17 rookies who formed an elite NL class

On Monday, the winners of the American League and National League Rookie of the Year Awards will be announced on MLB Network. You really can’t go wrong with any of the three finalists in either league, but I found myself, as I looked over the NL trio, feeling like there were many, many names missing.

That’s nothing against those three finalists: Who can argue with Paul Skenes, Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merrill? But when you really start digging into the NL rookie class, you realize just how many fantastic players were a part of it this year.

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There are so many, in fact, all loaded with potential, that I actually think you can break them up into five different categories of excellence. These players are going to be the headliners of the NL for the next decade, but we’re not going to have to wait that long: I believe half of these guys, at least, are in the All-Star Game as soon as next season.

Here’s a look at just how deep the 2024 NL rookie class was.

The finalists

*Jackson Chourio, LF/RF, Brewers*
*Jackson Merrill, CF, Padres*
*Paul Skenes, RHP, Pirates*

Well, we should start with the three finalists, obviously -- they certainly all deserve to be here. Skenes was so good this year that he’s also a finalist for the Cy Young, and looks like he’s going to be one for many years to come. (He also might already be one of the most marketable players in the league. It’ll be fascinating to see where he is in jersey sales this time next year.)

Chourio started the season as the youngest player in the game, debuting on Opening Day just 18 days after turning 20. But he ended it as probably the best player on a team that won its division and will be favored by many to do so again in 2025; it was thrilling to watch him improve exponentially throughout the season, and downright scary to imagine him doing so again next year. And Merrill simply became the beating heart of an outstanding Padres team that was stacked with veterans but still found itself turning to the rookie, and all his clutch hits, as one of its key leaders.

These are the standouts of this NL rookie class. But as you will see, they are just the start.

The NPB imports

*Shota Imanaga, LHP, Cubs*
*Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP, Dodgers*

Yamamoto was, understandably, the most heavily hyped name coming into the season, after signing a record-setting 12-year, $325 million contract. But early in 2024, it was Imanaga (who signed for a relatively small $53 million guarantee) who looked like he was going to win the Cy Young. Imanaga had a 0.84 ERA in his first nine starts (with a 4-0 record), and while he obviously couldn’t keep that up all year, he really only had one bad month, the 5.67 ERA he put up in June. Otherwise, he was remarkably consistent: He had a 2.97 ERA in the first half and a 2.83 ERA in the second half. He also had a whopping 15 wins on the year.

Yamamoto struggled with injuries in his first season over from Japan, but he still put up a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts and had moments of brilliance, including during the World Series champion Dodgers’ postseason run. He gave up just one run in the month of June and had peripheral numbers that were better than Imanaga’s. Both these guys look like aces, for at least a few years to come.

The promising pitching prospects

*Spencer Schwellenbach, RHP, Braves*
*Jared Jones, RHP, Pirates*
*Tobias Myers, RHP, Brewers*
*Gavin Stone, RHP, Dodgers*

Three of these four prospects were on teams that made the playoffs, and all of them were impressive in their own ways. Schwellenbach posted a 3.35 ERA and 5.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 21 starts. Myers’ long journey to a Major League opportunity culminated in a scoreless start in the NL Wild Card Series. Stone, who actually led all these pitchers (as well as the Dodgers) in innings in 2024, will miss the 2025 season after having shoulder surgery, but the other three should be major factors next season and for years to come.

Keep a particularly close eye on Jones, who is good friends with his Pirates rotation mate Skenes and could help form the sort of duo that could eventually put Pittsburgh atop the NL Central.

The future Gold Glovers

*Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF, Cubs*
*Joey Ortiz, 3B/SS, Brewers*
*Masyn Winn, SS, Cardinals*
*Jacob Young, CF, Nationals*

The player with the highest Baseball-Reference WAR among all MLB rookies in 2024 was Skenes. That’s probably not surprising. But do you know who was second? It’s Winn, who was a finalist for the Gold Glove at his position and seems sure to win one in the coming years. He instantly took over the position for the Cardinals and won’t be letting go of it anytime soon, establishing himself as a building block in St. Louis.

Crow-Armstrong made an instant impression with the Cards’ rivals on the North Side, playing sterling defense and stealing 27 bases along the way. Ortiz was so splendid at third for the Brewers, after coming over in the Corbin Burnes trade, that he might end up replacing Willy Adames at shortstop if he leaves in free agency. These three are going to be stealing hits from frustrated NL Central hitters for years.

Oh, and Young? He simply led all outfielders in outs above average, no big deal.

The sluggers

*Michael Busch, 1B, Cubs
Tyler Fitzgerald, SS, Giants
Andy Pages, CF/RF, Dodgers
James Wood, CF, Nationals*

There’s not much that can be more satisfying than having a young slugger on your team, the sort of big bat you can set in your lineup for a half-decade and forget about. These were the most impressive ones, all players who provided an instant jolt to their teams in 2024. (Pages even did it a few times in the playoffs.) Busch, acquired from the Dodgers last offseason, was a key cog in the Cubs’ lineup, with 21 homers and a 118 OPS+. Fitzgerald had the Giants’ longest streak of games with a homer since a guy named Bonds, and Wood, who only turned 22 in September, more than held his own (122 OPS+) while flashing the tools that made him an elite prospect.

And don’t forget another rookie here: Wood’s Nationals teammate, Dylan Crews, debuted late in the season, just one year after Washington made him the second overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, right after his LSU teammate, Skenes. Crews, though, has the advantage of getting to be a rookie again in 2025, as he did not exhaust his eligibility this year.