Here are some of the best sophomore seasons

Here are some of the best sophomore seasons

September 30th, 2024

Making a big splash as a rookie is difficult. Maintaining or even improving upon that production the next season may be an even tougher challenge.

The weight of expectations exerts its force. Opponents adjust, relentlessly, and the counter-adjustments don’t always come easily.

The ones who are most successful tend to go on to impressive Major League careers, as you can see by many of the players on this list looking at some of the best sophomore seasons. To qualify, a player must have received votes in one of the previous season’s Rookie of the Year Award races, dating back to the honor's debut in 1947. Seasons are presented in reverse chronological order.

, SS, Orioles
2023: 6.2 WAR (AL ROY)
2024: 8.9 WAR

After a lengthy rebuild, the Orioles have re-emerged as a contender thanks in large part to their impressive collection of homegrown stars. That includes Henderson, who was ranked as baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline entering the 2023 season. The slugger lived up to the billing, leading Baltimore to the AL East title and earning Rookie of the Year honors with 28 homers, an .814 OPS and 6.2 WAR while splitting his time between third base and shortstop.

Henderson was even better in 2024, taking over as the Orioles’ everyday shortstop and slashing .281/.364/.529 with 37 homers, 92 RBIs, 118 runs scored and 21 steals over 159 games. He produced 8.9 WAR, the third-highest figure by an Orioles player in a single season since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954, behind only a pair of Cal Ripken Jr. seasons (11.5 WAR in '91 and 10.0 WAR in '84).

, OF, Mariners
2022: 6.2 WAR (AL ROY)
2023: 5.3 WAR (4th in AL MVP)

Although he hadn’t played a single game above Double-A at the time, Rodríguez earned a spot on the Mariners’ Opening Day roster and entered 2022 as the team’s starting center fielder. The 21-year-old showed his inexperience at first, producing only two homers with a .606 OPS through 52 games, but he eventually found his footing and performed well enough for the Mariners to sign him to a mega-extension before the season was even over. Finishing with a .287 batting average, 28 homers and 25 steals, Rodríguez helped Seattle reach the postseason for the first time since 2001 and was recognized as the AL Rookie of the Year.

Rodríguez built on that success the following year, becoming the fourth player after Ronald Acuña Jr. (2019), Mike Trout ('12) and Alex Rodriguez (1998) to post a 30-30 season at age 22 or younger.

, SP, Braves
2022: 201 K’s (2nd in NL ROY)
2023: 281 K’s (4th in NL Cy Young)

Strider burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2022, making a successful transition from the bullpen to the rotation and establishing himself as one of MLB's premier young pitchers while posting a 2.67 ERA with a 13.8 K/9 mark. The right-hander became the fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach the 200-strikeout plateau, doing so in only 130 innings. He broke his own record one year later, getting to 200 strikeouts in just 123 1/3 frames en route to an MLB-leading 281 K’s on the season.

, SS, Royals
2022: 20 HR (4th in AL ROY)
2023: 30 HR (7th in AL MVP)

Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the top prospect in baseball entering 2022, Witt made his highly anticipated MLB debut on Opening Day, less than three years after the Royals made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. While he struggled on defense and only reached base at a .294 clip as a rookie, Witt showed flashes of potential as well, finishing with 20 homers and 30 stolen bases over 150 games.

Witt made dramatic strides in all aspects of the game the following season, producing a .276/.319/.495 slash with 30 homers and 49 steals and becoming a plus defender at shortstop. On the heels of his breakout, the youngster signed an 11-year extension worth $288.7 million in guaranteed money the following February.

Alek Manoah, SP, Blue Jays
2021: 139 ERA+ (8th in AL ROY)
2022: 174 ERA+ (3rd in AL Cy Young Award)

Manoah debuted with Toronto in May 2021, less than two years after the club selected him 11th overall in the 2019 Draft. The big right-hander showed no fear against AL East competition as a rookie, going 9-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts. He was even better as a 24-year-old in 2022, taking the ball 31 times, earning an All-Star selection and posting a 1.00 ERA over his final eight outings to help the Blue Jays lock up a playoff berth.

Fellow 2021 AL Rookie of the Year vote-getters Shane McClanahan (seventh) and Emmanuel Clase (fifth) also authored excellent follow-ups on the mound in '22 but come up just short of this list.

, OF, Braves
2018: 26 HR (NL ROY)
2019: 41 HR (5th in NL MVP)

A spectacular debut as a 20-year-old in 2018 earned Acuña the NL Rookie of the Year Award, and he continued to establish himself as one of the game's most exciting players the next season. An All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner, Acuña topped 40 homers and 100 RBIs while leading the NL in runs (127) and steals (37) -- making a spirited push for a rare 40-40 campaign. Acuña went on to join the 40-40 club in 2023 en route to MLB's first 40-70 season and a unanimous NL MVP Award.

Juan Soto, OF, Nationals
2018: 142 OPS+ (2nd in NL ROY)
2019: 138 OPS+ (9th in NL MVP)

Along with Acuña, Soto was part of a talented 2018 rookie class that also included the Cardinals' , the Dodgers' , the Yankees' , the Mets' , and the Angels' . All followed up with strong '19 campaigns. Soto was just as good in his sophomore year, but this time stretched over a full season after playing 116 games as a teenager in '18. Showing tremendous maturity for a hitter his age, Soto posted an OBP over .400 and a slugging percentage over .500 for the second year in a row, topping 30 homers and 100 RBIs. His postseason heroics helped the Nationals win the World Series.

Kyle Freeland, SP, Rockies
2017: 123 ERA+ (7th in NL ROY)
2018: 164 ERA+ (4th in NL Cy Young Award)

Colorado made the Denver native its first-round Draft pick in 2014, and his rookie year suggested he was not intimidated by Coors Field. Freeland’s second year confirmed it. The 25-year-old left-hander posted a 2.40 ERA there, the lowest ever produced in a season at Coors, with at least 10 starts. Freeland took the ball 33 times and topped 200 innings, then fired 6 2/3 scoreless innings in an NL Wild Card Game victory at Wrigley Field to get Colorado into the Division Series for the first time since 2009.

, 3B/LF, Cubs
2015: 6.1 WAR (NL ROY)
2016: 7.4 WAR (NL MVP)

As you might recall, Bryant’s team snapped a rather infamous championship drought in 2016, as he batted .308/.400/.523 with three home runs in the postseason. Bryant was even more productive during the regular season, slashing his strikeout rate while generating a 146 OPS+ and 39 home runs. The result was an NL-high 7.4 WAR, as Bryant became the fourth player to go from Rookie of the Year Award winner to MVP.

, CF, Angels
2012: 168 OPS+ (AL ROY)
2013: 179 OPS+ (2nd in AL MVP)

After a modest 40-game debut in 2011, Trout was nothing short of spectacular in ‘12, when his 10.5 WAR set a record for rookie position players. As it turns out, that was just the beginning. A hallmark of Trout’s incredible career has been his ability to continually grow, adjust and eliminate weaknesses. In ‘13, he cut his strikeout rate and sent his walk rate soaring as he led the American League with 110 free passes. Trout batted .323/.432/.557 with 27 homers, 33 steals and 9.0 WAR as a 21-year-old, though Miguel Cabrera beat him out for AL Most Valuable Player Award honors for the second year in a row.

, 2B, Red Sox
2007: 3.9 WAR (AL ROY)
2008: 6.9 WAR (AL MVP)

Pedroia struggled mightily during a 31-game debut in 2006 but shook that off to quickly become an integral piece on a championship team. He was even better the next year, slashing .326/.376/.493 while leading the AL in runs (118), hits (213) and doubles (54). It was a season of significant hardware for Pedroia, who took home the AL Gold Glove Award, a Silver Slugger and the AL MVP Award.

, 1B, Phillies
2005: 22 HR (NL ROY)
2006: 58 HR (NL MVP)

An injury to Jim Thome in 2005 created an opportunity for Howard, who took advantage, slamming 22 home runs to take NL Rookie of the Year Award honors despite playing in just 88 games. Philly then traded Thome and handed the job to Howard. The lefty slugger responded by batting .313/.425/.659 while leading the Majors in homers (58) and RBIs (149) in '06, and beating out Albert Pujols for the NL MVP Award.

, SP, Cubs
2002: 3.32 ERA (7th in NL ROY)
2003: 2.43 ERA (3rd in NL Cy Young)

Less than a year after Chicago drafted him second overall in 2001, Prior gave big league hitters fits over 19 starts. The imposing right-hander was even better in ‘03, going 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA, NL-best 2.47 FIP, and a 28.4 percent strikeout rate that ranked third. Prior also finished third in the NL Cy Young Award race and won his first two postseason starts before the ill-fated Game 6 of the NL Championship Series against the Marlins. Unfortunately for Prior and the Cubs, injuries limited him to just 57 more starts.

, RF, Expos
1997: 117 OPS+ (6th in NL ROY)
1998: 150 OPS+ (13th in NL MVP)

Vlad shined in 1997, but due to injuries only played 90 games, as part of a stellar rookie class that also included Nomar Garciaparra, Scott Rolen and Andruw Jones. All four were even better in ‘98. While it was a 97-loss season in Montreal, Guerrero’s career took off. The 23-year-old with the aggressive approach batted .324/.371/.589, ripped 38 home runs, and tied for fourth among NL position players with 7.4 WAR.

, SP, Mets
1984: 2.60 ERA (NL Rookie of the Year Award)
1985: 1.53 ERA (NL Cy Young Award)

Simply put, this is one of the most dominant pitching seasons in baseball history, as Gooden ran away with the NL Cy Young Award. A year after debuting at age 19, Gooden took his performance to another level and became the only pitcher to follow Rookie of the Year Award honors with a Cy Young Award. He led the league in wins (24), ERA (1.53), ERA+ (229), FIP (2.13), complete games (16), innings (276 2/3) and strikeouts (268). Gooden’s 13.3 Baseball-Reference wins above replacement -- a figure that also takes into account his value at the plate -- is the highest in a single season since Babe Ruth in 1923.

, SS, Orioles
1982: 4.7 WAR (AL ROY)
1983: 8.2 WAR (AL MVP)

In his second full season, Ripken led the AL in runs (121), hits (211), doubles (47) and WAR (8.2), while batting .318/.371/.517. That led to his first of 19 straight All-Star Games and first of two AL MVP Awards, as Ripken contributed to Baltimore's championship run. For good measure, it was the first full season of Ripken’s record-setting streak of 2,632 consecutive games played, which began the previous May.

, SS, Cubs
1954: 2.4 WAR (3rd in NL ROY)
1955: 8.2 WAR (3rd in NL MVP)

Al Kaline, Hank Aaron and Banks were all were part of the 1954 rookie class, and all excelled again as sophomores, paving their way toward Cooperstown. Banks truly came into his power in that second full season, going from 19 home runs the year before to 44, which set a single-season record for shortstops. (Banks went on to top that number twice, and to this day, only Alex Rodriguez has done better.) The 24-year-old earned the first of his 14 All-Star selections, posting a 144 OPS+ while playing shortstop every day.

, RF, Tigers
1954: 80 OPS+ (3rd in AL ROY)
1955: 162 OPS+ (2nd in AL MVP)

Signed right out of high school in 1953, Kaline was in the Majors as an 18-year-old, but it wasn’t until ‘55 that he became something special. That's when he made the first of his 18 All-Star teams and claimed the AL batting title at .340, while also finishing first in hits (200) and total bases (321). Only Mickey Mantle topped his 8.2 WAR, and Kaline came up just short in the AL MVP Award race behind another Yankee, Yogi Berra.

, 3B, Braves
1952: 25 HR (3rd in NL ROY)
1953: 47 HR (2nd in NL MVP)

In 1953, the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee, and Mathews moved from merely good to great. The left-handed slugger went from striking out nearly twice as much as he’d walked as a rookie, to walking more than he struck out. He nearly doubled his homer total (an NL-high 47), edged Stan Musial for the NL lead in OPS+ (171), and racked up 8.3 WAR, finishing as the NL MVP Award runner-up.