National League Players of the Month: April 2025

Ladies and gentlemen, the season is flying by, and we’re already a month into what appears to be an exciting year of baseball! During the first month of the season, the National League boasted some of baseball’s best performers, as these players have already made quite the names for themselves.

In the National League, we’ve seen a clear theme develop: The NL West is the most talented division in the sport. This month, two of our three hitters and two of our three pitchers are from the NL West.

The final hitter and pitcher who will be featured in this story both come from the NL East, which is arguably the other top division in the sport.

Here at Just Baseball, our editorial staff has selected the players we chose to name as our players of the month in April. Their performances have all been very impressive, and it’ll be incredibly interesting to see whether or not they find themselves back here after May’s edition of this story.

Let’s meet the top National League performers for April.

NL Hitters of the Month

Gold Medal Hitter of the Month: Fernando Tatis Jr., SDP

April Stats: 127 PA, 8 HR, 25 R, 18 RBI, .345/.409/.602, 7 SB, 180 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR

Although it’s only been a 29-game sample, Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. is arguably hitting better than he ever has before. It may feel like Tatis is a seasoned veteran by this point, but he’s still only 26 years old, and he’s blowing baseball away with his offensive production.

Tatis currently ranks in the top five among National League qualified hitters in AVG, OBP, SLG, wOBA, xwOBA, wRC+, and fWAR. To put it simply, if there’s an offensive category, there’s a very good chance Tatis is near the top of the list.

Silver Medal Hitter of the Month: Corbin Carroll, ARI

April Stats: 141 PA, 9 HR, 25 R, 23 RBI, .289/.355/.625, 5 SB, 163 wRC+, 2.0 fWAR

After a relatively slow start to the 2024 season, Corbin Carroll made sure he wasn’t going to follow the same pattern in 2025. There aren’t many players who have been off to as good a start as Carroll, especially in the National League.

A big part of Carroll’s success has been his completely renewed stance, which has allowed him to hit for a lot more power to begin the season than in years past. Similarly to Tatis, Carroll is near the top of the National League in nearly every offensive category, earning him the Silver Medal.

Bronze Medal Hitter of the Month: Pete Alonso, NYM

April Stats: 137 PA, 7 HR, 22 R, 28 RBI, .343/.474/.657, 0 SB, 211 wRC+, 2.0 fWAR

During the offseason, there were a lot of conversations to be had around Pete Alonso and what he might be worth on the free-agent market. He ended up signing a two-year, $54 million deal, and he’s been worth every penny of that contract so far.

To put it simply, Alonso is on a tear to open the 2025 season. His 211 wRC+ is the top mark in the National League by a decent margin, showing his dominance. In addition to this, he’s crushed the ball in every way possible. While it’s still early, Pete Alonso looks like he’s in the midst of one of his best seasons yet.

Just Missed the Podium: Carson Kelly, CHC

April Stats: 67 PA, 7 HR, 13 R, 21 RBI, .360/.507/.840, 0 SB, 255 wRC+, 1.4 fWAR

If you had asked baseball fans before the season who they thought would be the most surprising breakout player, I don’t think you would’ve had many people say Carson Kelly.

However, this season, Kelly has become one of the better hitters in the game. He’s only played in 17 games, but his 255 wRC+ leads all NL hitters (min. 50 PA). Only Aaron Judge has a higher wRC+.

Although he just missed the podium, Kelly has still been phenomenal so far in 2025.

NL Pitchers of the Month

Gold Medal Pitcher of the Month: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, LAD

April stats: 3-2 (6 GS), 1.06 ERA, 34 IP, 43 K, 11 BB, 1.2 fWAR

Back when the Los Angeles Dodgers inked Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million deal, they expected him to be the best pitcher in the sport. In 2025, that level of play is exactly what they’ve gotten.

Up until his sixth start of the season, Yamamoto had pitched to an ERA under one, dominating hitters at every single opportunity. He ranks among the top 10 NL pitchers in fWAR, and he’s at the top of the league in most areas. For this reason, he earned our gold medal for April.

Silver Medal Pitcher of the Month: Nick Pivetta, SDP

April stats: 5-1 (6 GS), 1.78 ERA, 35.1 IP, 39 K, 8 BB, 1.3 fWAR

The San Diego Padres remained relatively quiet during the 2024-25 offseason, but the one big splash they made was signing right-hander Nick Pivetta. For the Padres, Pivetta has looked like the true ace of a three-headed monster in their rotation.

Among qualified starting pitchers in the National League, Pivetta has posted the fourth-lowest ERA. If this trend continues, Pivetta could easily make a case for the Gold Medal next month.

Bronze Medal Pitcher of the Month: Kodai Senga, NYM

April stats: 3-1 (5 GS), 1.26 ERA, 28.2 IP, 25 K, 9 BB, 0.7 fWAR

Not only is Kodai Senga the second New York Met to earn our bronze medal for the top performers in April, but he’s also the second former NPB star to be featured. For the New York Mets, having Senga healthy and dominating again has been key to their success this season.

Senga was one of the last players in the sub-1.00 ERA club this year, an impressive accomplishment. After he missed most of last season due to injury, seeing Senga come back so dominant has been really special.

Just Missed the Podium: Jesús Luzardo, PHI

April stats: 3-0 (6 GS), 1.73 ERA, 36.1 IP, 41 K, 10 BB, 1.4 fWAR

Similarly to the Padres, the Philadelphia Phillies opted not to make many external upgrades during the 2024-25 offseason. However, their biggest acquisition, left-hander Jesús Luzardo, has been incredible during the 2025 season.

While he may not have landed on our podium for April, Luzardo has still been very effective. He’s posted the second-best ERA among qualified National League pitchers. Among southpaw pitchers, he’s also posted the highest fWAR. If Luzardo’s dominant start continues, he’ll likely earn a medal during May.