A’s Nick Kurtz named unanimous AL Rookie of the Year; Red Sox’ Roman Anthony takes third

Roman Anthony didn’t waste any time making his mark in the big leagues. The 21-year-old Red Sox outfielder only appeared in 71 big league games this past season, but his performance on the field was enough to make him a finalist for the American League Rookie of the Year award.

Anthony ultimately fell short, finishing third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, with Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz winning the award unanimously after belting 36 home runs and earning Silver Slugger honors. His fellow teammate, Jacob Wilson, finished in second place.

The Sox rookie finished with three second-place votes and 15 third-place votes and had 72 points overall to finish third in the vote. Wilson won 23 second-place votes to tally 107 points.

Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez finished in sixth place, earning two third-place votes, three fourth-place votes, and three fifth-place votes for 21 points in total.

Anthony came into this season as MLB’s No. 1 prospect, and he tore up the minors before getting promoted to the big leagues on June 9. Initially, he struggled, going just 2-for-27 (.074) in his first nine games, but his bat exploded, batting .317 with seven home runs and a .910 OPS over a 62-game stretch from June 20 and beyond.

In a 54-game stretch that dated back to June 28, Anthony ranked first in the American League in multi-hit games (24), third in on-base percentage (.421) and hits (68), fourth in average (.329) and seventh in OPS (.933).

Not only did he get the fans buzzing with his bat, but Anthony also generated excitement with his glove in the field, playing both left and right field. Anthony had a plus-seven defensive runs saved, which was tied for 28th among MLB outfielders, according to FanGraphs.

Anthony would have been a real threat to capture the AL Rookie of the Year award had he not landed on the injured list with a left oblique injury at the beginning of September, effectively ending his season. He suffered the injury after striking out in a game against the Guardians at home. He immediately grabbed his side following the punchout and did not come back out to play defense.

His injury was a significant blow to the Red Sox, who missed his bat during their postseason run against the Yankees in the American League Wild Card round.

Earlier in the year, the Sox rewarded Anthony with a massive eight-year, $130 million contract extension, which ranked among the most lucrative ever given to a player with less than a year of big league service time. His deal can be worth up to $230 million if he meets the various escalators that are built into it, including capturing an AL MVP Award.

“I think for me, back in the spring, I hadn’t had any experience playing [in Boston] yet; I didn’t really know what to expect yet,” Anthony said in his press conference. “So for me, it was more of wanting to be here and getting a feel for the everyday lifestyle here. But, at the same time, knowing that I came up through this [organization] and always wanted to be here and knew how great this city was and how passionate this was, and then, when I got to experience it, and like [Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow] mentioned, only being 150 at-bats in, I can tell this is where I want to be, and there’s no doubt.”

Anthony only got 112 service days this year. He would have earned a full year if he had cracked second place in the voting. Now that Anthony has signed an extension with the Red Sox to secure his future with Boston, the issue is moot.

Narvaez had a strong rookie campaign and was named a Gold Glove finalist, but did not win the award. He finished sixth in baseball among all catchers with 10 DRS; Narváez also led the majors with 32 runners caught stealing. He threw out 29.9% of runners (32 of 107); the league average was 21.5%. Despite being a finalist for the award, Narváez led the American League with nine errors and nine passed balls.

Narváez also finished among the top 20% in four Statcast categories—Blocks Above Average (+6, 88th percentile), Caught Stealing Above Average (+9, 98th), Framing (+5, 85th), and Pop Time (1.92 seconds, 80th).

The 26-year-old hit .241 average, .726 OPS, 15 homers and 50 RBI in 118 games, supplanting Connor Wong as the team’s starting catcher.

The last Red Sox player to win the AL Rookie of the Year award was second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who won the honors in 2007.

Kurtz’s rise to the big leagues was just as impressive as Anthony’s, debuting on April 23 and going 17 games before hitting his first home run. His slow start, similar to Anthony’s, was quickly forgotten as he became one of the game’s premier young power threats, clubbing 36 homers in 117 games, and he finished with an eye-popping 1.002 OPS and 5.4 bWAR.

If you’re into nerd stats and love reading Baseball Savant, his page is loaded with red, showcasing his advanced metrics that place him atop the sport. His bat speed ranks in the 98th percentile, walk rate in the 90th percentile, and barrel percentage in the 98th percentile, which is insane for a power hitter.

One of his biggest games of the year came on July 25, when he recorded an MLB record 19 total bases, including four home runs, in a 6-for-6 video game-like performance.

Kurtz will automatically receive a full year of service time for winning the AL Rookie of the Year award, meaning he’ll reach free agency a year earlier. The A’s will not receive draft pick compensation for Kurtz’s award, since he did not begin the season on the club’s opening day roster.

After his impressive rookie campaign, Kurtz instantly became the face of the Athletics franchise that is still awaiting its permanent home in Las Vegas.

With his win on Monday night, Kurtz becomes the 14th player to win the AL award by a unanimous vote and the second for the A’s, joining Mark McGwire (1987).

Other unanimous winners in the AL: Carlton Fisk (1972), Sandy Alomar Jr. (1990), Tim Salmon (1993), Derek Jeter (1996), Nomar Garciaparra (1997), Evan Longoria (2008), Mike Trout (2012), Jose Abreu (2014), Aaron Judge (2017), Kyle Lewis (2020), and Gunnar Henderson (2024), according to Major League Baseball.

Kurtz was the only player listed on every ballot.

For Wilson, he was promoted in July of 2024 and missed time with an injury, allowing him to have rookie service time remaining. Wilson only hit 13 home runs and drew a walk in just 5.2% of his plate appearances for the A’s. He was able to hit .311/.355/.444 for a 121 wRC+, while anchoring the shortstop position.

The other players who earned votes from voters were pitcher Noah Cameron (Royals), shortstop Colson Montgomery (White Sox), pitcher Jack Leiter (Rangers), pitcher Will Warren (Yankees), infielder Luke Keaschall (Twins), pitcher Braydon Fisher (Blue Jays), All-Star pitcher Shane Smith (White Sox), outfielder Cam Smith (Astros), speedy outfielder Chandler Simpson (Rays), pitcher Luis Morales, and outfielder Jasson Dominguez (Yankees).

In the National League, Braves catcher Drake Baldwin wins the award, edging out Cubs pitcher Cade Horton.

Baldwin emerged as the Braves' next franchise catcher, receiving 21 first-place votes and ending with 183 points overall, whereas Horton received the other nine first-place votes and finished with 139 points.

Baldwin is the sixth Braves player to win NL Rookie of the Year since 1990 and the third in the past eight seasons, after Michael Harris II in 2022 and Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2018.

The 24-year-old hit .274 with 19 home runs, good enough for an .810 OPS and 126 OPS+. He led NL rookies with 80 RBIs in 124 games and 446 plate appearances, including 85 starts at catcher and 12 at designated hitter.

Because Baldwin won the award and was on the Braves Opening Day roster and was a top-100 prospect entering the season, Atlanta will receive an extra draft pick at the end of the first round in the 2026 MLB Draft.

Major League Baseball recently implemented this rule, which is known as the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) pick.

Baldwin is the seventh catcher to win the NL award and the second for the Braves.

Horton came into the season as one of the game’s top prospects and filled a need in the Cubs rotation after Chicago lost Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga to injuries. Horton was called up on May 10th. He stayed up with the club the rest of the way, though a rib fracture put him on the injured list late in September.