Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Who are the MLB prospects on the verge of making the greatest impression in 2025?
Answering is a matter of finding the nexus of talent, timing and opportunity.
Here are five in position to have the most memorable rookie seasons.
Roki Sasaki — RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Calling 23-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki a “rookie prospect” is misleading. Almost completely.
Sasaki came to the Dodgers as a ready-made professional after spending four years with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. There, he struck out 505 batters and posted a 2.10 ERA in 394 2/3 innings starting at age 19. Coming into 2025, Baseball America and MLB’s own rankings consider Sasaki to be MLB’s best prospect. Baseball Prospectus and others would, except they don’t count Sasaki as a prospect because of his extensive professional experience—like when Ichiro Suzuki came to the Seattle Mariners in 2001 and won AL Rookie of the Year and MVP when he was 27 years old.
Whatever the résumé says, the Cincinnati Reds found the Sasaki experience to be painful in his spring training debut Tuesday night, particularly when they stood in against his split-finger fastball.
The bewildered Reds had almost zero chance against Sasaki’s splitter, generating an 88% whiff rate on eight swings, per MLB Statcast. (MLB’s overall whiff rate on splitters in 2024 was 34.5%.) Against Sasaki, the Reds swung and missed the splitter seven times, with Jake Fraley being the only person to put a splitter in play, via an easy 292-foot fly ball. Can of corn, or as they say back home: Kōn no kandzume.
Sasaki picked up five strikeouts over three scoreless innings, also throwing a four-seam fastball that reached 99.3 mph and averaged 98 mph.
Sasaki is hitting the ground in MLB in a full sprint, four years younger than Ichiro in 2001 and a few months younger than Shohei Ohtani when he debuted in 2018. Sasaki isn’t a two-way player (he went 0-for-11 with nine strikeouts as a hitter in Japan), but his four-seamer and splitter together give him at least two ways to get batters out.
The Dodgers gave him a $6.5 million signing bonus, which was limited because of an agreement between MLB and NPB regarding international free agents, and he’ll earn the minimum salary in 2025: $760,000. By contrast, teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto is in the second of a 12-year, $325 million contract because he put in seven years with NPB and didn’t demand to be posted at Sasaki’s age.
Jasson Domínguez — OF, New York Yankees
Sep 8, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Jasson Dominguez (89) at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Domínguez ranks in the 20s among overall prospects, and this is his sixth season on prospect lists, but he’s still just 22 years old. He’s also getting a chance to win the Yankees’ starting left fielder job after batting .314/.376/.504 with 11 home runs, 22 walks and 16 stolen bases at three levels in 2024, mostly Triple-A.
He’s been inconsistent in 100 plate appearances over 26 games in brief call-ups the past two seasons, but remember: He was 20 when he debuted, and it’s only 100 plate appearances. Even so, Domínguez has six home runs, 13 walks and six stolen bases already as a major leaguer. He’s ready to prove he can thrive after 1,500-plus PAs in the minors.
Jackson Jobe — RHP, Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Jackson Jobe throws live batting practice during spring training Minor League minicamp Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 at Tiger Town in Lakeland. PHOTO USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES The Tigers’ top prospect for the past three years, Jobe jumped into the consensus top five overall this year after reaching the majors for a brief stint in 2024 that included two postseason appearances. Now 22, he’s throwing 98.3 mph with his four-seamer in spring training, he executes an elite changeup, and he is swapping out his sweeper for a curveball as a third pitch. Early results are promising.
The Tigers project Kenta Maeda, Casey Mize and Reese Olson to round out their rotation after ace Tarik Skubal and free-agent pickup Jack Flaherty. Maeda, Mize and Olson have pitched well in spring training, but all three have either recent injury issues or performance questions. Jobe has much more upside. With the Tigers having a deep bullpen, it’s possible Jobe could start back in Triple-A. But as soon as an opportunity arises (and it always does), he’ll jump on it.
Dylan Crews — OF, Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews (3) scores a run during the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell (Red Sox) and Walker Jenkins (Twins) all could have higher upside, but Crews has the best chance among the three to come out of the chute in a major league lineup.
Crews, 23, got his feet wet in 2024 by hitting .243/.315/.397 with three home runs, 11 walks and 12 steals in 132 plate appearances, which means he’s still eligible for rookie awards in 2025. Prospect guru Keith Law also said Crews’ batted-ball data indicates better results are coming, and he is adjusting to high fastballs. Coupling his bat potential with great defense, he’s going to make a big impact quickly.
Matt Shaw — IF, Chicago Cubs
Shaw, 23, projects to make the club out of spring training as a third baseman, which probably is a big reason the Cubs didn’t give free agent Alex Bregman what he wanted. Shaw also can play short, and second base might be his best position in the long haul. He ranks as high overall as No. 14 by Keith Law (who also doesn’t rank Sasaki anywhere) and is No. 35 at Baseball America.
Shaw hit .298/.395/.534 with a 19.7 K% and consistently hard contact at Triple-A to finish his first full season as a pro. He could become an excellent defensive player too, though maybe less so at third base.
