Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin have been named the 2025 AL and NL rookies of the year.
Kurtz earned 30 first place votes following a breakout campaign in which he slugged 36 home runs, and drove in 86 RBIs in just 117 games. The 22 year old posted a 1.002 OPS, which ranked 3rd in all of baseball, trailing only perennial MVP candidates Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in that category.
“It’s a great ending to the first year,” Kurtz told reporters. “I’m going to use this, and keep on grinding, and come out better next year. It showed that every person felt the same way… It was really cool to see 30 votes for me. It was pretty remarkable. I’m happy about that and proud of it.”
Kurtz was the 14th unanimous winner in AL history, taking home the honour over teammate Jacob Wilson who finished second, and Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony.
Meanwhile, over in the National League, it was Atlanta backstop Drake Baldwin who edged out Cubs pitcher Cade Horton and Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin to take home top honours. The 24 year old earned 21 first place votes thanks to his 19 home runs, and 80 RBIs across 124 games for the Braves.
“I had no idea. You see some of the polls and stuff, and it was looking more like Horton. Then, I had buddies that were telling me I was going to win,” Baldwin said after finding out he had won. “I was going into it with an open mind, realizing how cool it was to be a finalist for it.”
Because of their wins, Baldwin and Kurtz will each earn a full year of service time, but only the Braves will earn an additional draft pick. Because Kurtz began the year in the minors, he did not accumulate 172 days on the major league roster. As such, the Athletics are not entitled to additional draft compensation as a result of his win.
With the individual awards in the rearview mirror, the soon to be sophomores will now turn their attention to helping their respective teams rebound from disappointing finishes. The A’s once again finished well outside the playoff picture at 76-86, though the team took some noticeable steps forward with their on field product.
Over in Atlanta, the Braves posted an identical record to the A’s, though 2025 represented a massive step backwards for the usual World Series threats out of Georgia. Atlanta dealt with a myriad of injuries which affected their roster all season long. The club will hope to shake the injury bug this offseason and reload for another run at an NL East title, and deep playoff run.
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