Through Sunday’s games, 133 rookie hitters had received at least one plate appearance in the 2024 baseball season. That is the lowest number in at least 10 years, including 2020 when COVID prevented minor league seasons from even being played. Only 50 of those rookies have at least 100 plate appearances this year. Why are there so few rookies this fantasy baseball season?
Generally speaking the hitters in this year’s rookie class have been lackluster. Remember at the start of the season how excited everyone was about Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter? They have been busts. Jackson Holliday’s arrival was received with much fanfare but has been a very mixed bag. Rookie pitchers are winning the season, comparatively. Only four rookie hitters have even an .800 OPS this year, while 12 of 25 qualified rookies have below a .700 OPS.
This weekly piece will track some of the notable performances from rookies during the 2024 season now that we have reached the All-Star break. In dynasty and keeper formats, most of these players will be long gone, but in seasonal leagues, is it worth clogging up a roster spot with a rookie? Diving into their performance this season will hopefully help us look into a little bit of their future.
Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report: Hitters
Jackson Chourio (OF, Milwaukee Brewers)
- .270/.316/.437, 15 HR, 53 RBI, 17 SB, 58 R
A .280/.333/.560 line plus some fabulous defense in the last seven days have helped Milwaukee inch closer to a division title. He also has four extra-base hits in that span.
David Hamilton (SS, Boston Red Sox)
- .260/.314/.409, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 31 SB, 42 R
David Hamilton is crushing it right now, hitting .316/.381/.526 with two steals over the past week. He also is getting his power back and hit a home run this week at home.
Nolan Schanuel (1B, Los Angeles Angels)
- .249/.342/.371, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 4 SB, 52 R
The power has basically disappeared for Nolan Schanuel in the second half of the season. Even his OBP dropped to .320 over the last week as Schanuel, who leads rookies in plate appearances, might be getting fatigued.
Michael Busch (1B, Chicago Cubs)
- .258/.345/.455, 16 HR, 47 RBI, 2 SB, 55 R
A tough stretch for Michael Busch continues. He hit .167/.250/.278 with no home runs for more than a week now.
Tyler Fitzgerald (SS, San Francisco Giants)
- .316/.370/.616, 14 HR, 27 RBI, 14 SB, 37 R
Tyler Fitzgerald now qualifies for batting records based on his playing time, and he immediately jumps to the head of the pack. His .986 OPS is 150 points higher than anyone else, and he also leads all rookies in OBP now (.370).
Colton Cowser (OF, Baltimore Orioles)
- .245/.324/.444, 18 HR, 56 RBI, 7 SB, 56 R
Is Colton Cowser hitting the rookie wall? He is hitting .167/.259/.208 over the last week with no home runs. His .467 OPS is in the bottom ten of all rookies this month.
Ceddanne Rafaela (OF, Boston Red Sox)
- .264/.296/.409, 13 HR, 59 RBI, 17 SB, 63 R
The trend of rookies not hitting well continues (and maybe we know why rookies aren’t appearing as frequently as years before). Rafaela’s batting average (.286) matched his slugging percentage this past week as he hit no extra-base hits.
Jackson Merrill (SS/OF, San Diego Padres)
- .290/.322/.483, 17 HR, 66 RBI, 13 SB, 61 R
Jackson Merrill hit .278 and slugged .500 recently, but also with no home runs and no steals, his recent fantasy impact has relied solely on his batting average and that’s just not enough presently.
Wilyer Abreu (OF, Boston Red Sox)
- .267/.332/.503, 14 HR, 48 RBI, 7 SB, 50 R
Finally, a rookie who has been producing for the last two weeks. Wilyer Abreu is hitting .273/.304/.591 with two home runs and six hits in his last six games. He is third among all rookies in plate appearances in that time as well.
Masyn Winn (SS, St. Louis Cardinals)
- .274/.324/.419, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 10 SB, 59 R
Masyn Winn did crush two solo home runs this week, but a lowly .200 batting average worked against the .480 slugging percentage. He does retain his value as he is hitting leadoff for the Cardinals every day now.
Jackson Holliday (2B, Baltimore Orioles)
- .196/.243/.381, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 0 SB, 18 R
Since his five-homer barrage a couple of weeks ago, the hits have been coming, but just not the power for Jackson Holliday. He has seven hits in six games and is hitting .304, but with just a .391 slugging percentage. He could certainly pick it up, but teammate Colton Cowser is much closer to the AL Rookie of the Year than Holliday.
James Wood (OF, Washington Nationals)
- .284/.373/.458, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 6 SB, 25 R
James Wood has been absolutely crushing lately, hitting .409/.480/.636 in the last six games, including nine hits. Wood has five homers and six steals since being recalled and is making his case as a fantasy stud next year.
Colt Keith (2B, Detroit Tigers)
- .256/.308/.386, 11 HR, 44 RBI, 6 SB, 44 R
Colt Keith got back on track this week with a .368 average and .421 slugging percentage. The power and speed have disappeared still, but what remains is good contact, strong plate discipline, and a solid batting average.
Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report: Pitchers
Spencer Schwellenbach (SP, Atlanta Braves)
- 13 Starts, 75.2 IP, 4 W, 4.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 85 Ks
While Spencer Schwellenbach was able to strike out eight Angels, they still tagged him for four runs and a loss on Friday night. Still, it was the third start in a row with at least seven strikeouts for Schwellenbach.
Shota Imanaga (SP, Chicago Cubs)
- 23 Starts, 133.1 IP, 9 W, 3.11 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 137 Ks
It was not the best week of Shota Imanaga’s young MLB career. He pitched 10 innings and gave up eight total runs. Four of those were unearned, but 11 hits and two walks in that span is far too much.
Spencer Arrighetti (SP, Houston Astros)
- 22 Starts, 110.2 IP, 5 W, 5.20 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 134 Ks
The Chicago White Sox, of all teams, are the ones that brought the unhittable streak to an end for Spencer Arrighetti. After back-to-back games with 12 and 13 strikeouts, the White Sox got to him for four earned runs and just five strikeouts.
Paul Skenes (SP, Pittsburgh Pirates)
- 16 Starts, 98 IP, 7 W, 2.30 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 121 Ks
Paul Skenes finally got back into the win column with a strong six innings pitched with six punch-outs against Seattle on Friday. It’s nice to see him back on track after a couple of shaky outings. It did nothing to dissuade his chances at the NL Rookie of the Year award. Skenes is now -200 to win it.
Simeon Woods Richardson (SP, Minnesota Twins)
- 21 Starts, 107.1 IP, 4 W, 3.77 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 92 Ks
Finally! After sitting on three wins for more than two months, Simeon Woods Richardson finally got that fourth win against the Texas Rangers. He only struck out one batter, but used his nasty changeup to keep them off balance for five strong innings.
Luis Gil (SP, New York Yankees)
- 23 Starts, 121.2 IP, 12 W, 3.25 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 141 Ks
Much like Spencer Arrighetti, the White Sox were able to solve Luis Gil. They bullied him around for seven hits and four runs across four innings and in the process likely messed up Luis Gil’s best run back towards an AL Rookie of the Year award.
Tobias Myers (SP, Milwaukee Brewers)
- 18 Starts, 99.1 IP, 6 W, 2.79 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 85 Ks
In a very tough task against the Los Angeles Dodgers (whom Myers could see again in the playoffs), the rookie Brewers pitcher gave up just two runs in 5.2 innings pitched, but could only strike out one batter in the game. He didn’t have his best stuff at that time and will look to get back on his over-powering stuff in the next start.
Who’s Next?
This section will look at any noteworthy rookies who have just debuted, are on the verge of debuting, or might be on their way up soon, and whether they are worth the roster position on your fantasy squads.
Jace Jung (2B, Detroit Tigers) – Jace Jung, brother of Josh Jung, made his Major League debut over the weekend, with already three hits in nine at-bats and one run batted in. Jace Jung is a slick fielding infielder who has a nice stroke with the bat. He hit .257/.377/.454 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI over 91 games this year. He also is uncanny about drawing walks, which is a huge area of need for a free-swinging Detroit team that is tenth in the majors in strikeout rate (23.5%). With the Tigers coming out and saying their veterans will have their loads managed for the rest of the season, it’s a great time to pick up their young prospects like Jung.
Grant McCray (OF, San Francisco Giants) – From another baseball family, Grant McCray is the son of former Major Leaguer Rodney McCray. McCray is already hitting .357 with a .400 OBP and a 1.114 OPS after smashing five hits, including a home run, in his first 14 at-bats this year. McCray has started in centerfield four straight games after his call-up and Heliot Ramos has moved permanently to left field to accommodate. In AAA this year, McCray was hitting .272/.347/.471 with 12 bombs and eight stolen bases. Considering the state of the Giants’ offense, it’s likely only a matter of time before McCray moves up to the top half of the batting order.