Rookies and second-year guys have made a big impression in the MLB in a short time. These players have had great career starts already during the little time they have been in the league. With promising futures ahead for all of them, here are some players you should know for the upcoming baseball season.
Centerfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Corbin Carroll, is 23 years old and made his career start in the majors in August 2022. During the 2023 regular season, Carroll had 161 hits along with 25 home runs and 76 runs batted in. He had a batting average of .285 and an on-base percentage of .362. Carroll participated in the 2023 All-Star game and was a starting outfielder for the National League. The Diamondbacks made it to the World Series in 2023. While they did not win, in the postseason Carroll recorded ten additional hits, two home runs, and ten runs batted in. Carroll unanimously won the National League Rookie of the Year award.
Anthony Volpe, who plays shortstop for the New York Yankees, is 22 years old. Volpe was brought up to majors from triple-A right before the 2023 season started. In his rookie year, Volpe had 113 hits, 21 home runs, and 60 runs batted in. Volpe had a batting average of .209 as well as an on-base percentage of .283. He is an excellent runner and is great at stealing bases. Volpe was the first Yankee rookie to have a 20/20 season, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases. He won the Gold Glove award for American League shortstop. This made him the first Yankee rookie to win a gold glove. Volpe already made history in only his rookie year. This shows we can expect great things from him this upcoming season.
Catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, Adley Rutschman is 25 years old. He made his MLB debut in May 2022. During this past season, Rutschman had 163 hits, 20 home runs, and 80 runs batted in. He had a batting average of .277 and an on-base percentage of .374. In 2023, Rutchman made the all-star team for the American League. He also participated in the home run derby hitting a whopping 27 home runs. During Rutschman's first three minutes he hit 21 home runs swinging lefty. When he received the additional 30 seconds he switched sides of the plate and crushed the rest of the home runs swinging right. This made Rutschman the first person to ever switch hit during the home run derby. In 2023 Rutschman won the Silver Slugger award for American League catcher. Rutschman is a very exciting player to watch.
Jeremy Peña, shortstop for the Houston Astros is 26 years old. Peña made his MLB debut on opening day in April 2022. In the 2023 season, he had 152 hits, 10 home runs, and 52 runs batted in. Peña had a batting average of .263 and an on-base percentage of .324. In his rookie year, the Astros won the World Series. Peña won the World Series Most Valuable Player award. He was only the third rookie to win and the first rookie position player to win. In 2022, Peña also won a Gold Glove award for shortstop.
Gunnar Henderson, shortstop and third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles is 22 years old. Henderson got called up to the majors at the end of August 2022. In the 2023 season, he had 143 hits, 28 home runs, and 82 runs batted in. Henderson has a batting average of .255 and an on-base percentage of .325. This past season, Henderson received the Silver Slugger Award for the utility position. He also received the American League Rookie of the Year award, which was a unanimous vote. Henderson is an incredible player and has a strong future ahead.
Honorable Mention
New York Yankees’ center fielder, Jasson Domínguez is 20 years old. Domínguez got pulled up to the majors in September 2023. He was only able to play eight games in the majors before he got injured. Although he had a short start, he had an extremely promising start. Domínguez had eight hits, four home runs, and seven runs batted in. He had a batting average of .258 and an on-base percentage of .303. He had surgery in September and is expected to return sometime in the summer. While his future for the 2024 season is unclear, when he does come back he is expected to do great things for the Yankees.
Edited by Shaniya Scales
Social Media Content Created by Alley Ruthenberg
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