Major League Baseball

MLB Rookie Power Rankings: Paul Skenes, Jackson Merrill shake up NL ROY race

Published Jul. 1, 2024 4:46 p.m. ET

New rookie breakouts continue to surface at the halfway mark of the season.

In May, it was Paul Skenes. In June, it was Wyatt Langford and Jackson Chourio. But are the latest surges enough to crack the full-season top 10 on our rookie power rankings?

For a third straight installment of FOX Sports' rookie power rankings, there's a new No. 1 and some fresh names debuting — and returning — to the board.

(Note: The rankings below will be updated once a month throughout the season.)

Honorable mentions

- Yoshinobu Yamamoto (SP, Los Angeles Dodgers)
- Colton Cowser (OF, Baltimore Orioles)
- Wilyer Abreu (OF, Boston Red Sox)
- Wyatt Langford (OF, Texas Rangers)
- Jackson Chourio (OF, Milwaukee Brewers)

Yamamoto, who ranks in the top four in both ERA and WHIP among qualified rookies, would have made the list if not for a rotator cuff strain that has shut him down. Cowser is back to launching homers, but a mediocre month overall for him and Abreu (who only played in nine games in June due to an ankle injury) put them just behind the other position players in the top 10. Langford, who just became the first player this season to hit for the cycle, and Chourio, the 20-year-old phenom who's starting to find his footing as a major-leaguer, are two of the hottest hitters on the planet. But their sizzling month of June has not yet elevated them to more than league-average hitters on the year (Chourio has a 90 OPS+, Langford is up to 104, and every other hitter in the top 10 is above 110).

10. Masyn Winn (SS, St. Louis Cardinals)
Previous Ranking: 5

Though Winn is coming off an up-and-down month of June due in part to elevated chase and whiff rates, the speedster has still been one of the most valuable rookie players in the sport. Winn is tied for the rookie lead in bWAR and doubles and ranks second among all qualified rookies in hits and batting average while manning a premium position.

9. Bryan Hudson (RP, Milwaukee Brewers)
Previous Ranking: N/A

The Brewers traded their 2023 20th-round selection, Justin Chambers, to the Dodgers before the year in exchange for Hudson, a 27-year-old who entered this season with a 7.27 ERA in six career relief appearances. He now leads all qualified rookies — and all National League relievers — in ERA, WHIP and opponents' batting average. A multi-inning specialist in Milwaukee's bullpen, Hudson has held his opponent scoreless in 26 of his 29 appearances. It takes a special type of season for a non-closer reliever to warrant consideration here, but it's time for Hudson to get his due.

8. Michael Busch (INF, Chicago Cubs)
Previous Ranking: N/A

Joey Ortiz is the only qualified rookie this year with a higher OPS+ than Busch, who has been one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise disappointing Cubs lineup. Busch came out of the gates on fire to start the year before cooling down in May, but he found another gear in June, a notable development for the 26-year-old who's getting his first extended big-league action. Busch's .402 on-base percentage in June was the best mark of any qualified rookie. The bigger surprise is that, after entering the year with questions about his defense and future in the field, he has graded out well at first base.

7. Luis Gil (SP, New York Yankees)
Previous Ranking: 1

After being named the May Pitcher of the Month, things started to spiral recently for Gil (and his club):

May: 0.70 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, .109 AVG, 31.2 K%, 8.5 BB%
June: 6.45 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, .253 AVG, 19.2 K%, 13.5 BB%

The first thought is that he might be getting tired. The 26-year-old threw a total of 25.5 innings the previous two seasons due to Tommy John surgery and has never thrown more than 96 innings in a professional season — a number he is fast approaching — though he insists he is not fatigued (for whatever it's worth, he has maintained his fastball velocity) and that it's more of a mechanical issue. Whatever the reason for the slide, he still leads all qualified rookies in strikeouts and opponents' batting average on the year, a testament to his sensational start.

6. Shōta Imanaga (SP, Chicago Cubs)
Previous Ranking: 2

Imanaga's ERA has steadily climbed since registering a 0.84 mark through his first nine career starts. One particular shellacking — the Mets tagged him for 10 runs in three innings on June 21 — makes this past month look worse than it really was. He still managed to spin a quality start in three of his five June outings, though he only struck out three batters in each of his past two starts and opponents are hitting over .300 against him over his past six appearances. Despite his recent downturn, Imanaga still ranks in the top five among qualified rookies in ERA, strikeout-to-walk ratio, walk percentage and fWAR.

5. Gavin Stone (SP, Los Angeles Dodgers)
Previous Ranking: N/A

Stone just became the only MLB rookie to spin a shutout this season. He was the first Dodgers rookie to accomplish the feat since Hyun-Jin Ryu in 2013 and the first Dodgers pitcher to do so since Walker Buehler in 2022. Stone finished the month 4-0 with a 1.97 ERA, but his success goes back far beyond June. Stone has a 1.90 ERA over his past 11 starts dating back to April 26 and now ranks second among all qualified rookie starters in the category, an especially important development for a Dodgers team now missing Yamamoto and still awaiting the return of Clayton Kershaw.

4. Joey Ortiz (3B, Milwaukee Brewers)
Previous Ranking: 7

Ortiz exited his game last Wednesday with a neck issue that continues to linger and could have played a role in sapping some of his power in June, but even after a relatively down month, the intriguing product of the Corbin Burnes trade still remains one of the top young all-around talents in the sport. He leads all rookies in fWAR. Offensively, he leads all qualified rookies in OPS. Defensively, he is tied with the Orioles' Jordan Westburg for the MLB lead among third basemen in outs above average.

3. Mason Miller (RP, Oakland Athletics)
Previous Ranking: 3

As the trade deadline draws closer, rumors will continue to swirl about whether Miller will stay or go. That's because he remains among the most intriguing, overpowering arms in the game. Among all pitchers who've thrown at least 30 innings this year, Miller owns by far the best strikeout rate and strikeout-to-walk ratio, fanning nearly half of all batters he faces. Among pitchers who've faced at least 100 batters, he ranks first in whiff rate and fourth in chase rate. He has the fastest fastball velocity in the majors, averaging a tick over 100 mph. And as terrific as his 1.96 ERA and .132 opponents' batting average are, his MLB-best 1.42 expected ERA and .122 expected opponents' average are even better.

2. Jackson Merrill (OF, San Diego Padres)
Previous Ranking: N/A

One of baseball's hottest hitters in June, Merrill led all qualified rookies in hits, homers, doubles, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS during the month. He tied a franchise rookie record for a calendar month with nine homers in June; no other rookie had more than five. Merrill has also graded out as an above-average center fielder in his first year playing the position professionally, an impressive feat for the 21-year-old former shortstop who leads all rookies in hits, batting average and RBIs, is tied for the lead in homers and bWAR and has nine steals.

1. Paul Skenes (SP, Pittsburgh Pirates)
Previous Ranking: 6

After putting Skenes on this list last month, it was fair to wonder if the decision was hasty less than a month into his MLB career. That is no longer the case. Sure, Skenes hasn't logged the innings of other pitchers on this list, but it's clear through nine starts he is already one of the most formidable arms in the sport. Skenes lamented his lack of execution in his most recent outing — a start in which he allowed one run in six innings while striking out nine. He allowed a leadoff homer to begin each of his past two — and didn't allow another run the rest of the way in either game. He has gone at least six innings while surrendering one or no runs in each of his past four starts, and he leads all qualified rookie starters in ERA, WHIP, strikeout percentage and strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Also considered: Jared Jones (SP, Pittsburgh Pirates), Mitchell Parker (SP, Washington Nationals), Tobias Myers (SP, Milwaukee Brewers), Simeon Woods-Richardson (SP, Minnesota Twins), Andy Pages (OF, Los Angeles Dodgers), Jacob Young (OF, Washington Nationals), David Hamilton (INF, Boston Red Sox), Ceddanne Rafaela (INF/OF, Boston Red Sox),

*Worth noting: Some outlets differ on whether Mason Miller and the Padres' Matt Waldron are still rookies. According to MLB, Miller still has rookie status while Waldron does not.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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