Predicting Each MLB Team's Most Valuable Player in 2025
Most MLB teams have completed just over 6 percent of the games on their 2025 schedule. It's important not to jump to sweeping conclusions before mid-April.
At the same time, we've seen how each player has gotten out of the gates this season, which can help us adjust our projections for 2025.
With that said, here are our updated picks on who will be each team's MVP in 2025.
AL East
1 of 6
New York Yankees: Aaron Judge
What more needs to be said? Aaron Judge is in the midst of one of the greatest power peaks in MLB history, having hit more than 160 home runs since the start of the 2022 campaign. He's won AL MVP twice (2022 and 2024) over that span, and he might be the favorite to win it again this year based on how he's started.
Baltimore Orioles: Gunnar Henderson
Gunnar Henderson returned to the Orioles' lineup this past weekend after a right intercostal strain forced him to begin the season on the injured list. Henderson followed up winning the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year by finishing fourth in AL MVP voting last season after hitting 37 homers, seven triples and 92 RBI. The 23-year-old is one of MLB's brightest young stars.
Tampa Bay Rays: Junior Caminero
Junior Caminero has gotten out of the gates slowly, but hit .424 in 10 games in the Dominican Winter League during the offseason. The 21-year-old has superstar potential that the Rays need to see come to fruition this year for them to have a shot to compete in the loaded AL East.
Toronto Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Now that he has a new 14-year, $500 million contract, Guerrero has a chance to go down as the greatest player in Blue Jays history. Will he be the player who was a superstar in 2021 and 2024, or the player that was very good but not great between 2022 and 2023? Even with this new deal, the story on just how good the four-time All-Star is is still being written.
Boston Red Sox: Rafael Devers
Rafael Devers went hitless with 15 strikeouts in his first five games this season, but he's already turned his season around with a fast start in April. Even if he's upset about not playing third base, he has minus-62 defensive runs saved at the hot corner in his career. He has been a net negative there and will probably provide more value just as a DH than he did as a bad third baseman.
AL Central
2 of 6
Cleveland Guardians: José Ramirez
José Ramírez has never won an AL MVP, but he's finished sixth or better in voting on six occasions, including being runner-up during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He's currently hitting .310 and already has a three-homer game on his resume this season, so regardless of whether he finally gets over the hump and wins AL MVP, there's little doubt he'll be the best player on the Guardians.
Kansas City Royals: Bobby Witt Jr.
Bobby Witt Jr. was the runner-up to Aaron Judge in AL MVP voting in 2024. Considering he finished the season with a .332 batting average and staggering 9.4 WAR, he would have won it in most years. It remains to be seen if the Royals have enough around him in the lineup to make a deep postseason run, but he's one of the top five position players in the sport.
Detroit Tigers: Tarik Skubal
With all due respect to Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene, Tarik Skubal deserves this spot. He is 1-2 with a 3.78 ERA so far this season, but he led the AL in wins (18), ERA (2.39), strikeouts (228), ERA+ (172) and FIP (2.49) last season. He was our top-ranked starting pitcher in baseball coming into the season and will surely recover from what's been a slow start.
Minnesota Twins: Carlos Correa
The Twins are built around three talented but injury-plagued stars in Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis. Correa played in only 86 games last year, but he hit .310 with a .905 OPS over that span. He's started out slow in 2025 but has had some seasons in the past where he's stayed healthy and been an AL MVP candidate. He's the relatively easy pick here despite his health concerns.
Chicago White Sox: Luis Robert Jr.
Like with Correa, Luis Robert Jr. comes with a history of health problems. Robert has played more than 100 games in a season only once, appearing in 145 in 2023. With that said, Robert hit 38 home runs two years ago when he had his healthiest season and plays for a team that lost 121 games last year. He's the only choice here.
AL West
3 of 6
Houston Astros: Yordan Alvarez
Yordan Alvarez is off to a slow start in 2025, and you can certainly make the case that former AL MVP Jose Altuve—who is arguably the greatest player in franchise history—should be the pick. But Alvarez finished third in AL MVP voting in 2022 and also hit what was essentially the World Series-winning homer that season. With a .968 career OPS, Alvarez is the best player on the Astros.
Seattle Mariners: Julio Rodríguez
Last season, Logan Gilbert finished sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting after leading MLB in WHIP (0.887) and innings pitched (208.2), so he drew consideration here. But Julio Rodríguez rebounded from a difficult first half last season to post an .818 OPS after the All-Star break. He finished in the top seven in AL MVP voting in each of his first two MLB seasons and won AL Rookie of the Year in 2022. The Mariners desperately need him to be a superstar to avoid wasting their elite starting pitching again.
Texas Rangers: Corey Seager
Corey Seager has been slow to get out of the gates and always carries an injury risk with him. But he's a five-time All-Star and two-time World Series MVP. History tells us that he's going to put up Hall of Fame-caliber production when he's on the field.
Los Angeles Angels: Logan O'Hoppe
Mike Trout is a three-time AL MVP and has finished as the MVP runner-up on four other occasions. But he also played in only 266 of a possible 648 games between 2021 and 2024. It's hard to believe he'll stay in the lineup, so let's take a shot in the dark here. Logan O'Hoppe is off to a hot start with a .367 batting average and five home runs in his first eight games. If Trout ends up spending significant time on the injured list again in 2025, perhaps the 25-year-old catcher will emerge as another franchise cornerstone.
Athletics: Lawrence Butler
Brent Rooker is one of the better run producers in baseball, and Mason Miller is such a dominant closer that he could be selected here. But Lawrence Butler hit .300 with 13 home runs and and .898 OPS after the All-Star break last year. He's off to a nice start in 2025 after signing a seven-year, $65 million extension in the offseason.
NL East
4 of 6
Philadelphia Phillies: Bryce Harper
It wouldn't be unreasonable to pick Zack Wheeler, who may be baseball's best starter. But Bryce Harper is a two-time NL MVP and has won three Silver Sluggers in the last four years. Considering that he's also become a good defender at first base, it would hardly be a surprise if he competes for his third MVP this season.
Atlanta Braves: Marcell Ozuna
Even with former NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. still working his way back from a torn left ACL, the Braves have plenty of players whom you could go with here. But with all due respect to Matt Olson, Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley—along with reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale, for that matter—Ozuna has a .915 OPS since the start of the 2023 season. He finished fourth in NL MVP voting last year and has been an on-base machine early in a contract year.
New York Mets: Juan Soto
Francisco Lindor finished as the runner-up to Shohei Ohtani last season in NL MVP voting, so you could go with him here. But when you give someone a 15-year, $765 million deal, you expect them to come in and be the face of your franchise. Juan Soto has done just about everything but win an MVP so far in his career. If anyone is capable of dethroning Ohtani, it's him.
Washington Nationals: James Wood
James Wood, one of the top pieces whom the Nationals acquired from the San Diego Padres in the Soto trade in August 2022, drove in 41 runs in his first 79 MLB games last season. He's struggled early on in 2025, but Wood is still the obvious answer for a Nationals team that's trying to return to contention.
Miami Marlins: Sandy Alcántara
Sandy Alcántara is a former NL Cy Young winner who's back after missing all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery. The only reason that he wouldn't be the pick here is if you believe the Marlins are going to trade him this summer. Still, Miami doesn't have an obvious alternative, even if Xavier Edwards looked like a budding star late last season.
NL Central
5 of 6
Milwaukee Brewers: Jackson Chourio
In a normal year, Jackson Chourio's 2024 season probably would have won him NL Rookie of the Year. Instead, he had to settle for third because he had the misfortune of being a rookie in the same year as Paul Skenes and Jackson Merrill. But Chourio posted a .914 OPS after the All-Star break last season, and he has already homered three times this season. With all due respect to former NL MVP Christian Yelich and All-Star catcher William Contreras, Chourio is now the face of the team.
Chicago Cubs: Kyle Tucker
Kyle Tucker, whom the Cubs acquired in an offseason trade from the Astros, is off to a red-hot start in his first season in the Windy City. Tucker currently leads MLB in total bases (40) and has hit five home runs in his first 14 games. As he tries to set himself up for a major payday in free agency, Tucker projects to have a monster year.
St. Louis Cardinals: Nolan Arenado
The Cardinals are a tough team to pick for. Nolan Arenado is a future Hall of Famer who's hitting .342 early in 2025 after posting a .746 OPS over the past two seasons. There's a chance he tapers off or gets traded if the Cardinals fall out of playoff contention, but perhaps he'll continue having a resurgence on a team that might be better than we anticipated.
Cincinnati Reds: Elly De La Cruz
Elly De La Cruz stole an MLB-high 67 bases last season and posted an .809 OPS. He also struck out an MLB-leading 218 times and had 29 errors at shortstop, so he's still a work in progress. But the electrifying talent is still only 23 years old and is just scratching the surface of his potential.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Paul Skenes
Paul Skenes was excellent over his first pair of starts in 2025 after winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2024, a campaign where he also started the All-Star Game and finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting. It's fair to wonder if the Pirates are equipped to make the best of having a generational talent on the mound, but there's no question Skenes is going to be dominant.
NL West
6 of 6
Los Angeles Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani
Last year was supposed to be the year that Shohei Ohtani didn't win MVP because he wasn't pitching. Instead, he became the first full-time DH to win MVP, and he joined Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only players to win an MVP in both leagues. He should return to the mound at some point this summer and is a threat to hit 50 homers every year. He's going to be the odds-on MVP favorite every season until further notice.
San Diego Padres: Manny Machado
It wouldn't be unreasonable to go with Jackson Merrill or Fernando Tatis Jr. for the Padres, but Manny Machado remains the face of the team. After a slow start following right elbow surgery, Machado posted an .876 OPS in the second half of last season. He hasn't produced a ton of runs yet in 2025, but there's no reason to believe the six-time All-Star won't soon go on a tear.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll had a bit of a sophomore slump in the first half of last season, but he recovered to hit 17 home runs after the All-Star break. Carroll is one of the most electric players baseball has to offer, and if Ohtani slips up in any way, the former NL Rookie of the Year is certainly capable of winning an MVP.
San Francisco Giants: Matt Chapman
You could go with offseason signee Willy Adames or workhorse Logan Webb here, but Matt Chapman earned a new six-year, $151 million deal after posting a 5.4 WAR in his first season with the Giants. "Chappy Bird" is one of the best defenders of his era, as the five-time Gold Glove Award winner finished last year with 17 defensive runs saved and 11 outs above average at the hot corner. He did that while also hitting 27 home runs and driving in 78 runs.
Colorado Rockies: Brenton Doyle
Brenton Doyle has always been a great defender, but he went from posting a .593 OPS in his rookie season in 2023 to a .764 OPS last year. If he's going to hit 20-25 home runs per year, he'll be super valuable considering he already has 32 career defensive runs saved in center field.
