Welcome to the Rookie Roundup, a weekly look-in on baseball’s best and most interesting first-year players. Last week, we broke down the much-anticipated debut of Texas Rangers pitcher Kumar Rocker. Now, in our final installment of the season, it’s time to name SI’s all-rookie team for 2024.
We’ve reached the end of the line.
Since the start of May, I’ve used this space each week to highlight rookie standouts across the sport. The day-in, day-out nature of baseball provides a seemingly endless canvas for a wide breadth of interesting players and story lines to develop. And while established stars and well-known names will always be intriguing, the newcomers injecting some fresh energy into the game is what drew me to this weekly routine. Nearly five months, 250 big-league debuts and many, many words later, I can say with confidence it’s been a worthwhile endeavor.
This year’s freshman class has produced plenty of impressive feats, star turns and, yes, rookie mistakes. There will be generation-defining stars from 2024’s group of rookies—some whose arrivals immediately announced themselves as singular talents, others who took some time to boom. There will be multi-time All-Stars, serviceable journeymen, flameouts and everything in between. But in one last attempt to capture what these first-year players have achieved in their debut seasons, it’s time to hand out some awards.
Major League Baseball introduced the annual tradition of an All-MLB team back in 2019 to commemorate the best of the sport for each season. Here, we’ll undertake a similar exercise with SI’s All-Rookie team. The concept is simple: one selection per position, five starting pitchers and two relief pitchers, just like how the All-MLB team works.
There were no-brainers and plenty of hand-wringing cuts to make, resulting in an impressive group of players. Without further ado, here are the best rookies of 2024.
Hitters
Catcher: Austin Wells, New York Yankees
In a down year for rookie backstops, Wells made this an easy choice. But that’s not to say he didn’t earn it—the 25-year-old has put up a 110 wRC+ in nearly 400 plate appearances while playing superb defense, and looks every bit the Yankees’ catcher for the foreseeable future. His 13 home runs on the year are the second-most by a rookie catcher in franchise history, trailing only Gary Sánchez’s 20 back in 2016.
Best moment: Wells picked a great day to have his first multi-homer game. His first blast during New York’s Aug. 30 game against the St. Louis Cardinals gave the Yankees a 4–2 lead in the third inning, and his second—a two-run shot in the eighth—sealed a 6–3 victory.
Honorable mention: Kyle McCann, Oakland A’s
First base: Michael Busch, Chicago Cubs
Busch went from Los Angeles Dodgers cast-off to Cubs foundational piece in short order upon his arrival in Chicago. He slugged .500 with six homers in his first month, and though his production went through some ups and downs amid an aggressive, strikeout-heavy approach, he consistently did damage when he made contact. His 21 home runs are tied for third-most among rookies this season.
Best moment: Busch was hitting something of a rookie slump coming into a May 7 game against the Padres. He had posted a .167 average with 23 strikeouts in his last 15 games, but picked a great way to break out of it, going 2-for-4 with a walk-off home run in a 3–2 win.
Honorable mention: Nolan Schanuel, Los Angeles Angels
Second base: Spencer Horwitz, Toronto Blue Jays
Horwitz’s path to becoming a productive big-league player was not an easy one. A 24th-round pick in 2019, he made a brief debut last season and didn’t get a call-up this year until June 8. Now 26, he’s taken advantage of his opportunity to find a role with the Blue Jays, splitting time between first and second base while posting a 132 wRC+ in 92 games.
Best moment: Can your best moment come in a game that you didn’t start and your team lost? In this case, yes, as Horwitz provided some dramatics with his pinch-hit, go-ahead homer against the Braves on Sept. 8. Atlanta eventually won in extras, though Horwitz added another hit in the 10th inning.
Honorable mention: Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers; Otto López, Miami Marlins
Third base: Joey Ortiz, Milwaukee Brewers
That the Brewers have already sewn up the NL Central title after dealing away former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes in February is a testament to their depth and throwback style of play. Ortiz, the key return in the Burnes trade, fits the mold perfectly. His hot start at the plate cooled off after a blistering first two months, but his excellent defense makes him the easy choice here. Statcast ranks him second among all third basemen in fielding runs value, trailing only four-time Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman.
Best moment: There are a lot of standout plays to choose from, but this one from Sunday is tough to top.
This hot corner defense from Joey Ortiz 🤯 pic.twitter.com/9DnHRYZdXb
— MLB (@MLB) September 22, 2024
Honorable mention: Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
Shortstop: Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals
The selections up to this point were fairly easy to make. Now, the fun part starts. Winn gets the nod over Tyler Fitzgerald of the San Francisco Giants thanks to his advantage in playing time and defensive value. Winn has the most plate appearances among all rookies and ranks second in runs scored (77) and hits (150).
Best moment: If arm strength is your thing, then look no further than this textbook relay throw Winn uncorks to nab a base runner at home.
MASYN WINN'S THROW TO THE PLATE WAS 97.2 MPH! pic.twitter.com/tn3srrefMb
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 5, 2024
Honorable mention: Fitzgerald; David Hamilton, Boston Red Sox
Left field: Jackson Chourio, Milwaukee Brewers
Chourio made waves before he ever stepped foot on a major league field thanks to his record-setting contract signed before the start of the season. After finding his sea legs, he’s proven himself more than worthy of such a deal. He’s just the third player age-20 or younger to post 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season, joining Mike Trout (2012) and Vada Pinson (1959).
Best moment: Though it came in a 11–10 defeat to the Diamondbacks, Chourio’s five-RBI day on Sept. 15—which included a go-ahead triple in the 10th inning—flashed his star potential.
Honorable mention: Colton Cowser, Baltimore Orioles; Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers; James Wood, Washington Nationals
Center field: Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres
Merrill’s sensational rookie season turned what appeared to be a snoozefest of a Rookie of the Year race into an intriguing battle. He’s been the most impactful player in the Padres’ second-half surge, batting .316/.350/.612 since the All-Star break.
Best moment: His walk-off homer on June 12 certainly is worth mentioning, but instead we’ll go with Merrill’s performance in a 9–8 win over the Pirates on Aug. 7, in which he went 4-for-5 with two home runs and a career-best four RBI.
Honorable mention: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs; Jacob Young, Washington Nationals; Parker Meadows, Detroit Tigers; Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox
Right field: Wilyer Abreu, Boston Red Sox
For a team whose rookie hitters rank second in fWAR (5.4) and home runs (44), Abreu has led the charge. His bat has provided consistent production in the middle of the order, while his defense has led all right fielders in Statcast’s fielding runs value.
Best moment: There’s no better way to endear yourselves to Red Sox fans than to come through against the Yankees, which is why Abreu’s pinch-hit, game-tying double in the eighth inning of a 9–7 win on July 26 gets the nod.
Honorable mention: Jhonkensy Noel, Cleveland Guardians; Wenceel Pérez, Detroit Tigers
Designated hitter: Colton Cowser, Baltimore Orioles
Cowser is the best hitter left after all the other positions were filled out, so he earns the selection despite only appearing as Baltimore’s DH once this season. The 24-year-old ranks second among all rookies in fWAR (3.9) and home runs (22), headlining a strong collection of young Orioles hitters that has the organization poised to contend for the foreseeable future.
Best moment: Cowser didn’t start Baltimore’s June 12 game against the Braves, but he provided the biggest play with his go-ahead homer in the eighth inning of a 4–2 victory.
Starting Pitchers
Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
What more is there to say about Skenes? His 1.99 ERA leads all pitchers since his debut on May 11, and it’s the second-lowest for a player’s first 22 starts of all time. It’s a rare thing when someone with this much hype surpasses it immediately, and that’s exactly what Skenes has done.
Best moment: There are so many to choose from, but starting the All-Star Game as a rookie has to be the winner here.
Shōta Imanaga, Chicago Cubs
Imanaga’s arrival to the majors from overseas wasn’t met with as much hype (or cost as much money) as Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s signing with the Dodgers, but the results have been phenomenal. Imanaga earned an All-Star nod following a blistering first half, and leads all NL pitchers in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.21).
Best moment: Imanaga’s been so consistent that it’s hard to single out one outing. He just set a career high with 11 strikeouts in his Sept. 16 start against the A’s—part of a six-game winning streak—so we’ll go with that.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
A shoulder injury cost Yamamoto nearly three months in the middle of the season. But when he’s been on the mound, the 26-year-old has been sensational. He’s given up zero runs in eight of his 17 starts this season, and will be relied upon to guide a pitching-starved Los Angeles rotation into the postseason.
Best moment: In a May 20 home start against a Diamondbacks squad that swept the Dodgers out of the playoffs last October, Yamamoto pitched into the seventh inning and struck out eight in a 6–4 win.
Luis Gil, New York Yankees
From May 1 to June 14, Gil had perhaps the best run of any pitcher in baseball this season: an 8–0 record over nine starts, with a 1.14 ERA, 61 strikeouts and an opponents’ batting average of .128. Injuries and command issues have made for an up-and-down second half, but when Gil is on, he’s among the best young pitchers in the game.
Best moment: Gil struck out 14 out of 24 batters faced over six innings of work in a 6–1 win on May 18 (nevermind that it was against the White Sox).
Spencer Schwellanbach, Atlanta Braves
A late breaker this season, Schwellenbach debuted on May 29 and lost his first two outings. Since then, he’s been a workhorse for Atlanta, posting a 3.15 ERA over his last 17 starts and lasting at least six innings in 11 of them.
Best moment: In only his 10th career start, Schwellenbach allowed just two hits with 11 strikeouts across seven shutout innings against the Mets.
Honorable mention: Gavin Stone, Los Angeles Dodgers; Tobias Myers, Milwaukee Brewers; Jared Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates; Mitch Spence, Oakland A’s; Spencer Arrighetti, Houston Astros
Relief Pitchers
Cade Smith, Cleveland Guardians
Smith, Emmanuel Clase and fellow rookie Hunter Gaddis have combined for a 1.37 ERA across 216 1/3 innings this season. That’s sure to make for a lethal late-inning formula come October, but as far as rookie relief pitchers are concerned, Smith gets the nod over Gaddis on the strength of his overpowering strikeout stuff, punching out 100 hitters compared to just 17 walks.
Best moment: With Cleveland holding a 5–3 over the Seattle Mariners, Smith entered the game with one out in the seventh inning and runners on first and second. After falling behind 3–0, he induced a double play, then pitched a clean eighth inning with two strikeouts. Fire: extinguished.
Mason Miller, Oakland A’s
There were a lot of young relief pitchers worthy of this final spot, but the singularity of Miller’s wipeout stuff was too appealing to ignore. I could explain, or I could simply point you to his Statcast page (spoiler alert, there’s a lot of red).
Best moment: Striking out Anthony Volpe, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge in order to notch a save at Yankee Stadium is the clear choice here.
103-ya later 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zZWnPRi22o
— MLB (@MLB) April 22, 2024
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rookie Roundup: Selecting MLB’s 2024 All-Rookie Team.
