Ranking 12 MLB Stars Under the Most Pressure to Deliver During Remainder of 2025
At the time of publication, the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers are the six division leaders, while the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and New York Mets are in wild-card position.
We've taken the player who is under the most pressure from all 12 of those teams to perform for the remainder of 2025—that includes the regular and postseason—and ranked them from 12 to 1.
Let's take a look at whose legacy has the most to gain—or potentially lose—during the rest of 2025.
12. Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
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Many of the key pieces on the Astros have already been major contributors on at least one World Series team. Hunter Brown did appear in seven games for the Astros during the 2022 season, and then three times in the postseason as a reliever for the World Champions. But he wasn't at the forefront of that club.
Make no mistake, Brown is very much one of the core pieces for this Astros squad. With a 2.25 ERA and 190 strikeouts over 167.2 innings pitched, Brown is going to post a top-five finish in AL Cy Young Award voting.
Not only will his performance down the stretch determine whether the Astros reach the postseason as AL West winners or a wild-card team, but he and Framber Valdez will then be at the top of the rotation in the postseason. With Valdez set to become a free agent after this season, Brown could officially grab the torch as the ace of Houston's staff based on how he performs the rest of 2025.
11. Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers
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While the Brewers are on pace to set a new franchise wins record and lead the majors in victories this season, they probably still won't enter the playoffs as the odds-on favorites to win it all. And while William Contreras, Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich are among the stars on this team, the Brewers are a team where the sum is greater than the collection of its parts.
So there isn't really one guy under immense pressure from a legacy perspective to have a massive October.
With that said, Freddy Peralta is the ace of this team, and will likely be tasked with taking the ball in Game 1 of each series and making sure Milwaukee holds onto home-field advantage. He should be up to that task considering he is 16-6 with a 2.69 ERA over 163.2 innings pitched.
But for all the great vibes that exist around the Brewers this season, things could go south in a hurry if Peralta falters in Game 1 of the NLDS. Brandon Woodruff has pitched well in his first 11 starts of the season this year, but that comes after missing nearly two years following right shoulder surgery. Quinn Priester has had a breakout season, and Jacob Misiorowski is one of the more talented rookies in the sport this year, but neither has ever pitched in the postseason.
Add in that Peralta has a 4.00 ERA over 18 career postseason innings, and there is definitely some level of pressure on the 29-year-old righty.
10. Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox
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There's not a ton of pressure on Aroldis Chapman the remainder of the regular season considering he's already had arguably the most dominant campaign of his career. In his age-37 season, Chapman has been so dominant (1.14 ERA over 61 appearances) that the Red Sox have already rewarded him with an extension that will pay him $13.3 million in 2026.
But while this regular season might have cemented Chapman's Hall of Fame case, if there's anything that's going to hurt it, it's that he's had some very memorable postseason meltdowns.
Yes, the Cubs won the 2016 World Series and Joe Maddon overused Chapman, but he did blow the Game 7 save by giving up the game-tying home run to Rajai Davis.
Pitching for the Yankees, Chapman surrendered a walk-off home run to Jose Altuve that sent the Astros to the 2019 World Series.
Though he's a two-time World Series champion—he also won a title with the Texas Rangers in 2023—and has a 2.37 career postseason ERA, Chapman could use another dominant postseason run to help cement his legacy.
9. Juan Soto, New York Mets
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You can only be under so much pressure when you're in the first season of a 15-year deal, and already won a World Series in 2019 with the Washington Nationals, and then hit the homer that sent the Yankees to the Fall Classic last October.
With that said, Mets fans don't inherit the postseason success Soto had elsewhere. Even if he has as much contract security as any player in MLB history, there's quite a bit of pressure on Soto to A) make sure that the Mets do indeed get to the postseason and B) do damage once they get there. If he disappoints down the stretch, Soto's postseason heroics prior to putting on a Mets uniform aren't going to save him from harsh criticism.
Again, though, Soto is going to be in New York for the foreseeable future regardless of what happens during the rest of September and into October. It might be a long winter if Soto and the Mets have an early postseason exit despite carrying a $339 million payroll. But he'll still have 14 more cracks at it.
8. Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs
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Cubs star Kyle Tucker would be higher on this list if he didn't already win a World Series title with the Houston Astros. But there's still added pressure in a contract year.
Also, not for nothing, but while Tucker hit two homers in Game 1 of the 2022 World Series, he's hit just .229 with a .685 OPS in his postseason career. Even though he was a key cog for some great Astros clubs, his individual numbers in the playoffs aren't that great.
There would probably be even more pressure on Tucker if he wasn't playing through a hairline fracture in his right hand that he suffered in June. But he's hitting .242 with a .777 OPS since the All-Star break, so if he isn't in top form in October, it won't be shocking because he's not at 100 percent.
7. Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners
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You could go Cal Raleigh here because he has a chance to introduce himself to even more of a national audience in the playoffs. But no matter how the remainder of the year plays out for "Big Dumper," this will be remembered as one of the greatest individual seasons a catcher has ever had.
Instead, we'll slide the pressure to Julio Rodríguez, who hit just .217 in his first five postseason games two years ago. Rodríguez seemed poised to become one of the faces of baseball a few seasons ago, and while he's been very good, he's fallen short of that. He could get back on track with a big finish to 2025.
Rodríguez is still only 24 and signed through the 2030 season, but he may never have a better supporting case offensively. Raleigh is unlikely to ever match this season, while both Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez were rentals acquired at the deadline that could opt to sign in greener hitting pastures in the offseason. Now is as good a time as any to try to lead the Mariners to the World Series for the first time.
6. Blake Snell, Los Angeles Dodgers
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While the Dodgers hope to repeat, it's not exactly like heads are going to roll at Chavez Ravine if they don't win their second consecutive World Series.
Blake Snell, though, joined the team in the offseason on a five-year, $182 million deal, so he doesn't have a World Series win. So the two-time Cy Young Award winner is someone you could point to as having pressure on him relative to most of his teammates.
Snell's postseason resume is actually pretty good to this point, as he has a 3.33 ERA over 48.2 innings between the Tampa Bay Rays and Padres. But Kevin Cash's controversial decision to pull him after 5.1 excellent innings in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series overshadows everything else.
Both because of his contract and that the Dodgers always seem to have health questions with their starting rotation, Snell has pressure to pitch well the rest of the year. Snell would also probably like to have his legacy include something more positive than his being pulled early in Game 6.
5. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
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Manny Machado is a future Hall of Famer but doesn't have a great postseason resume.
In 48 career postseason games, the seven-time All-Star has hit just .215 with a .638 OPS. The thing he's most associated with from a playoff perspective is the infamous "Johnny Hustle" comment he made during the 2018 postseason while playing for the Dodgers.
The Padres have only appeared in the World Series twice: 1984 and 1998. The franchise has never won it. Whatever shortcomings Machado's resume has could be erased if he goes on an October heater and changes either one of those facts.
4. Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays
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Bo Bichette has rebounded from a miserable 2024 season and returned to form in 2025, as he leads baseball in both hits (181) and doubles (44). He's done that while posting an .840 OPS.
Bichette, who is in his contract year, has already made himself quite a bit of money based on his regular season performance. But an excellent postseason run after returning from a left knee sprain could certainly catch the eye of an extra owner or two whose team goes home earlier than expected.
On top of that, the Blue Jays have as clear of a path to the World Series—where they haven't been since 1993—as any team in baseball. That puts pressure on everyone involved, but Bichette gets the nod here over Vladimir Guerrero Jr., for example, because the 27-year-old is playing for his next contract.
3. Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
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Tarik Skubal is en route to winning his second consecutive AL Cy Young Award, which would make him the first junior-circuit pitcher to repeat since Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000.
When October rolls around, though, there's going to be quite a bit of pressure on Skubal. He posted a 2.37 ERA in three starts last postseason, so this is less about his individual legacy.
The reality is that after Skubal, the Tigers don't have much in the way of certainty in their starting rotation. Jack Flaherty helped the Dodgers win the World Series last year, but has a 4.69 ERA in 2025. Charlie Morton has a wealth of postseason experience, but a 6.09 ERA since being acquired by the Tigers. And since making his first All-Star Game appearance, Casey Mize has a 5.23 ERA.
The Tigers are going to have the advantage over every team in Game 1 of the postseason because Skubal is the best pitcher in the sport. But if they don't win Game 1, A.J. Hinch's club might be screwed, because the starting staff after that falls off in a hurry.
2. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
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Bryce Harper did win NLCS MVP in 2022 after his "Bedlam at the Bank" home run sent the Phillies to the World Series that year. He also has a 1.016 career postseason OPS, so it's not like he needs to prove he can perform in October.
But when you consistently get close without winning a World Series, that is sometimes held against you. Is that stupid? Yes, probably. But the Phillies are about to go back to the postseason for the fourth year in a row, and this will likely be the final shot with this current iteration of the team as Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Ranger Suárez are set to reach free agency after the season. If they don't get over the hump in 2025, this group of Phillies might not end up doing it.
Harper, of course, is still under contract through the 2031 season. He's not going anywhere. But in addition to those three becoming free agents, Harrison Bader and José Alvarado also may depart in the offseason. Zack Wheeler's health is uncertain. Trea Turner, Aaron Nola and Matt Strahm are all approaching their mid-30s. There's no guarantee Harper will ever have as good of a supporting cast again.
Really, the takeaway here is that there's as much pressure on the Phillies as any other team this October. But as the face of the Phillies, Harper carries the largest weight of that pressure, which is why he's No. 2
1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
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While the Yankees would prefer to win the AL East and get a first-round bye, they are almost certainly going to be in the playoffs in some form. And despite an incredible season from the aforementioned Raleigh, Judge remains the favorite to win the AL MVP, which would be his third in four years.
Really, Judge couldn't possibly prove more than he has in the regular season.
The postseason, though, is another conversation.
In 58 career playoff games, Judge is hitting just .205 with a .768 OPS. To his credit, Judge does have 16 home runs and 34 RBI on his postseason resume, but his offensive output in October has fallen far short of what he's done in the regular season.
Even a year ago when the Yankees won the AL pennant, Judge hit just .184, with Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres among those carrying the load instead.
Right or wrong, when you're a Yankees captain, how you perform in October goes a long way toward deciding where you fit on the pantheon of all-time greats. The only thing Judge's legacy is missing is a legendary October run.
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