Two USA Baseball alumni headline the Rookie of the Year Awards for the 2025 Major League Baseball regular season in both the American League and National League, with first baseman Nick Kurtz of the Athletics and catcher Drake Baldwin of the Atlanta Braves being nominated on November 10 and voted on by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
The finalists for the Rookie of the Year in the American League were Roman Anthony of the Boston Red Sox and Jacob Wilson of the Athletics, and for the National League Caleb Duran of the Milwaukee Brewers and Cade Horton of the Chicago Cubs.
Nick Kurtz – American League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award Winner
Nick Kurtz is your 2025 American League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year! pic.twitter.com/vzz0uIaidS
— MLB (@MLB) November 11, 2025
Kurtz also won the Silver Slugger Award and hit four home runs in one game against four different Houston Astros pitchers on July 25, 2025, during his rookie campaign.
Nick Kurtz becomes first MLB rookie with 4-homer game as Athletics beat Astros 15-3
Kurtz was also the AL Rookie of the Month in July, AL Player of the Month in both June and July, AL Player of the Week on July 2 and July 20, and was named the MLB Players Choice AL Outstanding Rookie in 2025.
Kurtz is nicknamed “Big Amish,” since the 22-year-old left-handed slugger was born in Lancaster, Pa., a large Amish community. He celebrates home runs by twirling his hands in a circular motion — an homage to the Amish tradition of churning butter.
Kurtz was called up on April 23 from Triple-A Las Vegas and played in 117 games with 489 plate appearances, hitting .290, collecting 122 hits, 26 doubles, two triples, 36 home runs, 86 RBI, two stolen bases, 63 walks, and a 1.002 OPS.
He landed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hip flexor on May 27 and was not activated until June 9.
The Athletics selected Kurtz with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft after his junior year at Wake Forest University. He signed a $7 million bonus on July 22, 2024, foregoing his senior year.
Kurtz played for USA Baseball as a two-way player for the U-12 National Team at the 2015 WBSC U-12 World Cup in Taiwan, helping the red, white and blue win gold with an 8-1 record. He batted .333 with three hits and a .455 on-base percentage, while going 2-0 on the mound with a 0.41 ERA, striking out 15 and allowing just nine hits and five walks.
He later played for the U-14 National Team Development Program in 2017 and the U-16 National Team Development Program in 2019.
Drake Baldwin – National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award Winner
Drake Baldwin is your 2025 National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year! pic.twitter.com/qojtcbSJYO
— MLB (@MLB) November 11, 2025
Baldwin Is The Second Catcher In Braves History To Win ROY Award
Drake Baldwin is the second catcher in @Braves history to win Rookie of the Year! 👏
(MLB x @MattressFirm) pic.twitter.com/TGhz6ICq0k
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) November 11, 2025
Baldwin Is The First Catcher To Win ROY Since Former San Francisco Giants Catcher Buster Posey In 2010
Drake Baldwin 🤝 Buster Posey
Baldwin’s the first catcher to win ROY since 2010! pic.twitter.com/5yjlnDYUU4
— MLB (@MLB) November 11, 2025
Drake Baldwin
Baldwin won the National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year after a steady, all-field debut. He hit .274 with 19 home runs, 80 RBI and an .810 OPS over 124 games. His plate discipline stood out — 15.2 percent strikeout rate and 8.5 percent walk rate in 446 plate appearances — and the contact was loud with a 91.7 mph average exit velocity and 11.0 percent barrel rate. He started 97 games at catcher and helped stabilize Atlanta’s staff.
Nick Kurtz and Drake Baldwin win Baseball Digest rookie of the year awards
A USA Baseball alum and a third-round pick in 2022 out of Missouri State, Baldwin debuted on March 27, 2025 and became the second catcher in franchise history to win Rookie of the Year. He is the first catcher to win the award since 2010.
The 24-year-old left-handed hitter from Madison, Wisc., played for USA Baseball under 2002 World Series champion manager Mike Scioscia at the 2024 Premier12 Tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
Baldwin played in six games with three starts at the 2024 Premier12 event last November and batted .214/.286/.313 in 14 at-bats, scoring four runs, collecting three hits, one double, and one RBI, with two walks and four strikeouts, helping Team USA win the bronze medal with a 6-1 victory over Venezuela at the Tokyo Dome.
Photo: : Atlanta Braves’ Drake Baldwin (30) celebrates Marcell Ozuna (20) in the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
