By: Brady Shick

Brady Shick is from Sagamore Hills, Ohio and recently graduated from Bowling Green State University. He is currently seeking opportunities to pursue a career in Baseball Operations.

March 26, 2025

One of the most prestigious awards in Major League Baseball is the Rookie of the Year Award. Hall of Famers like Rod Carew, Willie Mays, and Johnny Bench have won it. The Rookie of the Year was originally named the J. Louis Comiskey Award, after the infamous owner of the Chicago White Sox. The award was then changed to the Jackie Robinson Award in 1987 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier and winning the award en route to his Hall of Fame career.

While the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year race was the more entertaining between the two leagues, 2025 brings a fresh breath of talent to the American League. Each of the players below are the top prospects for their respective clubs with two of the prospects likely to make the opening day rosters. 

Favorites

Jackson Jobe

The Tigers made an exciting playoff run at the end of last season. After trading Jack Flaherty and continuing to sell at the trade deadline the Tigers appeared to be giving up on the season. However, after the deadline the Tigers caught lightning in a bottle and made it into the postseason. As a wild card team, the Tigers took the Guardians to five games in the Divisional Series. During that stretch the Tigers were short on pitchers and called up their top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe. Jobe threw four innings during the regular season in two games and finished with a 0.00 E.R.A. 

From a scouting standpoint Jobe recently struck out perennial All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in a spring training start, displaying his dominant pitching arsenal. Jobe’s best pitch is his fastball that sits in the upper 90s with excellent rise. Jobe then pairs his fastball with another plus pitch in his slider. His slider is an analytics darling thanks to its high RPM and movement. Jobe additionally, throws a changeup and cutter to complete his pitching arsenal. The biggest gripe against Jobe is his workload and injury history. He set a professional career high last season throwing 91 ⅔ innings across multiple levels. Additionally, he missed time due to a strained hamstring and back inflammation over his early career.

Jacob Wilson

Jacob Wilson is one of the best pure hitting prospects in recent history. He has the swing and hands to adapt to any pitch in any zone. Not to mention he strikes out in fewer than 10% of his plate appearances. That is unheard of in today’s game. His approach is comparable to hitters from the 60s and 70s. He is in the box to put the ball in play and will do so on a line. He will swing at anything and make contact. In my opinion Jacob Wilson will win a batting title at some point during his career. 

Wilson is also the son of a former gold glove shortstop, Jack Wilson (Pirates, Mariners, and Braves), and it’s apparent in his game. Jacob Wilson profiles to be a potential gold glove shortstop thanks to his soft hands and excellent footwork. If it is within his range he will cleanly field the ball and deliver a strike to first. 

If he has a weakness, Wilson lacks the ability to hit for power. He will likely never hit more than 15 home runs in a season and he doesn’t have elite exit velocity numbers. This can be concerning in today’s MLB where every hitter chases launch angle and exit velocity. Additionally, Wilson is of average speed. For someone who is a contact hitter with little power, speed is normally a must. Wilson is by no means slow but he’s not going to impress on the base paths. 

Dark Horse

Travis Bazanna 

Travis Bazanna was the number one overall pick and the only one of these prospects I’ve had the opportunity to see in person. Bazanna was the obvious choice at number one for the Guardians last year. He has the potential to have an elite hit tool and also be an above average power hitter for his position, second base. This is all in large part due to his quick hands and compact swing from the left side. While he struggled at first, Bazanna helped lead the Lake County Captains to their first Midwest League Title in 14 years; he homered for his first professional hit. His numbers, while not impressive, were brought down by how long it took him to get adjusted. There is no doubt in my mind however that Bazanna will hit at the next level. 

Now the red flag for the Guardians taking Bazanna at number one overall was the fact that he is and only will be a second baseman. Bazanna is athletic but not a great fielder. His athletic ability lets him cover more area than most but he lacks the fundamentals at the position and is regularly caught in between hops. Additionally, Bazanna’s arm keeps him regulated to second base long term with a below average grade.

The Guardians made a move this off season to free up second base for Bazanna at the position. In December the Guardians traded their gold glove second baseman, Andrés Gimenez, for a starting pitcher, two pitching prospects, and an outfield prospect. This trade was only two seasons removed from a 7 year extension with the Guardians for Gimenez. Making a move like this hints at the faith that the Guardians have in Travis Bazanna and his future. However, Bazanna has only played in High-A for the Guardians last season. While he will likely start the season in Double-A the Guardians are not likely to be rushing him to make his MLB debut.

Conclusion

Jackson Jobe looks like he could be this season’s Paul Skenes. Jobe has a great pitching arsenal led by an elite fastball similar to Skenes. Additionally, Jobe already has had the experience in high leverage situations at the Major League level pitching for the Tigers in relief during last year’s postseason. His AL Central counterpart, Travis Bazanna is a former number one overall pick with a ton of potential in front of him. The Guardians have freed up second base for the long-term for Bazanna to take over and it’s just a matter of time for him to do so. Out west Jacob Wilson is coming to the league as one of the most disciplined hitting prospects in recent history. The only thing holding him back will be his power, but he benefits from playing a critical position at shortstop. This race is likely to be as good as the fans have seen in recent memory.