The hot-stove season is underway, but one last piece of 2025 business wrapped up this week: the BBWAA awards that will shape history and Hall of Fame résumés. On Monday the Athletics’ first baseman Nick Kurtz was a unanimous American League Rookie of the Year, and the Atlanta Braves’ rookie catcher Drake Baldwin earned the National League honor.
Schedule (awards announced at 7 p.m. ET on MLB Network):
– Tuesday: Managers of the Year
– Wednesday: Cy Young Awards
– Thursday: MVP Awards
Thursday’s MLB awards show in Las Vegas will also unveil All-MLB teams, Hank Aaron Awards, Comeback Player, top relievers, Edgar Martinez Award and Executive of the Year.
American League Rookie of the Year
Winner: Nick Kurtz, Oakland Athletics (unanimous)
Final tally: Nick Kurtz 210 points (30 first-place votes); Jacob Wilson 107; Roman Anthony 72.
Doolittle’s pick: Kurtz
Takeaway: Kurtz arrived quickly. The No. 4 pick in 2024 debuted April 23 and over 117 games produced a 1.002 OPS (fifth-best ever for a rookie with at least 480 plate appearances) and a .290/.383/.619 slash line at age 22. He tied Shawn Green’s single-game total-bases mark (19) with a four-homer game. Kurtz is the ninth Rookie of the Year in Athletics history and projects as a premier run producer. Finalists Roman Anthony and Jacob Wilson validated preseason hype; Anthony’s season ended Sept. 2 with an oblique injury.
National League Rookie of the Year
Winner: Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves
Final tally: Drake Baldwin 183 points (21 first-place votes); Cade Horton 139 (9); Caleb Durbin 69.
Doolittle’s pick: Baldwin
Takeaway: Voters rewarded Baldwin’s steady, full-season production over Horton’s dramatic second half. Baldwin hit .274/.341/.469 in 124 games and also served as an off-day DH—a valuable role while Sean Murphy remains on Atlanta’s roster. Baldwin is the first NL catcher to win Rookie of the Year since Buster Posey in 2010.
American League MVP
Finalists: Aaron Judge (NYY); Cal Raleigh (SEA); Jose Ramirez (CLE)
Doolittle’s pick: Cal Raleigh
Notes: AXE (a metrics consensus) leaned toward Judge, but narrative and context push Raleigh. His 60-homer season shattered single-season catcher records, broke Mickey Mantle’s switch-hitter home-run mark and paired elite offense with leadership and defense on a division-winning club. Ramirez again finished among the leaders but was outshone this year. Bobby Witt Jr.’s omission from the top three was notable.
National League MVP
Finalists: Shohei Ohtani (LAD); Kyle Schwarber (PHI); Juan Soto (NYM)
Doolittle’s pick: Shohei Ohtani
Notes: All three spent most of their time as DHs. Ohtani, the first exclusive DH to win an MVP last year, added 47 innings and roughly 1.1 pitching bWAR this season—an edge in combined-value discussion. He led the league in WPA and posted the top combined offensive-and-pitching value. This would be his fourth MVP.
American League Cy Young
Finalists: Hunter Brown (HOU); Garrett Crochet (BOS); Tarik Skubal (DET)
Doolittle’s pick: Tarik Skubal
Notes: Skubal is in position to be the AL’s first repeat Cy Young winner since Pedro Martinez in 2000. He posted a 2.21 ERA with 241 strikeouts, lowering his ERA from his 2024 award year and leading the AL in pitching bWAR, FIP and ERA+. Crochet led the league in innings (205 1/3) and strikeouts (255) and was a close challenger; Brown rounded out a strong top three.
National League Cy Young
Finalists: Cristopher Sanchez (PHI); Paul Skenes (PIT); Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD)
Doolittle’s pick: Cristopher Sanchez
Notes: Sanchez and Skenes separated themselves from the rest. Skenes struck out more and posted a 1.97 ERA; Sanchez threw more innings (202) and did so for a division champion, which factors into championship-probability value. The vote could swing either way between these two.
American League Manager of the Year
Finalists: John Schneider (TOR); Stephen Vogt (CLE); Dan Wilson (SEA)
Doolittle’s pick: John Schneider
Notes: Schneider guided Toronto from last place to an AL East title and a World Series appearance, overseeing an offensive makeover that produced one of baseball’s most prolific attacks.
National League Manager of the Year
Finalists: Terry Francona (CIN); Pat Murphy (MIL); Rob Thompson (PHI)
Doolittle’s pick: Pat Murphy
Notes: Murphy would be a two-time winner as a full-time manager after leading the Brewers to repeat playoff berths despite low expectations and a younger roster. Milwaukee won many close games with impactful rookies and strong clubhouse culture.
Other award picks
– Executive of the Year: Matt Arnold, Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle’s Jerry Dipoto an alternate)
– All-MLB (AXE All-MVP first team): 1B Matt Olson; 2B Nico Hoerner; SS Bobby Witt Jr.; 3B Jose Ramirez; C Cal Raleigh; OF Juan Soto; OF Aaron Judge; OF Corbin Carroll; DH Shohei Ohtani; LHP Tarik Skubal; RHP Paul Skenes; RP Aroldis Chapman.
– Hank Aaron Award: Aaron Judge (AL); Shohei Ohtani (NL)
– Mariano Rivera Award (top reliever by role): Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox
– Trevor Hoffman Award (top closer): Edwin Diaz, New York Mets
– Gold Gloves: Winners have been announced; Doolittle’s quibbles included preferring Alejandro Kirk over Dillon Dingler as AL catcher and wanting Jacob Young recognized despite corner/center outfield distinctions.
Notes on metrics: Doolittle cited AXE, a consensus index that combines FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference WAR with contextual measures like WPA and championship-probability added (CPA). In AXE, 100 represents MLB average.
I’ll be reacting to each night’s announcements with updates and deeper analysis as winners are revealed throughout the week.
