The Top 10 Designated Hitters in MLB for 2025
Headlined by the best player in all of baseball, the designated hitter position is as deep as it's been in recent memory.
The designated hitter has long been considered a position meant traditionally for immobile power bats. It functioned as an extension of first base, for the players too defensively stretched to handle the workload of 162 games in the field and too athletically limited to impact the game outside of the batter’s box.
The narrative around the DH has changed drastically over the last several years. The DH position in 2024 gave us the first 50-50 season in MLB history, and several others flirted with both the 40 home run and .300 batting average markers simultaneously.
From athletic unicorns like Shohei Ohtani to outfield options like Christian Yelich and Yordan Alvarez, the designated hitter crop in Major League Baseball may be as athletic, as multi-faceted, and as good as it’s ever been.
**NOTE: These positional rankings are created by ordering the average score from each of our six voters. For the DH group, ranked the players 1-10, with anyone outside of their individual top 10 being given a score of 15.**
Honorable Mentions:
Jorge Soler (LAA)
Andrew McCutchen (PIT)
Kyle Manzardo (CLE)
Masataka Yoshida (BOS)
Of the four Honorable Mentions, only Soler received a top-10 vote. The right-handed slugger split his 2024 campaign between San Francisco and Atlanta, and will look to tap back into his 30-homer potential with the Angels in ’25.
McCutchen has proven to be steady as he ages with the team that he made his mark with, but much of his steadiness stems from his clubhouse presence instead of his offensive production.
Yoshida’s contract situation remains a sore spot with Red Sox fans and their front office alike, but he was initially paid to be a serviceable corner outfielder. After the Green Monster proved to be too much to handle, Yoshida leaves a bit to be desired in the power department, if he’s only going to provide value with his bat.
The wild card of the four is Manzardo, who is coming off of a strong finish to the season with Cleveland. Josh Naylor’s departure for Arizona could have signaled that it was his time to man first base for the Guardians, but Cleveland snatched up old friend Carlos Santana to push Manzardo to the DH spot in what should be a full-time role.
10. Giancarlo Stanton (New York Yankees)
115.9 mph.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 4, 2024
Scorched by Stanton 💪 pic.twitter.com/XKa9RG35pF
2024 Stats: 114 G, .233/.298/.475, 27 HR, 72 RBI, 116 wRC+, 0.8 fWAR
| Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
| RANK: 10 | RANK: 15 | RANK: 10 | RANK: 10 | RANK: 10 | RANK: 9 |
The narrative around Stanton is becoming more clear by the season. Stanton’s .994 Postseason OPS is the fifth-best mark of all-time among players with 150 or more at-bats, trailing only George Brett, Carlos Beltran, Bryce Harper and Albert Pujols.
However, Stanton has played more than 115 games in a regular season just once since 2019, and has slashed .212/.291/.454 (105 OPS+) over the last three years. A playoff titan and a regular season question mark, Stanton is still a threat for 30 home runs if he can stay on the field for 120 games.
9. Joc Pederson (Texas Rangers)
Joc Jams goes country. 🤠 pic.twitter.com/TEjsHrEO24
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) December 30, 2024
2024 Stats: 132 G, .275/.393/.515, 23 HR, 64 RBI, 12% BB%, 151 wRC+, 3.0 fWAR
| Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
| RANK: 9 | RANK: 8 | RANK: 9 | RANK: 9 | RANK: 9 | RANK: 10 |
Pederson signed a two-year, $37 million deal with the Texas Rangers this offseason after logging the best season of his career by wRC+ and his highest WAR total since his age-24 season in 2016.
While he’s had more prolific power seasons in his career, his .275 batting average was also a career-best and his .393 on-base percentage is 40 points clear of his second-best mark in 2022 with San Francisco. Despite entering his age-33 season in 2025, Pederson may just be the best version of himself that we’ve seen.
8. Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs)
Seiya the Slugger. 💪
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 4, 2024
Congratulations on your second Silver Slugger nomination! pic.twitter.com/u5vvqochFW
2024 Stats: 132 G, .283/.366/.482, 21 HR, 73 RBI, 16-22 SB, 11% BB%, 138 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR
| Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
| RANK: 8 | RANK: 6 | RANK: 7 | RANK: 8 | RANK: 8 | RANK: 8 |
Suzuki has leveled up in each of his first three seasons in Major League Baseball, posting career bests in fWAR (3.6), wRC+ (138), OPS (.848), home runs (21), BB% (10.8%), and stolen bases (16) during the 2024 campaign.
However, Suzuki’s one major shortcoming has been his ability to stay on the field since signing his five-year, $85 million deal going into the 2022 season, failing to eclipse 140 games played in any of his three years.
2025 should present his best chance at doing just that following the emergence of Pete Crow-Armstrong and the acquisition of superstar Kyle Tucker, pushing the below average defender from the corner outfield into an everyday DH role.
7. Kerry Carpenter (Detroit Tigers)
Kerry Carpenter. GONE. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/F5kerkexto
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 13, 2024
2024 Stats: 87 G, .284/.345/.587, 18 HR, 57 RBI, 160 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR
| Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
| RANK: 7 | RANK: 9 | RANK: 8 | RANK: 5 | RANK: 5 | RANK: 7 |
The King of the Platoon lands on his first Top 10 list this season after Carpenter posted a .305/.363/.631 (.994 OPS) slash line against right-handed pitching in ’24.
That .994 OPS in 264 plate appearances was one of the best marks in all of baseball and was better than stars like Rafael Devers, Gunnar Henderson, Freddie Freeman, and Bryce Harper.
However, Carpenter’s deficiency came against same-handed arms, going 3-for-28 in an extremely limited sample against southpaws. If Tigers manager A.J. Hinch gives Carpenter everyday reps and he rights his wrongs against same-handed arms, Carpenter could easily be in the top five of this crop going into 2026.
6. Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers)
Christian Yelich.
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 14, 2023
Vote Yeli for All-Star: https://t.co/QW3CNiAUAT pic.twitter.com/9LSh9gl1jD
2024 Stats: 73 G, .315/.406/.504, 11 HR, 42 RBI, 21-22 SB, 13% BB%, 18% K%, 153 wRC+, 3.0 fWAR
| Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
| RANK: 6 | RANK: 7 | RANK: 6 | RANK: 6 | RANK: 6 | RANK: 6 |
Despite earning the third All-Star nod of his career and his first since 2019 when he finished second in NL MVP voting, Yelich was limited to just 73 games played in 2024 and underwent season-ending back surgery in mid August.
However, Yelich looked as good in 2024 as he has since he was on the mountaintop of Major League Baseball during his two-year reign between 2018 and 2019.
Not only did he log his highest slugging percentage in five years, but he also swiped a whopping 21 bases in 22 attempts in his 73 games.
As Yelich readies to return to the field, he can likely do so in a primary DH role with a plethora of outfield options in Milwaukee and the emergence of young star Jackson Chourio in right.
5. Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia Phillies)
Kyle Schwarber.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 8, 2024
That's it, that's the post.@PALottery x #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/GTT7eZY8tG
2024 Stats: 150 G, .248/.366/.485, 38 HR, 104 RBI, 15% BB%, 135 wRC+, 3.4 fWAR
| Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
| RANK: 4 | RANK: 5 | RANK: 5 | RANK: 7 | RANK: 7 | RANK: 5 |
2024 was Schwarber’s best season on record by FWAR, blowing past his previous best of 2.7 in 2021 with a 3.4 marker.
Much of that could be attributed to playing just five games in left field in 2024, compared to 103 in left in 2023 and 139 the season prior. He also saw a drastic uptick in batting average, hitting .248 in 2024 after hitting .207 over his first two years in Philadelphia.
Still, Schwarber’s value comes from two of the three true outcomes, and 38 home runs and a National League-leading 106 walks drawn this past season in the leadoff spot is more than what the Phillies could possibly ask for.
4. Marcell Ozuna (Atlanta Braves)
OZUNA FOR ALL-STAR.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 14, 2024
⭐️: https://t.co/DZR0ZYbjhX pic.twitter.com/cK4R9kB9lz
2024 Stats: 162 G, .302/.378/.546, 39 HR, 104 RBI, 11% BB%, 154 wRC+, 4.7 fWAR
| Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
| RANK: 5 | RANK: 4 | RANK: 4 | RANK: 3 | RANK: 3 | RANK: 3 |
Not only did Ozuna log career-best full-season marks in wRC+, OBP, OPS and doubles in 2024, but he also played all 162 games for the injury-riddled Atlanta Braves, providing some necessary stability for a team that crawled their way to a Wild Card berth.
Ozuna was on .300 with 40-homer watch, finishing one long ball shy but still driving in 104 runs and walking at a clip north of 10% for the first time since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
If Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley look healthy in 2025, there’s no argument that Atlanta boasts one of the very best offenses in baseball with Ozuna swinging it the way he has the past two seasons.
3. Brent Rooker (Athletics)
Brent 👏 Rooker 👏 pic.twitter.com/SgdNbTBApL
— Athletics (@Athletics) September 15, 2024
2024 Stats: 145 G, .293/.365/.562, 39 HR, 112 RBI, 11-14 SB, 164 wRC+, 5.1 fWAR
| Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
| RANK: 3 | RANK: 3 | RANK: 3 | RANK: 4 | RANK: 4 | RANK: 4 |
The premier breakout hitter in Major League Baseball over the past two seasons, Rooker was financially rewarded by putting pen-to-paper on a five-year, $60 million extension earlier this offseason.
After logging just 270 plate appearances and a .668 OPS in his first three MLB seasons, Rooker has slashed .272/.348/.528 (.876 OPS) with 69 HR and 181 RBI since joining the A’s ahead of the 2023 season.
2024 was something special for the A’s slugger, as he ranked seventh in all of Major League Baseball in wRC+, falling just behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and ahead of players like Gunnar Henderson, Bryce Harper and José Ramirez.
With Rooker locked up for the foreseeable future, the A’s have their franchise centerpiece for the likely move to Las Vegas.
2. Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros)
Yordan Alvarez has been named an American League finalist for the 2024 Hank Aaron Award!
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 7, 2024
Vote Yordan: https://t.co/bBxPC6blle pic.twitter.com/gS83A58gDN
2024 Stats: 147 G, .308/.392/.567, 35 HR, 86 RBI, 11% BB%, 15% K%, 168 wRC+, 5.3 fWAR
| Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
| RANK: 2 | RANK: 2 | RANK: 2 | RANK: 2 | RANK: 2 | RANK: 2 |
It’s not often that a six-year, $115 million contract extension would be considered a “great deal,” but it’s not often that a team gets their hands on an offensive talent like Yordan Alvarez.
One of the most feared hitters in all of baseball, Alvarez ranked second among all designated hitters (only to Shohei Ohtani) in fWAR (5.3), wRC+ (168), AVG (.308), SLG (.567), and wOBA (.402) while besting Ohtani in on-base percentage and striking out at a clip over 7% lower than the Dodgers slugger.
Owning a career slash line of .298/.390/.583 with 164 home runs at just 27 years old, Alvarez could be a premier power bat in the game for the next decade.
1. Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers)
UNANIMOUS.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 21, 2024
Shohei Ohtani is your 2024 NATIONAL LEAGUE MVP! pic.twitter.com/fsnhHuEQtp
2024 Stats: 159 G, .310/.390/.646, 54 HR, 130 RBI, 59-63 SB, 11% BB%, 181 wRC+, 9.1 fWAR
| Finkelstein | Morgenstern | Treuden | Appel | Leighton | McMullen |
| RANK: 1 | RANK: 1 | RANK: 1 | RANK: 1 | RANK: 1 | RANK: 1 |
The best player in Major League Baseball lands the top spot in our designated hitter rankings on the heels of the first 50-50 season in MLB history.
In case you were curious what Ohtani could do if he could put all of his eggs in the hitting basket, the answer was something unprecedented, ranking third in all of baseball in fWAR despite not logging a single inning in the field.
Now that he’s fully recovered from his UCL surgery that kept him off the mound for the entirety of 2024, the $700 million man is once again whole.
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