triston Casas and the Updated 2023 MLB Rookie Rankings
The 2023 season has featured one of the deepest rookie classes in MLB history, and while Corbin Carroll and Josh Jung were the favorites for their league's respective Rookie of the Year awards for much of the year, those races could still be decided over the final month.
Matt McLain (CIN) and Kodai Senga (NYM) have both played their way into the NL conversation, while an injury to Jung has opened the door for Gunnar Henderson (BAL) to emerge as the AL front-runner. Behind that group, there are plenty of rising young stars who won't appear on ROTY ballots but have still made a major impact.
The previous editions of our rookie rankings were published on May 1, June 1 and July 20, and with roughly one month left in the regular season, it's time for another update.
Future expectations, long-term upside, preseason prospect rankings and minor league track records were not a factor in these rankings. The sole focus is 2023 production, with special attention given to recent production relative to early-season performance.
Honorable Mentions (Hitters)
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OF Dairon Blanco, KC
IF José Caballero, SEA
C Freddy Fermin, KC
OF Dominic Fletcher, ARI
3B Maikel Garcia, KC
IF Royce Lewis, MIN
SS Zach Neto, LAA
1B Ryan Noda, OAK
OF Esteury Ruiz, OAK
C/OF Blake Sabol, SF
2B Brice Turang, MIL
OF Jordan Walker, STL
OF Matt Wallner, MIN
OF Joey Wiemer, MIL
It's difficult to properly evaluate Jordan Walker since he is playing out of position and has been one of the worst defensive outfielders (-18 DRS, -17.6 UZR/150) in baseball. That has thoroughly tanked his overall value, making him a minus-1.3 WAR player, despite decent numbers at the plate.
The toughest omission here was Ryan Noda, who has a 17.6 percent walk rate and .386 on-base percentage on the year, but he missed 27 games with a broken jaw and was overtaken by some other rookies in the process.
Honorable Mentions (Pitchers)
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LHP Logan Allen, CLE
RHP Javier Assad, CHC
RHP Tristan Beck, SF
LHP Brennan Bernardino, BOS
RHP Taj Bradley, TB
RHP Hunter Brown, HOU
LHP Tom Cosgrove, SD
RHP Fernando Cruz, CIN
RHP Xzavion Curry, CLE
RHP J.P. France, HOU
RHP Ian Hamilton, NYY
LHP José Hernández, PIT
RHP Jake Irvin, WAS
RHP Kevin Kelly, TB
RHP Scott McGough, ARI
RHP Ryne Nelson, ARI
RHP Grayson Rodriguez, BAL
RHP Gregory Santos, CWS
RHP Jesse Scholtens, CWS
RHP Abner Uribe, MIL
RHP Ryan Walker, SF
RHP Gavin Williams, CLE
LHP Brandon Williamson, CIN
The AL Rookie of the Year front-runner early in the season, Hunter Brown has struggled to a 5.93 ERA in 57.2 innings since the middle of June, and he could be headed for a bullpen role during the postseason.
Nos. 25-21
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25. 2B Zack Gelof, Oakland Athletics (Previous Rank: NR)
Stats: 165 PA, 157 OPS+, .277/.345/.574, 23 XBH (10 HR), 21 RBI, 1.6 WAR
Gelof made his MLB debut on July 14, and his 38 games played are the fewest of any hitter on this list by a wide margin, but there is a solid case to be made that he has immediately become the best player on the Oakland roster. The 2021 second-round pick should be the A's everyday second baseman in 2024.
24. LHP Tyler Holton, Detroit Tigers (Previous Rank: 25)
Stats: 46 G, 9 HLD, 2.11 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 8.0 K/9, 68.1 IP, 2.4 WAR
Holton's numbers looked even better before he allowed four earned runs in 1.2 innings of work on Sunday, but he is still having a terrific season for a Detroit bullpen that has been one of the strengths of the team. The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers from the D-backs in February.
23. C Francisco Álvarez, New York Mets (Previous Rank: 17)
Stats: 348 PA, 98 OPS+, .215/.287/.440, 29 XBH (21 HR), 47 RBI, 0.8 WAR
Like most everyone in the Mets organization, Álvarez has had an August to forget, hitting .152/.263/.212 with two extra-base hits in 76 plate appearances. His numbers have devolved into something alarmingly reminiscent of what Gary Sánchez produced for the Yankees during his final few seasons in New York. Still just 21 years old, he has shown flashes with strong performances in May and July, but he has the lowest WAR total of anyone in our top 25 and needs to find some consistency in his game.
22. RHP Justin Topa, Seattle Mariners (Previous Rank: HM)
Stats: 59 G, 22 HLD, 2.04 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 53.0 IP, 1.6 WAR
After making a combined 17 appearances over the past three seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers while maintaining his rookie eligibility, Topa was traded to Seattle in January and has found a home in the Mariners bullpen. The 32-year-old leads the team with 22 holds, and his emergence no doubt helped with Seattle's decision to move Paul Sewald at the deadline.
21. IF Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds (Previous Rank: 18)
Stats: 310 PA, 96 OPS+, .245/.300/.441, 28 XBH (11 HR), 33 RBI, 22 SB, 1.1 WAR
De La Cruz possesses a rare combination of power, speed and athleticism, and it seems like once a week he turns in a "Wow!" highlight of some sort. His overall game is still raw, evidenced by his 34.5 percent strikeout rate, but his immediate impact in Cincinnati has been undeniable as the team has a 41-31 record since he made his debut on June 6 after starting the year 27-33.
Nos. 20-16
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20. SS Ezequiel Tovar, Colorado Rockies (Previous Rank: 12)
Stats: 486 PA, 85 OPS+, .258/.295/.431, 46 XBH (15 HR), 60 RBI, 2.0 WAR
Tovar has started 122 of 130 games at shortstop for the Rockies this year, and considering he only played 71 games between Double-A and Triple-A and is still only 22 years old, it has been a successful season. His 46 extra-base hits are tied for fifth among all shortstops, and he has provided stellar defensive work (8 DRS) at a premium position.
19. OF Masataka Yoshida, Boston Red Sox (Previous Rank: 4)
Stats: 486 PA, 114 OPS+, .293/.346/.454, 43 XBH (13 HR), 62 RBI, 1.2 WAR
With poor defensive metrics (-6 DRS, -4.3 UZR/150) and limited athleticism, Yoshida's value is tied almost exclusively to what he does in the batter's box. Since the All-Star break, he is hitting .247/.265/.377 in 151 plate appearances. His strikeout rate has climbed (10.7 to 16.6 percent), his walk rate has plummeted (8.1 to 2.0 percent) and his OPS has dropped more than 200 points relative to the first half.
18. C Patrick Bailey, San Francisco Giants (Previous Rank: 23)
Stats: 280 PA, 92 OPS+, .256/.306/.395, 23 XBH (6 HR), 42 RBI, 1.5 WAR
Bailey might be the first rookie catcher to win a Gold Glove since Charles Johnson did it with the Florida Marlins in 1995. He leads all catchers in Defensive Runs Saved (13), grades out as the best pitch-framer in the game and has thrown out 33 percent of base-stealers, which is well above the league-average rate of 19 percent this year. Anything he provides offensively is icing on the cake.
17. RHP Bobby Miller, Los Angeles Dodgers (Previous Rank: HM)
Stats: 15 GS, 7-3, 3.86 ERA (3.54 FIP), 1.16 WHIP, 75 K, 81.2 IP, 1.3 WAR
Miller began his MLB career with two earned runs allowed in 23 innings over his first four starts before hitting a rough patch at the end of June. The hard-throwing right-hander has gotten back on track since the All-Star break with a 3.11 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 37.2 innings over his last seven starts, and he is the leading candidate to fill the No. 4 starter job in October.
16. RHP Bryce Miller, Seattle Mariners (Previous Rank: 16)
Stats: 19 GS, 8-4, 3.90 ERA (3.77 FIP), 1.04 WHIP, 95 K, 101.2 IP, 1.2 WAR
Miller has had four really bad starts, giving up a combined 27 earned runs in 18.1 innings during those outings. In his other 15 starts, he has a 1.84 ERA over 83.1 innings of work, and while any pitcher would look better if you removed his worst performances, the Mariners rookie has been next-level good when he is dialed in.
Nos. 15-11
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15. 2B Edouard Julien, Minnesota Twins (Previous Rank: 15)
Stats: 287 PA, 134 OPS+, .286/.378/.482, 25 XBH (11 HR), 25 RBI, 1.8 WAR
Julien has been Minnesota's best hitter since he was recalled from the minors for good on June 10, batting .306/.400/.492 with 19 extra-base hits in 215 plate appearances over that 61-game stretch. The 24-year-old was an 18th-round pick in the 2019 draft and is shaping up to be one of the best draft steals in recent memory.
14. OF James Outman, Los Angeles Dodgers (Previous Rank: HM)
Stats: 445 PA, 111 OPS+, .250/.355/.429, 33 XBH (16 HR), 56 RBI, 2.5 WAR
Outman struggled in May and June after the league adjusted to his red-hot month of April, but he is back to producing at a solid clip with an .885 OPS in 143 plate appearances since the All-Star break. He has also been roughly a league-average defender in center field, which provides added value.
13. RHP Yennier Cano, Baltimore Orioles (Previous Rank: 9)
Stats: 59 G, 28 HLD, 1.57 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 63.0 IP, 2.8 WAR
Cano has paired with Félix Bautista at the back of the Baltimore bullpen to form, arguably, the best late-inning tandem in baseball. The 29-year-old is tied for the MLB lead with 28 holds, and he has limited opposing hitters to a .223 average while earning a spot on the AL All-Star roster. He has allowed just one unearned run in August.
12. C/DH Yainer Diaz, Houston Astros (Previous Rank: 24)
Stats: 313 PA, 125 OPS+, .284/.304/.537, 37 XBH (19 HR), 48 RBI, 2.6 WAR
After tallying just 68 plate appearances over the first two months of the season, Diaz has a .900 OPS with 15 doubles, 17 home runs and 43 RBI in 245 plate appearances since the beginning of June. He has made a major impact filling in first for Yordan Alvarez at designated hitter and then for José Abreu at first base, helping to bring stability to the Houston lineup.
11. LHP Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds (Previous Rank: 10)
Stats: 15 GS, 8-3, 3.16 ERA (4.01 FIP), 1.17 WHIP, 93 K, 85.1 IP, 2.9 WAR
After logging a 1.90 ERA over his first 10 starts, Abbott has failed to complete six innings in each of his last five outings while struggling to a 6.46 ERA in 23.2 innings. The 24-year-old has a 2.84 ERA in seven starts at Great American Ballpark, which has again been one of the most hitter-friendly venues in baseball, and that bodes well for his future outlook in the Cincinnati rotation.
Nos. 10-6
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10. 1B Triston Casas, Boston Red Sox (Previous Rank: HM)
Stats: 432 PA, 124 OPS+, .256/.356/.482, 40 XBH (21 HR), 51 RBI, 1.5 WAR
After a lackluster first half of the season, Casas is living up to lofty expectations. The left-handed slugger is hitting .320/.411/.656 with 12 home runs and 24 RBI in 38 games since the All-Star break, and his 1.067 OPS trails only Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson among all players with at least 100 plate appearances in the second half.
9. RHP Eury Pérez, Miami Marlins (Previous Rank: 8)
Stats: 15 GS, 5-4, 2.68 ERA (3.57 FIP), 1.04 WHIP, 90 K, 74.0 IP, 2.4 WAR
Pérez is the youngest player to appear in an MLB game this season, and he won't turn 21 until a few weeks after Opening Day next year. The Marlins have been careful with his innings, sending him to the minors for most of July to help limit his workload, but he has picked up right where he left off since returning. The 6'8" right-hander might have the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the sport right now.
8. SS Anthony Volpe, New York Yankees (Previous Rank: 11)
Stats: 478 PA, 90 OPS+, .218/.296/.398, 37 XBH (18 HR), 53 RBI, 20 SB, 3.5 WAR
The surface-level offensive numbers might not jump off the page, but Volpe is on his way to joining Nomar Garciaparra (1997) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2022) as the rookie shortstop in MLB history with a 20/20 season. That power/speed production combined with his elite defensive metrics (14 DRS) have made him a 3.5-WAR player, surpassing the 3.3-WAR rookie campaign Derek Jeter posted when he won AL Rookie of the Year in 1996.
7. 3B Josh Jung, Texas Rangers (Previous Rank: 2)
Stats: 461 PA, 119 OPS+, .274/.323/.489, 47 XBH (22 HR), 67 RBI, 2.3 WAR
Jung has been sidelined since Aug. 6 with a fractured left thumb, and after undergoing surgery to repair the injury he could miss the remainder of the regular season. The AL All-Star Game starter at third base, he is still tied for the rookie lead with 22 home runs in 109 games, though he has been overtaken in the AL Rookie of the Year race by Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson.
6. IF/OF Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds (Previous Rank: 5)
Stats: 539 PA, 117 OPS+, .270/.356/.457, 50 XBH (18 HR), 71 RBI, 11 SB, 2.5 WAR
Steer leads all rookies with 71 RBI, and he sits second on the rookie leaderboard in hits (127), extra-base hits (50) and total bases (215). The Reds' primary third baseman when the season began, he has split his time between first base (50 starts), third base (39 starts) and left field (21 starts) while serving as a consistent run producer in the middle of the lineup.
5. RHP Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians
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Previous Rank: 13
Stats: 21 GS, 10-3, 3.01 ERA (3.78 FIP), 1.20 WHIP, 117 K, 119.2 IP, 2.8 WAR
Right-hander Tanner Bibee started the season as the No. 86 prospect in baseball, and he made his MLB debut on April 26, less than two years after he was taken in the fifth round of the 2021 draft out of Cal State Fullerton.
Armed with a mid-90s fastball and a pair of quality secondary offerings in a slider and changeup that have both generated a whiff rate north of 30 percent, he has allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his last 12 starts.
During that span, he's gone 8-1 with a 2.40 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 72 strikeouts in 71.1 innings, pitching his way into the AL Rookie of the Year conversation in the process.
4. SS Matt McLain, Cincinnati Reds
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Previous Rank: 7
Stats: 403 PA, 129 OPS+, .290/.357/.507, 43 XBH (16 HR), 50 RBI, 14 SB, 3.6 WAR
For all the hype that Elly De La Cruz has received since bursting onto the scene, it's Matt McLain who has been the best rookie for the Cincinnati Reds this season.
The 24-year-old made his MLB debut on May 15 after raking in the upper levels of the minors, and he has hit almost exclusively in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the Cincinnati batting order while providing a nice mix of power, speed and clutch production with a .329/.417/.726 line with runners in scoring position.
A first-round pick out of high school in 2018, he opted instead to attend UCLA and went eight spots higher at No. 17 overall three years later. His 3.6 WAR ranks eighth among all shortstops, and his 129 OPS+ trails only Corey Seager among shortstops with at least 300 plate appearances.
3. RHP Kodai Senga, New York Mets
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Previous Rank: 3
Stats: 24 GS, 10-7, 3.17 ERA (3.53 FIP), 1.24 WHIP, 164 K, 136.1 IP, 3.3 WAR
Not a lot has gone right for the New York Mets this season, but the five-year, $75 million deal they gave to Japanese League standout Kodai Senga has been one of the best signings of the offseason.
The 30-year-old has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his last 10 starts, posting a 2.72 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 71 strikeouts in 59.2 innings during that span, and he has emerged as the biggest competition for Corbin Carroll in the NL Rookie of the Year race.
With a mid-90s fastball, high-spin cutter and a lethal forkball that has accounted for 89 of his 164 strikeouts and generated an absurd 60.4 percent whiff rate, he has shown some of the best swing-and-miss stuff in the sport this year.
2. SS/3B Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
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Previous Rank: 6
Stats: 479 PA, 121 OPS+, .249/.326/.479, 48 XBH (22 HR), 65 RBI, 4.4 WAR
The No. 1 prospect in baseball at the start of the 2023 season, Gunnar Henderson spent the first half of the campaign overshadowed by some of the league's other top rookies while he settled into life as an everyday player in the big leagues.
The 22-year-old has an .862 OPS with 34 extra-base hits, 17 home runs and 51 RBI in his last 69 games going back to June 1, and an injury to Josh Jung has opened the door for him to emerge as the front-runner in the AL Rookie of the Year race.
On top of his offensive numbers, he has also logged positive defensive metrics at shortstop (406 INN, 8 DRS, 12.8 UZR/150) and third base (495.2 INN, 3 DRS, 10.0 UZR/150), and his 4.4-WAR season trails only Adley Rutschman (5.2, 2022), George Stone (5.0, 1905) and Cal Ripken Jr. (4.7, 1982) among all rookie hitters in Orioles franchise history.
1. OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
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Previous Rank: 1
Stats: 516 PA, 140 OPS+, .281/.364/.520, 55 XBH (22 HR), 64 RBI, 40 SB, 4.8 WAR
With a rare mix of power, speed and offensive polish, Corbin Carroll has been baseball's best rookie for most of the 2023 season, and he has helped move the Arizona Diamondbacks from afterthought to legitimate postseason contender.
A stolen base on Sunday made the 23-year-old just the fourth rookie in MLB history with a 20-homer, 40-steal season, joining Tommie Agee (1966), Mitchell Page (1977) and Mike Trout (2012).
It would take a major slump for him to fall out of the driver's seat in the NL Rookie of the Year race, and he should also receive some down-ballot NL MVP support as the best candidate on the Arizona roster.
