The All-Rookie Team

We end up talking about how this current rookie class was among the best in baseball history practically annually.

In 2023, that is still accurate. As the American and National League Rookies of the Year, respectively, Gunnar Henderson and Corbin Carroll are expected to finish the season rated 1-2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list.

Few prospects who were prepared for the major leagues were left out of the Top 100. Just behind Henderson and Carroll in terms of ranking, Francisco Alvarez, Jordan Walker, and Anthony Volpe all made our All-Rookie First or Second Teams. And beyond them, the depth was astounding.

2023 rookie batters scored 68.6 WAR, which is second all-time in AL/NL history behind 2015 (75.1), according to estimations made by FanGraphs. Although the 46.3 WAR total of this year’s rookie pitchers is only 14th, the combined 114.9 WAR total is again second only to 2015 (126.9).

Our rookie-only teams:

PRIMARY TEAM

C: Astros’ Yainer DiazIn the last 30 seasons, Diaz is the only rookie catcher with more 300 plate appearances with a higher OPS+ than Buster Posey (133) in 2010 and Adley Rutschman (131) in 2022.

1B: Red SoxBatted Triston Casas.After the All-Star break, he hit 317/.417/.617, which was the fourth-highest OPS (minimum 200 plate appearances) behind only Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, and Shohei Ohtani. He also led all rookies with an on-base percentage of.367.

Triston Casas’ three-run HR (24)

2B: Reds’ Matt McLainMcLain had 88 starts for the Reds, going 47-41, for a winning percentage of.534, better than ten of the other 14 NL clubs combined.

3B: Rangers’ Josh JungThe Rangers last signed a player who went on to become a homegrown All-Star before Jung, and that was back in 2012 when they selected Joey Gallo in the supplemental first round.

Gunnar Henderson’s solo home run

SS: Orioles’ Gunnar HendersonThe best prospect in baseball advanced to become the league’s best rookie by hitting 28 home runs and playing excellent shortstop and third base defense. Ryan Braun (34 in 2007) and Nomar Garciaparra (30 in 1997) are the only rookies in the last 50 years who have played left side of the infield and hit more home runs.

OF: D-backs’ Corbin CarrollThe most explosive player on our list, Carroll launched the D-backs from three consecutive losing seasons to the NL Championship Series. He became the only rookie in history to combine 25 home runs and 50 steals.

Carroll swats two-run homer

OF: Rockies’ Nolan JonesJones, who was fired from the Guardians, went on to hit 20 home runs and lead the Majors in outfield assists in just 90 games while playing for the Rockies.

OF: Dodgers’ James OutmanOutman was the most outstanding rookie for the Dodgers, becoming the first player in team history to record 20 home runs and 15 steals.

DH: Spencer Steer, RedsSteer managed to start games at five different positions and lead all rookies in doubles and RBIs while somehow going somewhat unnoticed.

Steer’s solo home run (23)

Tanner Bibee and the GuardiansBibee, the most recent college finesse pitcher acquired by the Guardians, was one of only eight major league pitchers to pitch 100 innings with an ERA below 3.00. One more was…

SP: Kodai Senga, Mets Senga topped rookie pitchers in almost every metric. He joined John Montefusco (1975), Dwight Gooden (1984), Hideo Nomo (1995), and Spencer Strider (2022) as the only players in the expansion period to reach 200 strikeouts with a sub-3.00 period.

Yennier, RP And the OriolesCano finished second among rookies with eight saves and tied for the Major League lead with 31 holds. No pitcher worked as many innings (72 2/3) with a better ERA (2.11).

Yennier Cano seals the win

Second Group

C: Francisco Alvarez, Mets Alvarez blasted 25 home runs, making him just the sixth rookie catcher to do it and the first since Wilin Rosario of the Rockies in 2012.

MLB’s Ryan Noda at first baseNoda, the only Rule 5 selection on this list, led all rookies with 77 walks while launching 16 home runs when he finally received a big league opportunity at the age of 27.

Zack Gelof of the Athletics 2BDespite not making his Major League debut until the middle of July, Gelof finished seventh among the Major League’s primary second basemen with an OPS of.840 (minimum 300 plate appearances).

Zack Gelof’s solo homer (14)

3B: Twins’ Royce LewisPrior to hitting four home runs in six postseason games, Lewis had a.309/.372/.548 batting line with 15 bombs in 58 regular-season games.

SS: Anthony Volpe, Yankees, became just the third rookie 20-20 shortstop in history, joining Bobby Witt Jr. (2022) and Nolan Garciaparra (1997), despite his.666 OPS not standing out on the page.

OF: Cardinals’ Jordan WalkerWalker and Albert Pujols (2001) are the only rookies in Cardinals history who have hit 16 home runs in their first full big league season and are both under the age of 21.

Jordan Walker’s diving catch

OF: Twins’ Matt WallnerHis barrel percentage (19.5, minimum 200 plate appearances) behind only Aaron Judge (24.8) and Shohei Ohtani (22.0) once he settled in after the All-Star Break.

OF: Red Sox’s Masataka YoshidaWith a batting average of.289, the hero of the World Baseball Classic led the Red Sox and all rookies in hitting—the highest mark for a rookie in Boston since Dustin Pedroia’s.317 in 2007.

DH: Twins, Edouard JulienJulien, who was named the 2022 breakout player of the Arizona Fall League, demonstrated that his batting eye carried over to the major leagues by finishing fifth in walk percentage (15.7% with at least 400 plate appearances).

Miller K’s nine vs. Rockies

SP: Bobby Miller, DodgersMiller led all rookies (minimum 100 innings) in WHIP while filling a need in a depleted Dodgers rotation.

SP: Marlins Miami’s top pitching prospect since the late José Fernández, Eury Pérez, lived up to the expectations, recording a 3.15 ERA overall and a 1.34 ERA in his first nine starts.

RP: Tigers’ Tyler HoltonAfter being claimed off waivers by the D-backs in February, he recorded a 2.11 ERA and had the lowest WHIP of any pitcher (minimum 80 innings pitched). Babe Adams (1909) and Dellin Betances (2014) are the only AL/NL rookies with that many innings with better ERA and WHIP than Holton since 1900.