11 rookies projected to make an impact in 2025

The 2024 rookie class might have spoiled us. It was incredibly good -- especially in the National League -- but we shouldn't expect to see so many young players make an immediate impact in the Majors every year.

... Right?

Then again, maybe this year's crop will be just as special. Only time will tell.

Below are the 2025 Steamer projections for the 11 rookies who are expected to have more than 1.0 FanGraphs WAR this year. Two disclaimers before we begin: This list does not include Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki because MLB.com's David Adler already wrote about his projected stats. It also doesn't include Reds rookie right-hander Rhett Lowder. He has enough projected WAR to qualify (1.2), but his sore elbow makes his status a tad murky.

Jacob Wilson, SS, A’s (No. 31)
478 PA, 8 HR, 6 SB, .755 OPS, 3.3 WAR

We start with the player with the best hit tool of any Top 100 prospect. Wilson won't make a lot of loud contact -- he didn't barrel any of his 84 batted balls during his A's debut last season -- but he will almost certainly make contact. A .401 hitter in 79 career Minor League games, Wilson struck out only 10 times in 103 plate appearances with the A's and had an equally low 12.7% whiff rate. Conversely, he had a 39.7% squared-up rate, a number exceeded by only one qualified hitter last year: three-time batting champion Luis Arraez.

The No. 6 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Wilson should be the A's starting shortstop on Opening Day. His projected .287 average is surpassed by only six players, and his 3.3 WAR ties him with fellow shortstops Jeremy Pe?a and CJ Abrams.

Matt Shaw, INF, Cubs (No. 19)
483 PA, 15 HR, 15 SB, .729 OPS, 2.3 WAR

Cubs supporters may be a little dismayed that the North Siders didn't win the bidding for Alex Bregman. But the good news is that they will now likely get to see their team's No. 1 prospect in the lineup on Opening Day. Shaw, one of seven Cubs in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects, is now the presumptive favorite to be atop Chicago's depth chart at third base when the regular season begins. He admitted Friday that getting that call would be "a dream come true."

With plus power and speed, Shaw racked up 21 home runs and 31 stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A last year. He was one of only four Minor Leaguers to record a 20-30 season. If Shaw meets his projection of 15 homers and 15 steals, he would be the first rookie in Cubs franchise history to log a 15-15 year.

Jasson Domínguez, OF, Yankees (No. 21)
530 PA, 18 HR, 18 SB, .745 OPS, 2.2 WAR

Domínguez has been a ballyhooed prospect for so long, it's easy to overlook that he turned 22 years old just last week. He has been a Top 100 prospect every year since 2020 and made a statement in September 2023, homering off of Justin Verlander in his first MLB at-bat.

Since then, the man known as "The Martian" has lost much of the buzz that surrounded him as he made his way through the Minors. He underwent Tommy John surgery just a few weeks after his debut. Once he made it back to the big leagues late last season, he batted .179 with 19 strikeouts in 67 plate appearances and looked uncomfortable at times in left field. But he will probably be in left field for the Yankees when the regular season begins, and his upside remains sky-high. He may never be the next Mickey Mantle or Mike Trout as some predicted when Domínguez was a teenager, but for 2025, he could be the Yankees' leadoff hitter and is projected as a top-50 outfielder by WAR, tied with the Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández.

Kumar Rocker, RHP, Rangers (No. 44)
142 1/3 IP, 9 W, 145 K, 3.79 ERA, 2.1 WAR

The third overall pick in the 2022 Draft looked like a future ace in his return from 2023 Tommy John surgery as he had a 1.74 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings spread between Double-A, Triple-A and the Major Leagues last season. Rocker showcased his 96 mph fastball and wipeout slider during his 11 2/3 innings with Texas. That slider produced a 66% whiff rate across those three levels, including a 50% mark in the Majors.

Rocker may not open the year in the Rangers' starting rotation, but with a projected 142 1/3 innings pitched over 23 starts (39 appearances), he's expected to have a prominent role at some point. He's definitely a pitcher to watch this spring.

Kristian Campbell, OF, Red Sox (No. 7)
388 PA, 10 HR, 9 SB, .768 OPS, 2.0 WAR

Whereas Bregman's decision to join Boston clears a path for Shaw in Chicago, it throws a wrench into Campbell's immediate future. The 22-year-old looked like a top contender for the team's opening at second base, but that spot may belong to Bregman. The good news for Campbell is that while he's known most as a second baseman, he can fit in all over the diamond. Campbell also saw time at shortstop, third base and center field last season while registering big numbers at the plate. In 115 Minor League games, Campbell slashed .330/.439/.558 with 20 homers and 24 steals across three levels last year.

Now a player who wasn't even listed among the Red Sox's top 30 prospects entering 2024 is the No. 7 prospect in the game. Steamer projects Campbell will play in 96 games for Boston this season and be an above-average offensive player (115 wRC+). The team can figure out where he'll play defense later.

Dylan Crews, OF, Nationals (No. 4)
615 PA, 17 HR, 25 SB, .706 OPS, 1.4 WAR

We saw more of Crews last season than any other player on this list. The No. 2 pick in the 2023 Draft was a lineup fixture for Washington once he made his debut on Aug. 26. He stepped to the plate 132 times and registered a .218/.288/.353 slash line for the Nationals. It wasn't the greatest introduction, but Crews did provide above-average outfield defense (three outs above average) and used his 93rd-percentile sprint speed to steal 12 bases in 15 attempts.

Crews is still viewed as a five-tool talent, with grades of 60 or better across the board on the 20-80 scale, according to MLB Pipeline. Given his all-around skills, you could argue that his projected .246 average and 1.4 WAR are too low. However, it looks like he has a shot of becoming the first rookie in Nationals/Expos history to record a 20-20 season.

Hyeseong Kim, 2B, Dodgers
365 PA, 5 HR, 14 SB, .698 OPS, 1.4 WAR

The 26-year-old Kim was an elite player over eight seasons in the KBO. A .304 lifetime hitter with 211 stolen bases, Kim won the league's Golden Glove Award at second base -- recognizing him as the best player at that position -- in each of the past three years. He could be Los Angeles' top option at second base, or the team might use him in more of a utility role since Kim was a standout performer at both middle-infield spots with the Kiwoom Heroes. He may not have a league-average bat in his first year (projected 97 wRC+), but the lefty-swinging Kim should put the ball in play often (projected .279 average and 16.2% K rate), be a pest on the basepaths and be a sure-handed defender.

Jace Jung, 3B, Tigers
331 PA, 9 HR, 2 SB, .694 OPS, 1.3 WAR

Jung is another beneficiary from the Bregman signing. The Tigers offered the two-time All-Star a six-year deal worth $171.5 million, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, but they can now give Jung more at-bats at the hot corner. The 24-year-old slugged 28 homers in the Minor Leagues in 2023 and 15 more in 95 games last year, but that power didn't materialize once he reached The Show. He went homerless in 94 plate appearances with the Tigers and struck out 29 times while playing through an injured right wrist.

Jung still has plenty of potential -- he just missed this year's Top 100 Prospects list -- and he had his wrist repaired during the offseason. A left-handed hitter, Jung could lead a platoon at third with the right-handed-hitting Matt Vierling.

• Jung ready to prove doubters wrong with 3B there for the taking

Will Wagner, 2B, Blue Jays
326 PA, 6 HR, 2 SB, .749 OPS, 1.1 WAR

The son of a newly elected Hall of Fame pitcher, Wagner will make his presence felt in the Majors with his hitting. It's his top tool, and we got a glimpse of why when he broke into the big leagues last year. Wagner collected seven hits in his first four games with Toronto and then enjoyed a five-hit night against the Twins in just his 16th game. No other Blue Jays had accomplished that within their first 50 career games, much less their first 20.

Toronto's offseason trade for second baseman Andrés Giménez and its signing of Anthony Santander clouded Wagner's road to everyday at-bats, but the Blue Jays should find space for him somewhere. Steamer projects that he will record a .272 average, a .351 on-base percentage and a 118 wRC+.

Trey Sweeney, SS, Tigers
325 PA, 8 HR, 8 SB, .656 OPS, 1.1 WAR

Tigers fans should focus on the left side of the infield throughout Spring Training because shortstop is another position they will want to track. Javier Báez has been the starter there for three seasons, but he has posted a 56 wRC+ since the start of 2023, the worst of any hitter (minimum 800 PA). The veteran is also coming off of right hip surgery, which ended his 2024 season in August. When Báez went down last year, Sweeney stepped up at short, notching two outs above average (Báez was at minus-1) and hitting four homers in 36 games. His fWAR was 0.4. Báez's through 80 games was minus-0.7.

Báez is still under contract for three more years at $73 million. The Tigers will likely give him as many chances as possible to remain their leader at shortstop in part because of that commitment. But the 24-year-old Sweeney is "starting to see the game slow down a little bit," according to Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris.

Chase Meidroth, INF, White Sox
230 PA, 3 HR, 3 SB, .702 OPS, 1.1 WAR

Meidroth led the Minors with 105 walks and produced a .435 on-base percentage last season at Triple-A Worcester while in the Red Sox system. In December, he was part of a Sox swap, going from Boston to Chicago in the Garrett Crochet blockbuster. Meidroth doesn't have many standout tools, but given his highly advanced bat-to-ball skills, he could be on the White Sox active roster immediately as a reserve infielder. Steamer states that he will play 57 big league games this year and have a .356 on-base percentage thanks to a robust 13.7% walk rate.