The 2024 MLB season is underway. It’s very early into the season, however some rookies are already making a major impact. Here are the top five early-performing MLB rookies in 2024.
There has been a ton of conversation about young Baltimore Orioles making an incredible impact over the past few seasons. It all began with Adley Rutschman — the No. 1 pick of the 2019 MLB draft and arguably baseball’s best catcher. The top prospect in baseball, Jackson Holliday, made his debut last week. But one of the top five rookies is Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser. He struggled over 26 games in 2023, but his rookie status has remained intact for this season. In 2024, there aren’t many players playing as well as him. Cowser has slugged six doubles and four home runs in only 14 games this season. He’s splitting .444/.474/1.444. Obviously, it’s early into the season and these numbers won’t hold up, but he’s making an impressive impact on Baltimore’s early-season success.
Similar to Cowser, Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga hasn’t been the most talked about player in his own realm. 25-year-old hurler Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a $325 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers during the off-season.
Through his first three MLB starts, however, Imanaga has yet to surrender an earned run through 15.1 innings. All of his starts have been impressive, including a dominant performance against the Dodgers on April 7. He struck out slugger Shohei Ohtani in their first MLB meeting and only allowed two hits over four innings of work. Additionally, the start was shortened by a lengthy rain delay, in which he couldn’t pick up the win. The Cubs have battled pitcher injuries to ace Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon, and he’s picked up the slack. The NL Central is already shaping to be a competitive division, and Chicago has picked up wins in each of his starts.
It’s pretty impressive that Michael Busch isn’t even the top rookie performer on his own team. But when you look at what Imanaga has provided, it’s hard to argue. The newly-acquired first baseman has already proven himself to be a quality starter for Chicago. Busch has been consistent all season long, but his most recent stretch speaks for itself. Busch is the first rookie in Cubs history to hit a home run in five consecutive games since at least 1901. Additionally, this run is tied for the longest of any Cubs player in their long history. He leads Chicago with six long balls in 2024. First base was the Cubs’ most inconsistent position last season, and Busch has filled the hole perfectly for Chicago.
Some of the top rookies are named Jackson. Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers, Holliday of the Orioles and Jackson Merrill, an outfielder for the San Diego Padres. Merrill has outperformed those other Jacksons, and is one of the top five rookies this season. He has a .333 batting average, has hit one home run and has played in a league-leading 18 games. Merrill also played an important role in the Padres’ series win over the division rival Dodgers. In their most recent matchup, he accumulated six hits, two RBI and one run.
5. Blaze Alexander
Lastly, Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Blaze Alexander has already exceeded expectations this season. He found out he made the Opening Day roster in an emotional video posted by the Diamondbacks. Not only that, he started at shortstop and got his first career hit in a historic 14-run inning. His bat has performed well so far this season. Alexander has two home runs and has an .816 OPS (124 OPS+). However, Alexander has encountered defensive miscues so far this season.
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