Which Rookie Pitchers Can Be Trusted to Start Playoff Games?
Rookie pitchers are as talented as they've ever been. Which ones could start meaningful games for their team in October?
| | 
Every single year, we see rookie starting pitchers come up and dominate at a higher level. Just a few years ago, most teams would want a trusted veteran starting games for them in the postseason. While that is still the case for the majority of teams, there’s a few outliers.
Prospects are more talented than ever and pitchers are the nastiest they’ve ever been in Major League Baseball. As we near the end of the season, we have almost 70 different pitchers who have recorded a pitch of 100 miles per hour or faster, a testament to how talented pitchers are in modern Major League Baseball.
This has led to teams being more open to having rookies start meaningful games for them down the stretch. Below, we took a look at some of the most talented rookie starting pitchers who could be trusted with starting a playoff game for their team in October.
Which Rookies Could Start Playoff Games?
Honorable mention:
Parker Messick – Cleveland Guardians
| GS | IP | ERA | K% | BB% | FIP | |
| 2025 | 6 | 34.2 | 2.08 | 21.8% | 3.5% | 2.17 |
Messick, 24, is only a handful of starts into his big league career, but he’s pitched like an experienced vet. Only one of his outings has been a dud so far (3.2 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), but even that one wasn’t awful. Otherwise, he’s allowed two runs or less in every other start and is coming off of an outing against the Minnesota Twins where he struck out a career-high nine batters in 5.1 innings of work.
As of now, Messick is nothing more than an honorable mention, but that’s only due to the fact that the Guardians are tied with the Houston Astros for the final Wild Card spot, so nothing is guaranteed in their playoff eligibility. However, we can’t help but notice that that gap is down to just one game in the AL Central…
Top Five
Cam Schlittler – New York Yankees
Just Baseball’s No. 3 Yankees prospect has come up and been nails since making his debut. Outside of two four run outings against the Tigers and Twins, he has allowed three or less earned runs in 10 of his 12 career starts up to this point.
This has resulted in a 3.27 ERA across 66 innings pitched for the 24-year-old. Schllittler’s best string of starts came from August 13 to August 30. In four outings and just under 24 innings, he allowed just two earned runs (0.76 ERA) and struck out 30 hitters (34.1% K%). If he can continue to throw the ball well down the final stretch, don’t be surprised to see Schlittler throwing some major innings for New York in October.
Jacob Misiorowski – Milwaukee Brewers
Misiorowksi was one of the highest touted pitching prospects we’ve seen in recent memory and took MLB by storm as soon as he debuted. Not only did he make the All-Star Game after just 5 starts – a Major League record, by the way – but he threw to a 2.70 ERA striking out north of 12.5 batters per nine innings in his first seven career starts.
While he has seen some regression, he could still take the mound for Milwaukee in a playoff series. With a fastball second to only Hunter Greene in terms of Stuff+ (119) that could even see a tick up in a meaningful game, Misiorowski could simply overpower hitters in October baseball.
Cade Horton – Chicago Cubs
Cade Horton is the favorite, according to BetMGM, to win the National League Rookie of the Year and has been absolutely electric since making his debut. The former #2 prospect of the Cubs had a short IL stint but picked up right where he left off.
When it comes to rookie starting pitchers, there hasn’t been anyone better. Here’s what he’s done with MLB ranks in terms of rookies who have thrown at least 60 innings.
| IP | Wins | ERA | FIP | fWAR | HR/9 | |
| 2025 | 115.0 (9th) | 11 (1st) | 2.66 (3rd) | 3.53 (4th) | 2.2 (2nd) | 0.70 (3rd) |
Nolan McLean – New York Mets
The Mets’ #4 prospect has only had seven starts in the big leagues but has been almost unhittable in them up to this point. After 113.2 innings at a 2.45 clip in Triple-A this season, he’s thrown 42.2 innings since his debut with a minuscule 1.27 ERA. McLean has only allowed six earned runs up to this point while striking out 9.70 batters per nine innings.
His best start came on August 27 while facing one of the best offenses in baseball. Against the Phillies, he went eight innings without giving up a run and striking out six while only allowing four hits. This outing alone shows that he could absolutely be trusted in an elimination game for the Mets.
Trey Yesavage – Toronto Blue Jays
Yesavage has the least experience of any of the guys on this list as the Blue Jays’ #3 prospect made his debut just a couple of nights ago. In his lone start, he went five innings with one earned run and nine strikeouts.
However, Yesavage has pitched at five levels this year, starting in Low-A and of course finishing in the Major Leagues, and has dominated at every one. In 98 innings in the minor leagues, he was striking out an absurd 14.69 hitters per nine with a 2.52 FIP.
The high release point and the development of his secondaries have allowed Yesavage to take a huge step in 2025, according to Aram Leighton. Don’t be surprised if we see the nasty splitter and slider combination from Yesavage in the midst of October this year.
Written by
Michael Monreal got his start in baseball media when he started his own website covering the San Francisco Giants after playing two years of college baseball.…