With no prospect performances yesterday, today’s BAPR has a slightly different look. Here are our updated rookie rankings to coincide with MLB Opening Day. The BAPR is a free daily morning newsletter. Please consider help spreading the word by forwarding to your friends and helping us grow the Baseball America community!

Baseball America published its initial Top 20 Rookies ranking nearly a month ago.

Since then, much has changed… but not our rookie ranking. That remains largely the same.

What you’ll find in this Opening Day update are two new faces—Cam Smith and Marcelo Mayer—as well as information about how rookies performed in spring training and what role they are expected to play this season.

1. Roki Sasaki, RHP, Dodgers

• Age: 23

• Opening Day role: Dodgers rotation

• Spring training: 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 0.86 WHIP

Led by Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and now Sasaki, the Dodgers have more Japanese star power than any team outside the NPB. Sasaki is the best pitching prospect in the world, one capable of sitting 96-100 mph and backing his heater with a plus slider and elite splitter. He throws a ton of strikes for a power pitcher and should instantly be an effective MLB starter.

2. Dylan Crews, OF, Nationals

• Age: 23

• Opening Day role: Nationals right fielder

• Spring training: .273/.385/.345 (15-for-55), 19 G, 13 R, 2 3B, 5 RBIs, 9 BB, 19 SO, 3-for-5 SB

Crews zoomed from No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft to his MLB debut in August 2024. Now, he has a clear path to holding down right field in Washington for the next six seasons, and maybe more. Crews does a little bit of everything well and is a big part of the Nationals’ future core, along with James Wood, CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore.

3. Jackson Jobe, RHP, Tigers

• Age: 22

• Opening Day role: Tigers rotation

• Spring training: 3.65 ERA, 4 GS, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 4 HR, 4 BB, 8 SO, 0.89 WHIP

Drafted third overall in 2021, Jobe turned in his first mostly-healthy season on the farm in 2024 and made his MLB debut in September, even making two postseason appearances. He added a curveball this season to go with his four-seamer, sweeper, cutter and changeup, and his wide arsenal of swing-and-miss pitches gives him a good chance to adapt quickly.

4. Kristian Campbell, 2B, Red Sox

• Age: 23

• Opening Day role: Red Sox second baseman

• Spring training: .167/.305/.271 (8-for-48), 20 G, 8 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 10 BB, 18 SO, 0 SB

Red Sox hitting development helped turn Campbell from a nondescript 2023 fourth-rounder out of Georgia Tech into one of the top prospects in the game a year later. Now, he has a good chance to factor for a Boston lineup that could use a righthanded bat—even after adding Alex Bregman—and a long-term second baseman.

5. Matt Shaw, 3B, Cubs

• Age: 23

• Opening Day role: Cubs third baseman

• Spring training: .227/.320/.593 (5-for-22), 8 G, 4 R, 1 2B, 4 RBIs, 3 BB, 2 SO, 1-for-1 SB

Following a 21-homer, 31-steal season in the upper minors last year, Shaw is ready for his rollout as Cubs third baseman this season. If the natural shortstop can stick at the hot corner, he will help solidify a deep, balanced Chicago lineup that has been infused with Kyle Tucker for the 2025 season. Shaw didn’t play much this spring because the Cubs had to get ready in a hurry to be in Japan in mid March for the Tokyo Series versus the Dodgers.

6. Jasson Dominguez, OF, Yankees

• Age: 22

• Opening Day role: Yankees left fielder

• Spring training: .267/.302/.467 (16-for-60), 19 G, 14 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBIs, 3 BB, 17 SO, 5-for-5 SB

Dominguez burst on the MLB season late in 2023 when he homered off Justin Verlander in his first at-bat. But then he spent most of 2024 working his way back to the Bronx as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Now, the switch-hitter has a clear path to everyday reps in left field. 

7. Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics

• Age: 23

• Opening Day role: Athletics shortstop

• Spring training: .308/.321/.558 (16-for-52), 19 G, 9 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBIs, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 SB

About a year after being drafted sixth overall in 2023, Wilson made his MLB debut for the A’s. On his way to Oakland, he hit .433 with a 6.6% strikeout rate in the upper minors. A hamstring injury sidelined him and keeps him rookie eligible for 2025, when he will make plenty of contact and play shortstop every day for the A’s.

8. Cam Smith, OF, Astros

• Age: 22

• Opening Day role: Astros right fielder

• Spring training: .342/.419/.711 (13-for-38), 15 G, 8 R, 1 3B, 4 HR, 11 RBIs, 5 BB, 11 SO, 0 SB

Smith entered spring training with modest expectations. Drafted 14th overall by the Cubs last year, he joined the Astros in the December trade that sent Kyle Tucker to Chicago. Smith put up a 1.004 OPS and reached Double-A in his pro debut. He apparently had no intention of returning to the minor leagues, because he hit his way onto the Astros’ Opening Day with a loud spring training. It didn’t hurt that Houston sorely lacks offensive production in the outfield sans Tucker.

9. Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox

• Age: 21

• Opening Day role: Triple-A Worcester outfielder

• Spring training: .206/.391/.324 (7-for-34), 17 G, 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBIs, 10 BB, 12 SO, 0-for-1 SB

Anthony ascended to No. 1 overall prospect status last summer and fell out of the top spot only when Roki Sasaki signed with an MLB club. Anthony is the youngest player to rank in the top 20, so he faces the steepest learning curve—but his power-and-patience approach and lefthanded bat seem tailor-made for a big league outfield. Anthony was a late spring cut but will be in the Fenway outfield mix at some point this season.

10. Drake Baldwin, C, Braves

• Age: 24

• Opening Day role: Braves catcher tandem

• Spring training: .286/.400/.733 (12-for-42), 17 G, 4 R, 2 2B, 4 RBIs, 8 BB, 4 SO, 0 SB

The Braves bid adieu to part-time catcher Travis d’Arnaud this offseason, clearing the way for Baldwin to win a share of Atlanta’s catching job with Sean Murphy. The lefthanded-hitting Baldwin did his best to prove he was ready in the upper minors last year by getting on base, hitting for power and improving his work behind the plate. A spring injury to Murphy paved the way for Baldwin to make the Opening Day roster.

Editor’s Picks

In case you missed it last week, you can find all of our 2025 MLB predictions and preview material here.

MLB Predictions

• Which Teams Will Be the Biggest Surprises Of 2025?

• Which Teams Had The Best Offseason?

• Which Teams Had The Most Disappointing Offseason?

• Meet The 9 Breakout Hitters Of 2025

• Meet The 9 Breakout Pitchers Of 2025

• Which Players Will Bounce Back In 2025?

• What Will Be The Biggest Storylines Of 2025?

• AL Awards & Playoffs Predictions

• NL Awards & Playoffs Predictions

MLB Power Rankings

Baseball America’s preseason MLB power rankings grade every team on the 20-80 scouting scale, plus dive into key rookies who could help shape each team’s season. Read more…

Analysis

• Here’s every Top 100 Prospect on Opening Day rosters

• Meet MLB’s latest crop of superstar shortstops

• Why Juan Soto could break a 63-year Mets drought

• Ranking the top 100 MLB players

• These are the top 20 rookies for 2025

• Here’s the best player originally signed by each team since 2000

• Building a rotation of MLB’s best pitchers 25 years old or younger

• Building a lineup of MLB’s best position players 25 or younger

• 2025 MLB Farm System Rankings for every club

• Why Chase Dollander has what it takes to conquer Coors Field

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Each day, we’ll pick a prospect that has our attention.

Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, RHP, Yankees: New York and Boston have become more active trade partners in recent years. Their latest swap sent Rodriguez-Cruz to the Yankees, and this spring he got scouts’ attention as a pitcher who could one day perhaps become a No. 4 starter. Josh Norris explains why.

In Case You Missed It