These 12 players are on the rise entering '25

The full list of MLB Network's Top 100 Players Right Now for 2025 was unveiled this week. This year's edition featured many players who vaulted up the list from last year and 33 others who were outside of the top 100 in 2024.

Let's take a moment to recognize those who make the biggest leaps -- specifically, the three players who improved at least 50 spots from last year and the nine who landed inside the top 50 after being unranked a year ago. Whether they were rookies, breakout stars or established veterans who found a near gear to their game, these 12 players opened eyes last season. With Spring Training upon us, we can't wait to see what this group will do this season.

BIGGEST GAINS IN THE TOP 100

Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds (No. 31)
2024 rank: No. 100 (+69)

De La Cruz's exciting tools were on display during his 2023 rookie year, but his game still needed a lot of refinement. Last year, he was able to take his tantalizing raw materials and blend them with a better feel for the game. Elly still struck out a lot, but his K rate fell by two percentage points while his chase rate fell by about six points. He made optimal contact more often, showcased by a 4.2-point improvement in his barrel rate, and his outs above average increased from four to 15, tied for 11th-most in the Majors.

Elly's ascent is similar to that of another uber-talented shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr. The Royals' franchise player was No. 92 in the Top 100 Right Now in 2023. Last year, he was No. 20. This year, he is No. 3. De La Cruz could make that leap from star to superstar this summer.

William Contreras, C, Brewers (No. 28)
2024 rank: No. 81 (+53)

Most people might have known him as Willson's younger brother a few years ago, but now you can call William Contreras the top-ranked catcher in baseball. The 27-year-old finished fifth in the National League MVP voting last year after leading all qualified catchers in wRC+ (131) and in each triple-slash category -- .281 average, .365 on-base percentage, .466 slugging percentage. Contreras' 5.4 fWAR tied for 13th in baseball, and he was the All-MLB First Team selection at catcher.

Contreras is only the second catcher since 2019 to crack the top 30 of the Top 100 Right Now. The Phillies' J.T. Realmuto came in at No. 29 in '23.

Matt Chapman, 3B, Giants (No. 38)
2024 rank: No. 89 (+51)

Contreras and Chapman could point to increased bat speed as one reason for their success at the plate last season. Chapman's first season in San Francisco got off to a slow start as he carried a sub-.700 OPS into mid-June. But he came to life over the final few months of the season, hitting 19 home runs and posting an .891 OPS through his last 81 games. Now he'll call San Francisco home for years to come.

Still a fantastic defender at the hot corner in his early 30s, Chapman captured his fifth Gold Glove last year. His WRC+ (121) and fWAR (5.5) were his best since 2019.

BIGGEST LEAPS INTO THE TOP 100

Tarik Skubal, LHP, Tigers (No. 11)

Skubal was baseball's No. 24 prospect in 2021 and began to show signs of stardom at the tail end of 2023 when he recorded 36 strikeouts and allowed only one earned run over his final 23 innings. But it wasn't until last season that Skubal solidified himself as a bona fide ace. After earning his first All-Star nod, winning the American League pitching Triple Crown, being baseball's most valuable pitcher by run value, leading the Tigers to the postseason and taking home the AL Cy Young Award, Skubal debuts on the Top 100 Right Now as the top-ranked pitcher.

Paul Skenes, RHP, Pirates (No. 15)

Skenes overpowered hitters on his first day in The Show and just kept shoving over the next 4 1/2 months. He had a 1.96 ERA across 133 innings. He allowed only four earned runs over his final seven starts, spanning 35 innings. Opposing batters produced a lowly .442 OPS during that period. Here's another crazy number: Skenes' K-BB rate (26.8%) was the best from any pitcher who threw at least 100 innings in their debut season during the Live-Ball Era (since 1920).

One of nine rookies on this year's Top 100 Right Now, Skenes' ranking is the highest by a player immediately following their rookie season since Aaron Judge was No. 15 on the 2018 list. The No. 1 pick from the 2023 Draft may already be the best starter in the Majors and is projected by Steamer to lead all pitchers in fWAR this season.

Chris Sale, LHP, Braves (No. 20)

We've spent most of this article so far talking about players who have elevated their play to previously unseen heights. Sale's rise, conversely, is really a rebound. The left-hander was the No. 5 player a decade ago and last made the Top 100 Right Now list ahead of the 2020 season. Then came a rash of injuries that limited him to only 31 starts over the next four years. However, after an offseason trade from the Red Sox to the Braves, Sale found the fountain of youth in Atlanta last year.

He won his first Cy Young Award as well as the NL Triple Crown. No qualified big league starter had more fWAR (6.4), a lower FIP (2.09) or a better strikeout-minus-walk rate (26.5%). Sale was just four strikeouts away from becoming the first pitcher since Johan Santana in 2006 to pace MLB in wins, ERA and K's.

• Sale opens camp looking to build on last year's success

Jackson Merrill, CF, Padres (No. 24)

Skenes' dominance may have slightly overshadowed what Merrill accomplished during his first big league season, but that doesn't make it any less impressive. Merrill was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger winner, finished among the top 10 in the NL MVP voting and was the runner-up to Skenes for NL Rookie of the Year. He posted above-average strikeout and whiff rates while ranking in the 94th percentile with a .372 expected weighted on-base average. Defensively, Merrill excelled in center field -- a position he never played in the Minors -- with 12 OAA. Any rookie would be commended for doing all of that. But the fact that Merrill did it after being an Opening Day starter for the Padres at just 20 years old speaks to just how special his year was.

Jarren Duran, LF, Red Sox (No. 27)

Duran's 735 plate appearances last season were the most in the Majors and the most by a Red Sox player since Mo Vaughn in 1996 (752). Boston's current leadoff man made the most of his opportunities, packing his stat line with notable numbers: 111 runs, 34 stolen bases, 21 homers, 48 doubles and 14 triples. Those last two numbers were the most in MLB. They also made Duran the first player since Cardinals great Stan Musial in 1946 to record at least 48 doubles and 14 triples in a single season. The All-Star Game MVP in his first appearance in the Midsummer Classic, Duran finished his breakout campaign with 6.7 fWAR, seventh-most in the game.

Jackson Chourio, LF, Brewers (No. 40)

Chourio entered the season as MLB's No. 2 prospect, one spot ahead of Skenes. But whereas Skenes looked like a seasoned pro on Day 1, Chourio needed some time to get comfortable in the bigs. Entering June 8, Chourio had a .209 average and a .588 OPS. From that point, he was one of the best position players in the sport. He slashed .306/.362/.525 with 15 homers and 15 steals over his final 94 games. Chourio possesses near-elite speed and made a positive impact on defense with 5 OAA in left field. He tallied 21 dingers and 22 steals as a rookie. Could he go 30-30 as a 21-year-old? He would be just the fourth Brewers player to join that club and the third player to reach those marks at that age or younger, joining Mike Trout (2012) and Ronald Acu?a Jr. (2019).

Willy Adames, SS, Giants (No. 41)

Adames, a former Brewer, is now one half of San Francisco's superb left side of the infield along with the aforementioned Chapman. The 29-year-old established career-highs with 32 homers, 112 RBIs and 65 extra-base hits in his final year with Milwaukee. He also stole 21 bases after stealing a total of 30 over his first six MLB seasons. It was all part of a bounceback season for Adames after he experienced a subpar year at the plate (94 wRC+) in 2023. That number increased to 119 last season, and he was rewarded in December with the most lucrative contract in Giants franchise history.

Cole Ragans, LHP, Royals (No. 43)

The Royals orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in 2024, winning 30 more games than they did the previous year and making the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Ragans was key to Kansas City's success and a huge part of a starting rotation that led the American League with 16.7 fWAR. It is why the Royals had barely unpacked in Arizona before giving him a three-year, $13.25 million contract.

Ragans came to the Royals in a swap with the Rangers ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline and made an immediate impression in his new home, compiling a 2.64 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings. Last season, he tallied the fifth-most K's in the big leagues (223) over 186 1/3 innings. He also ranked fourth in K/9 rate (10.77). Teammate Seth Lugo was the AL Cy Young runner-up, but Ragans sits 31 spots higher on the Top 100 Right Now list.

Brent Rooker, LF, Athletics (No. 46)

Rooker was an All-Star in 2023, but that selection was heavily supported by a scorching first month in which Rooker hit .353 with nine home runs and a 1.245 OPS. He closed that year with 30 homers, but he had a .228 average and a 35.4% strikeout rate after that April.

In 2024, Rooker proved that he is much more than an all-or-nothing slugger. He did launch 39 homers, but his slash line -- .293/.365/.562 -- featured a significant improvement in each statistic. Rooker's 164 wRC+ ranked seventh in the Majors and was the best by an A's player since Jason Giambi in 2001. Rooker was also the sixth-most valuable hitter in MLB by run value.