AL and NL Rookie of Year watch: Munetaka Murakami's power didn't take long to arrive while Mets' Nolan McLean looks like an ace

After taking a look at the MVP and Cy Young races earlier this week, it’s time to turn our attention to the Rookie of the Year award and the remarkably deep group of young players thriving in the majors in their first full seasons as big leaguers. Preseason top prospect lists tend to give us a good idea of which hitters and pitchers are likely to make an instant impact, but we don’t know for sure until the games begin and we find out how these talented players are handling the challenge of competing at the sport’s highest level. And this year, many of these top prospects have hit the ground running, becoming key members of the roster from the get-go.

That’s not to say there won’t be an upcoming hard adjustment period that could slow down these rookies’ dream starts. There is also still plenty of time for others in the class to emerge as contenders in the ROY race. After all, at this time last season, eventual unanimous AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz had yet to hit his first major-league home run, and NL winner Drake Baldwin had appeared in only 19 games for the Braves and had a .

715 OPS. But so far, the 2026 rookie class is shaping up to be special. Let’s take a closer look at the candidates in each league vying for the honor of top rookie in a year overflowing with first-year talent.

American League Kevin McGonigle One of the consensus top two prospects in baseball alongside Pittsburgh’s Konnor Griffin entering the season, McGonigle made his MLB debut on Opening Day, batting sixth and playing third base. He climbed to the top of Detroit’s lineup not long after. Now McGonigle is the Tigers’ preferred leadoff option, and with Javier Báez injured, he has also assumed the role of starting shortstop, further elevating his importance on the roster.