Last season could easily be described as the year of the outstanding rookie. All of Paul Skenes, Jackson Merrill, Jackson Chourio, Luis Gil, Colton Cowser, and Shota Imanaga had fantastic years. Each of them could have been Rookie of the Year in just about any other season, but they all debuted in 2024. But with all these rookies hitting at the same time, other players flew quietly under the radar.
Heading into the 2025 fantasy baseball season, there are a number of rookies from last season who made impressive debuts but just couldn’t break through the loud noise that the top of the class was generating. This article will look at four promising rookie debuts from 2024 who could produce strong fantasy results in 2025.
2024 Rookie Debuts You May Have Missed
Tyler Fitzgerald | SS | San Francisco Giants
I bet you remember at least PART of Tyler Fitzgerald’s 2024 rookie season. From July 9 through July 27, a span of 10 games, Fitzgerald set the baseball world on fire. In that timeframe, he hit .429/.512/1.229 with eight home runs and 13 RBI. He would hit just six home runs the rest of the season, but his July spotlight made fantasy managers stand up and take notice.
Over the last 30 days, Tyler Fitzgerald of the Giants has been one of the best players in all of baseball.
12 HR (2nd in NL)
212 wRC+ (1st)
2.5 fWAR (1st)A superstar in the making. pic.twitter.com/oypyJn4heZ
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) August 19, 2024
Overall, Fitzgerald solidified a starting spot in the the Giants’ 2025 lineup with a .280/.334/.497 line, including 15 home runs and 17 stolen bases. It’s that enticing power/speed combo that has savvy drafters salivating this offseason. While his ADP in NFBC leagues is around pick 237 right now, he has a minimum pick of 140 as drafters are starting to catch on to his upside.
Fitzgerald was an old rookie at age 26, and his strikeout rate (31.7%) was way too high last year. But in the mid-200s of drafts, he is certainly worth the risk to see if he has another 15/15 season in him at age 27.
Spencer Horwitz | 1B/2B | Pittsburgh Pirates
If you went looking for Spencer Horwitz on the Toronto Blue Jays roster after last year’s nice debut, you came up empty. Horwitz was traded in the offseason to the Guardians, and then immediately traded again to the Pirates. When he is fully recovered from wrist surgery, he will be the Pirates’ keystone man and has some very sneaky upside after 12 home runs and 46 RBI in just 97 games in 2024.
Horwitz’s calling card is his elite plate discipline. He walked 11% of the time as a rookie and struck out just 18% of his plate appearances. For reference, that’s exactly what Ketel Marte did last year. Horwitx had a solid 8% barrel rate in his rookie season, and the multi-position eligibility makes him very attractive late in drafts. Since he is currently coming back from injury, he has fallen all the way to pick 367 in recent NFBC drafts.
DJ Herz | SP | Washington Nationals
A Washington Nationals pitcher? Hey, at least it’s better than a Chicago White Sox pitcher or (most) Miami Marlins pitchers. If you aren’t familiar with DJ Herz, you might want to become so over the next year. As a 24-year-old in 2024, Herz made 19 starts for Washington and struck out 10.8 batters per nine innings. His 4-9 record, despite a 4.16 ERA, is indicative of what life as a Nationals pitcher might be like for a while, but his underlying skills are undeniable.
DJ Herz since August 14th:
31.1 IP
2.59 ERA
0.99 WHIP
35 Kpic.twitter.com/qtkMUAtcg3— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) September 14, 2024
That 4.16 ERA came with a 3.26 expected ERA (xERA), and his hard hit rate was only 34.2%. He only gave up around one home run per nine innings. Herz’s place in the rotation is not confirmed at this point in the spring. There are currently names like Trevor Williams and Mike Soroka penciled in ahead of him, but those are both players who will be under one win above replacement (WAR) this season. Herz could easily overtake them by May or June.
Going around pick 353 in NFBC drafts, you can likely ignore Herz at most home draft leagues, but he is a player to stash on your bench if you have deep spots to play with in your league.
Ben Joyce | RP | Los Angeles Angels
Ben Joyce is currently listed as the setup man to Kenley Janssen for saves in the City of Angels. However, one of those guys is 37 years old, and one of them is 24. One of them throws 102 miles per hour on his fastball (that’s Joyce), and one of them certainly does not (Jansen throws about 94). Drafting Ben Joyce or stashing him on your bench before the season starts is a bet that the pure talent and wicked stuff will eventually win out and take over the closer job for the Halos.
Ben Joyce dials it up to 104.7 MPH to get the final out of his first career save! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/RLfbJUEGRm
— MLB (@MLB) August 4, 2024
The Angels may have thoughts that they can compete for the postseason, but fantasy managers know better. Is it possible Los Angeles trades Jensen away if he picks up 15 saves in the first half? Of course. Joyce is the closer-in-waiting for this team, so it’s just a matter of “when” and not “if.”
In addition to his 100-mph heater, Joyce has a 97-mph sinker, an 86-mph slider, and a 92-mph changeup. In the minor leagues, Joyce used that arsenal to strike out more than 13 batters per nine innings four times, and it’s just a matter of time before the strikeouts start piling up in the Major Leagues.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.