Ranking Kevin McGonigle, Sal Stewart and Every MLB Team's Best Rookie in 2026

Major League Baseball's 2026 rookie class has been one of the strongest in recent history.

Put Brewers pitcher Logan Henderson in a time machine to last season, and he could win NL Rookie of the Year. Send White Sox outfielder Tristan Peters back to 2024 and he probably wins AL Rookie of the Year in unanimous fashion. They both might be headed for fifth-place finishes in this year's star-studded races.

Ahead, we've ranked each team's best rookie from No. 30 up to No. 1.

In several cases—most notably with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets—it was difficult to decide which of the multiple viable candidates was the team's best rookie.

Overall, though, that was the easy part. Figuring out the proper order of the top dozen rookies was the real challenge.

Even if you don't concur with some of the rankings, hopefully we can all agree that once MLB and the MLBPA get this next collective bargaining agreement sorted out, the future of baseball is looking great.

Nos. 30-26: Gray, Anderson, Freeland, Painter and Blubaugh

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30. RHP Peyton Gray, Texas Rangers

It's mighty slim pickens from the Rangers, who have used just one rookie hitter (Cam Cauley) and a handful of rookie relievers. This particular rookie reliever was already 30 years old before making his MLB debut. Gray did provide some value, though, going 6-0 with eight holds and a 3.93 ERA before landing on the IL with elbow inflammation.

29. LHP Kade Anderson, Seattle Mariners

It's almost certainly too little, too late, but the Mariners finally got desperate enough to start calling up top prospects a few weeks ago. While Michael Arroyo and Lazaro Montes have both hit the ball well in their limited sample of barely 50 combined plate appearances, Anderson is the one that everyone is most excited about. We are still waiting on him to really showcase his elite strikeout stuff, though.

28. 2B Alex Freeland, Los Angeles Dodgers

There's already a case to be made for Josue De Paula in this spot, even though he just made his MLB debut as Shohei Ohtani's fill-in last Friday. However, Freeland spent much of the season as the Dodgers' primary second baseman, providing decent value with his glove while hitting just well enough to earn regular playing time.

27. RHP Andrew Painter, Philadelphia Phillies

After years of hype as a top prospect, Painter didn't exactly deliver the goods out of the gate, posting a 7.06 ERA in his first 14 starts before being sent back to Triple-A. Since his return to the majors at the end of July, though, his ERA has been half of what it used to be, sitting at a mark of 3.58 in his last nine turns through the rotation.

26. RHP AJ Blubaugh, Houston Astros

Heading into the season, the expectation was that Tatsuya Imai would be Houston's representative on this list. But while Imai has posted the worst walk rate among all pitchers with at least 40 innings of work, Blubaugh has been quite the asset as a bulk reliever. He doesn't often get used in high-leverage situations, but in 91 innings pitched—most in the majors among players who haven't started any games—he has a 3.26 ERA.

Nos. 25-21: Culpepper, Basallo, Ramirez, Valdez and Jones

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25. SS Kaelen Culpepper, Minnesota Twins

Shortstop had been a season-long adventure for the Twins until they called up Culpepper in early August. In just 31 games in the majors, he has already had six multi-hit performances. Among the 70 rookies with at least 100 plate appearances, his .275 batting average ranks 10th. (It's also the second-highest batting average among the 14 Twins with at least 100 PA.)

24. C Samuel Basallo, Baltimore Orioles

Basallo has 18 home runs, which is nothing to sneeze at. Only two of those round-trippers have come in the past two months, though, as Basallo has a disastrous .149/.250/.243 triple-slash since the All-Star Break. He was one of the top six or seven preseason candidates for AL Rookie of the Year, but he most likely won't receive a single vote at this rate.

23. IF Pedro Ramírez, Chicago Cubs

Quite the opposite of Basallo, Ramírez opened the second half with an .865 OPS in his first 34 games. When Dansby Swanson hit the IL in mid-August, it was a no-brainer for Chicago to bump Nico Hoerner over to shortstop while cementing Ramírez as the near-everyday second baseman. Where he fits in a fully healthy Cubs lineup remains to be seen, but he has been a surprisingly key piece of MLB's highest-scoring offense.

22. OF Esmerlyn Valdez, Pittsburgh Pirates

Konnor Griffin or Bubba Chandler could have been the pick for the Pirates, which is good news for the Buccos' future. But Valdez has an .855 OPS, racking up 17 home runs in 287 trips to the plate. That 5.9 percent home run rate matches Matt Olson and is only slightly behind Yordan Alvarez. Not too shabby for a guy who came out of nowhere. (Steamer didn't have Valdez projected to play in the majors this season.)

21. OF Spencer Jones, New York Yankees

With Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham missing a combined total of nearly 150 games this season, Jones has gotten considerably more playing time than expected heading into the year. Though he hasn't come close to matching the 35 HR, 29 SB, .932 OPS line he posted in the minors in 2025, it's hard to argue with the .802 OPS he's posted since the beginning of June. Even if Grisham is healthy heading into October, Jones might be New York's primary CF in the postseason.

Nos. 20-16: Rodriguez, Mack, Garcia, Alvarez and Eldridge

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20. RHP Bradgley Rodriguez, San Diego Padres

Despite losing Robert Suarez in free agency, the Padres have one of baseball's most unhittable bullpens for a third straight year. Rodriguez posting a 2.38 ERA and 2.86 FIP while filling the Suarez-shaped void has been a massive piece of that puzzle. He has 15 holds and two saves for a team that will most likely make the postseason.

19. C Joe Mack, Miami Marlins

Miami's decision to move Liam Hicks at the trade deadline was a surprise, but also quite the vote of confidence in this rookie catcher. Unfortunately, Mack has struggled at the dish over the past six weeks, but his value added behind the dish has remained strong. Only William Contreras (25) has thrown out more stolen base attempts than Mack's 24.

18. LHP Brandyn Garcia, Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks have been reluctant to lock in Garcia as their primary closer, presumably because he is the only left-handed reliever on the active roster. He has been their most dominant relief pitcher, boasting a 1.94 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 10.7 K/9 in 46.1 innings pitched. In fact, among MLB pitchers with at least 40 innings of work, only Josh Hader (0.65) has a lower WHIP.

17. LHP Andrew Alvarez, Washington Nationals

Foster Griffin was a viable candidate here, even though the Nationals traded him away. Alvarez has picked up the slack since Griffin's departure, posting a 2.44 ERA over his last eight starts to bring his full-season mark down to 3.35. Couple that with the 2.31 ERA he had in his five starts last season, he may remain in the middle of this rotation.

16. 1B/DH Bryce Eldridge, San Francisco Giants

Over the past decade, the Giants have received a grand total of one vote for NL ROY, which went to Patrick Bailey with a third-place vote in 2023. Eldridge has no hope of winning the award, but he should at least get a few down-ballot votes for his .269/.364/.461 triple slash with 17 home runs. They didn't call him up until early May, but he has been one of their most valuable players.

Nos. 15-11: Fuentes, Bolte, Okamoto, Rumfield and Mesa

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15. RHP Didier Fuentes, Atlanta Braves

Shortly after his 20th birthday, Fuentes made four starts for Atlanta last summer, allowing 20 earned runs in 13 innings. Take out his one spot start in April and he has allowed just 13 earned runs in 66.1 innings of work as a reliever this year. Outside of closer Raisel Iglesias, he is the most trusted arm in this bullpen at this point.

14. OF Henry Bolte, Athletics

Not much has gone right for the A's over the past three months, but Bolte has been a welcome exception. He wasn't a top-100 prospect coming into the season, but a 1.076 OPS in 37 games at Triple-A forced the A's to call him up in mid-May. He has played in almost every game since then, leading the team in both batting average (.275) and stolen bases (20).

13. 3B Kazuma Okamoto, Toronto Blue Jays

Inexplicably, only two Blue Jays have more than 10 home runs: George Springer with 15 and Okamoto, who leads all rookies with 33. Strikeouts and glovework concerns are why he and his big bat had to settle for a four-year, $60M deal in his transition from NPB to MLB. He does have 175 whiffs and 19 errors. But he's been worth every penny, leading the team in runs and RBI.

12. 1B TJ Rumfield, Colorado Rockies

When it comes to breakout stars for Colorado, you always have to ask: Can he do it on the road, too? In Rumfield's case, yes. He has an OPS of at least .800 at Coors Field and away from it. He boasts a top-10 batting average (.300) among qualified hitters. He also hit .290 over the past two years in the minors, so this hasn't completely come out of nowhere.

11. OF Victor Mesa Jr., Tampa Bay Rays

Mesa played in 16 big-league games for the Marlins last season, but had a .641 OPS. They traded him to Tampa Bay in February for a 19-year-old infielder. He has been sensational in his new home since mid-July, posting a .961 OPS with 10 home runs over his last 42 games played. Save for Junior Caminero, he has become the Rays' best slugger.

Nos. 10-6: Jensen, Urena, Peters, Tolle and Henderson

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10. C Carter Jensen, Kansas City Royals

Jensen has been on fire lately, batting .318/.430/.788 over his last 18 games. However, that heater comes on the heels of a 42-game stretch in which he hit .160/.278/.307. It's hard to argue with 24 home runs and 59 extra-base hits from your catcher, though. That type of production has been business as usual for the Royals with Salvador Perez over the past 14 years, but it's definitely not the norm.

9. RHP Walbert Ureña, Los Angeles Angels

Though Ureña isn't quite our highest-ranked rookie pitcher, he's been—without a remotely close runner-up—the most valuable pitcher who hadn't appeared in an MLB game prior to this season. Since joining the rotation in mid-April, 12 of his 25 appearances have been quality starts. Well, let's just say we didn't see that coming from a guy who FanGraphs rated in January as the 23rd-best prospect in the Angels' farm system.

8. OF Tristan Peters, Chicago White Sox

Munetaka Murakami is Chicago's highest-profile rookie, but Peters has been the most valuable one. In addition to hitting for the cycle in July, he went five consecutive games in August with a home run and an OPS just shy of .800. There's a good chance he's going to win a Gold Glove for his work in the outfield. Imagine if Tampa Bay hadn't given him away for future considerations back in December.

7. LHP Payton Tolle, Boston Red Sox

Say this much for Tolle: No one is having more fun with their rookie season. From the no-brain balk to the hug to the push-up to the immaculate smile, he has rapidly become one of the most likeable players in the sport. Opposing hitters aren't particularly loving him, though, as he has a 3.02 ERA and a 10.4 K/9 en route to what should be a top-three finish for AL ROY.

6. RHP Logan Henderson, Milwaukee Brewers

Because he has only made 17 starts, ranking Henderson was the biggest conundrum of this entire exercise. In those starts, he has a 2.51 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 10.3 K/9. That makes him one of just five pitchers with at least 80 innings of work, a sub-3.00 ERA, a sub-1.00 WHIP and a 10+ K/9. The others are Jacob Misiorowski, Cam Schlittler, Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale. He's probably going to start Game 2 of the postseason for the Brewers. It's a crime that no one is even talking about him as the possible NL Rookie of the Year.

5. Nolan McLean, RHP, New York Mets

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Season Stats: 166.2 IP, 3.24 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 2.6 bWAR

Where to rank Logan Henderson was the toughest decision of this exercise, but trying to decide who the Mets' representative ought to be was a close runner-up.

If we were simply ranking the top rookies regardless of team, the Mets would easily have two in the top 10 and possibly four in the top 25.

In particular, Carson Benge presents a compelling case for this spot, boasting 18 home runs, 22 stolen bases and a howitzer of an arm responsible for 10 outfield assists. For all the misfires the Mets had with their offseason moves, betting on Benge in an everyday role definitely hit the mark.

But Nolan McLean is probably going to be the Met who receives the most NL Rookie of the Year votes, blossoming into the undisputed ace of this pitching staff.

He did have a bit of a dud against the Yankees last week, allowing five runs in a loss to the Bronx Bombers. He still has 18 quality starts for the year and entered that one with a 2.24 ERA over his previous 17 starts.

If he finishes strong and reaches 20 quality starts, he would be the first rookie to do so since Yordano Ventura racked up 22 in 2014. But already, 18 puts him in rarefied air. The only pitchers to do that in the past 12 years were Michael Soroka in 2019 (18) and Shota Imanaga in 2024 (19).

Also on the table: McLean is 19 strikeouts away from 203, a mark no rookie has reached since Yu Darvish in 2012.

4. JJ Wetherholt, SS, St. Louis Cardinals

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Season Stats: .242/.343/.370, 17 HR, 48 RBI, 14 SB, 4.6 bWAR

JJ Wetherholt has been sidelined by wrist tendinitis since late August, likely ending the debate over whether he or the next player on this list deserves to be NL Rookie of the Year.

In his five healthy months, though, this young Cardinal made quite the first impression.

As the leadoff hitter for pretty much the entire season, RBI opportunities were few and far between. But Wetherholt has been quite the table-setter for Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson to each eclipse 100 RBI, with his .343 on-base percentage translating to 88 runs scored. (Had he not gotten hurt, he would almost certainly rank top 10 in the majors in that department.)

His real value added, however, has been on defense.

Per Statcast, Wetherholt has a Fielding Run Value of 21 and an Outs Above Average rating of 22. He's second to Pete Crow-Armstrong in the former and trails only PCA and Bobby Witt Jr. in the latter.

In 527 chances, this middle infielder has committed just two errors—both in the first two weeks of the season. He's a perfect 467-for-467 since April 11, which is kind of ludicrous.

3. Sal Stewart, 1B/3B, Cincinnati Reds

Season Stats: .269/.338/.472, 31 HR, 108 RBI, 15 SB, 2.3 bWAR

If you're a Blue Jays fan, you might be wondering why in the world this rookie with 31 home runs is 10 spots ahead of your rookie with 33 home runs.

Well, it mostly boils down to one thing: Sal Stewart's clutch gene.

While Kazuma Okamoto has a .676 OPS and 54 RBI in 164 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, Stewart seems to always come through in the clutch, boasting a .949 OPS and 85 RBI in 179 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.

Now, that OPS is nowhere near best in the majors. Both Yordan Alvarez and Nick Kurtz are in the 1.300 range. It's still a remarkable, David Ortiz-like mark from a rookie who's done pretty much all he can to carry an offense that still ranks dead last in the National League in runs scored, in spite of his heroics.

Beyond flirting with becoming the first rookie to lead the majors in RBI since Walt Dropo in 1950, Stewart has simply been a solid overall force on offense. If he can manage three more hits and two more RBI the rest of the way, he'll join 2022 Aaron Judge, 2024 Shohei Ohtani and 2024 José Ramírez as the only players in the 2020s with at least 160 hits, 110 RBI, 30 home runs and 15 stolen bases in the same season.

His Wins Above Replacement rating is nowhere near JJ Wetherholt's, which is going to make for quite the "old school vs. new school" debate for NL Rookie of the Year.

As for me and my house, though, the nod goes to the guy with more than twice as many RBI as the one with a great glove at second base.

2. Parker Messick, LHP, Cleveland Guardians

Season Stats: 178.1 IP, 2.57 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 1.04 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 5.7 bWAR

Do you know what is irrationally fun about Parker Messick's dominance?

Per Statcast, his fastball run value ranks in the 99th percentile with a rating of +36. Only Jacob Misiorowski ranks ahead of him at +37.

While you probably expect that type of grade from The Miz and his 105 MPH heaters, Messick's four-seamer maxes out at around 97 MPH, barely averaging 94 MPH. He's actually below league average in fastball velocity, but there's just something about his release angle and his Gumby-like delivery that makes it tough to hit.

You might now be thinking, "Well, you don't need a flamethrower of a fastball if you have elite breaking pitches, so he must have some phenomenal secondary offerings."

*Insert jarring game show buzzer noise for incorrect answers here*

Messick routinely throws six pitches, but opponents are slugging .629 against his slider, .735 against his curveball and .750 against his cutter. Even wilder, he has thrown his curveball 245 times and recorded just one strikeout from it.

But having those in his arsenal keeps the opposition guessing, which keeps his two bread-and-butter pitches (four-seamer and changeup) lethal.

In all but one of his 30 starts, Messick has completed at least five innings. He also has yet to allow more than four earned runs in a start, even during his seven-start foray into the majors toward the end of last season.

If the Guardians finish this fight and crash the postseason, having Messick and Gavin Williams for Games 1 and 2 could keep them in business for more than just one round.

1. Kevin McGonigle, SS/3B, Detroit Tigers

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Season Stats: .273/.373/.425, 17 HR, 65 RBI, 12 SB, 6.7 bWAR

In ranking Sal Stewart ahead of JJ Wetherholt, we've already made it clear that WAR isn't everything.

But...

If all you care about is Baseball-Reference's calculation of wins above replacement for MVP votes, say hello to your pick for AL MVP*, as Kevin McGonigle is slightly ahead of both Bobby Witt Jr. (6.3) and Yordan Alvarez (6.1) in that category.

*Actually, Cam Schlittler (7.1) leads the American League in bWAR, but we all know MVP voters don't care about pitchers unless they are named Shohei Ohtani. The last non-Ohtani pitcher to receive even one first-place MVP vote was Jacob deGrom in 2018, and he still finished fifth in the overall vote.

There isn't one particular area where McGonigle dominates the competition, but he has been rock solid across the board.

His plate discipline is next level, top 10 in the majors in walks drawn (91) and one of just a few players with more walks than strikeouts (90).

He doesn't steal much and has gone just 1-for-5 in stolen-base attempts since the beginning of July. However, he is also an exceptional baserunner, leading the majors with 31 bases taken.

Sure, his defense could use some work, but 18 errors while bouncing back and forth between shortstop and third base—including playing both in the same game on 38 occasions—isn't bad. He's the only player this season with at least 55 appearances at both positions, with at least 85 at each. We would love to see what he can do if cemented at one or the other in the future.

McGonigle is going to win AL Rookie of the Year, perhaps unanimously so. Pretty easy choice for No. 1 on this list.