Ten MLB Youngsters Primed For A Breakout Season This Year

The MLB season is now underway, and these ten young players are primed for a breakout season this year.

Washington Nationals OF James Wood

Wood, a former top prospect, has all the tools to potential be a 30/30 player with plus defense. If he can cut down the strikeouts, the Nationals will have their franchise player.

Detroit Tigers OF Riley Greene

The Detroit Tigers are better known for their phenomenal pitching, but Riley Greene is a star for years to come. His power and on-base abilities will make him a household name in the sport this year.

Washington Nationals SP Mackenzie Gore

Gore has long been considered one of the best young lefties in all of baseball dating back to high school. Now 26, he showed a lot of improvement last year and could be a Cy Young candidate this season.

Athletics 1B Tyler Soderstrom

Soderstrom, the top hitting prospect for years in the A’s system, got 60 games in the big leagues and showed some real flashes. As he now is focusing on playing 1B full time instead of catching, it’s fair to expect his great hitting tools to really shine through this year.

St. Louis Cardinals OF Jordan Walker

At 6-6, 250lb, Walker more closely resembles the size of an NFL tight end. While it hasn’t always showed up, the 22-year old has gargantuan power. Expect him to improve his bat-to-ball skills this year and possibly be St. Louis’s best position player.

Tampa Bay Rays SP Ryan Pepiot

Pepiot, a former top Dodgers prospect, showed improvement from 2023 to 2024 as he started to figure out how to use his electric stuff to get major leaguers out. Expect that trend to continue in 2025.

Baltimore Orioles IF Jackson Holliday

Holliday, the consensus top prospect in baseball last year and son of former MLB star Matt Holliday, struggled significantly after being called up at 20 last year. But, the pedigree and talent is too good. Expect Holliday to be close to all-star caliber this year.

New York Yankees C Austin Wells

The Yankees have long been looking for a long-term answer at catcher since Jorge Posada’s retirement, and Austin Wells seems to be that guy. He’s just average defensively, but his bat is good enough to have him hitting leadoff in the early going for the Yankees. Wells could hit 25 homers this year, a great tally for a catcher.

Atlanta Braves SP Spencer Schwellenbach

Schwellenbach was surprisingly solid last year for the Braves after starting the year in High-A before being called up in late May. Now, with the departure of Max Fried, he has to play a larger role in the Atlanta rotation. I think he’s up to the challenge.

Chicago Cubs OF Pete Crow-Armstrong

Pete Crow-Armstrong can absolutely fly, which makes him one of the league’s best baserunners as well as best centerfielders. The issue is he’s been a weak hitter so far, impeded by his tendency to chase pitches out of the zone. He’s approaching 500 career at-bats, so it’s reasonable to assume his discipline will start to improve. If he even becomes a league-average hitter, he’s an All-Star.