Top Names Carving Out Big Roles for Themselves Come 2025

Major League Baseball has had no shortage of storylines to follow during the 2024 season.

Aaron Judge is pursuing his second 60 home run season, Elly De La Cruz became the fifth player in MLB history to achieve a 20 HR/60 SB season and Shohei Ohtani is within reach of the first 50 HR/50 RBI season as he also looks to become the first designated hitter to take home an MVP.

But amongst all the big headlines and grand storylines, several names have performed admirably under the radar this season and look poised to make bigger names for themselves come 2025.

From players excelling in the second half of the season in an attempt to play more of an everyday role in the future, to players who already have that everyday role and could be on the cusp of stardom, there are several cases of players carving out bigger roles for themselves next season.

Top Names on the Verge of Potential Stardom

UTIL Tyler Fitzgerald (SFG)

Tyler Fitzgerald will likely best be remembered for the torrid nine-game stretch he had from July 20 to July 27, fresh off of a promotion from Triple-A Sacramento, where he belted seven home runs and drove in 12.

While Fitzgerald had been on the roster since Opening Day, it really wasn’t until that point that he was considered part of San Francisco’s future plans, having been up and down from the upper minors multiple times. But since then, he’s more than stepped up to the plate.

Since the All-Star break, Fitzgerald has been one of baseball’s best hitters. He ranks sixth in MLB in fWAR (2.4), 12th in wRC+ (163) and is slashing .304/.358/.595 in 173 plate appearances, according to FanGraphs.

And for the season he’s slashing .295/.351/.540 with a 148 wRC+ and a 3.2 fWAR in 259 plate appearances.

While he’s certainly outperforming his expected metrics, with an xBA of .246 and an xSLG of .417 according to Baseball Savant, he’s certainly showing his immense upside. And while he may not put up the numbers he’s putting up in 2024 in seasons down the line, he’s shown he has this in the tank and is more than deserving of his everyday role.

In addition, Fitzgerald provides more than just his bat. He features 99th-percentile sprint speed and 84th-percentile defensive range. Not to mention, he also has the ability to play shortstop, second base and the outfield, giving the Giants lineup flexibility moving forward.

3B Mark Vientos (NYM)

The Mets have struggled to find a long-term answer at third base, arguably since David Wright stopped playing full-time in 2016 and officially retired in 2018.

And while once-prized prospect Brett Baty was supposed to be the answer, Mark Vientos seems to have made the case to not only be that answer for the Mets moving forward, but he could be an All-Star caliber player while doing so.

In 2024, Vientos is slashing .282/.338/.539 with 21 HR, 57 RBI, a 144 wRC+ and 2.5 fWAR in 355 plate appearances. This is certainly a step up from the 2023 season he had, in which he put up a miserable -0.7 fWAR.

What’s been most impressive about Vientos this year has been his power. His .479 xSLG ranks in the 85th percentile. His 91.2 mph average exit velocity ranks in the 83rd percentile. His 45.8% hard-hit rate places him in the 77th percentile, and he’s barreling pitches at a 15.0% clip, placing him in the 95th percentile.

Vientos has managed to be a consistent source of offense in the top portion of the Mets lineup, not having had a month in which he’s posted an average below .250 so far. He’s showing he can not just hang with the big boys of Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo at the top of that lineup, but he can thrive doing so.

C Austin Wells (NYY)

Like their New York counterparts in Queens when it comes to third basemen, the New York Yankees have yearned for a long-term catching solution since Brian McCann left for Houston after the 2016 season.

While Gary Sánchez was touted to be that guy, he never seemed to find the consistency in his game to be that answer. And despite his All-Star season in 2022, Jose Trevino has failed to be a consistent enough offensive force behind the plate to be a full-time option, let alone the answer to the Yankees’ catching problems.

But the Yankees first-round pick in 2020, Austin Wells, might just be the solution they’re looking for.

Wells has put together a season where he’s slashed .254/.343/.439 with 12 HR, 42 RBI, a 121 wRC+ and a 3.4 fWAR in 336 plate appearances.

And since the All-Star break, Austin Wells has been the top-ranked catcher in all of baseball with a 2.0 fWAR.

Wells is more than a one-trick pony, as he’s also a very capable catcher behind the plate, posting a 15.3 FanGraphs defensive rating. He is also a 96th-percentile pitch framer.

With all that Wells can offer, and the dynamic game he brings at the increasingly valuable catcher position, the 25-year-old Yankees backstop could very well be an All-Star option in the American League in the near future.

RP Lucas Erceg (KCR)

Although he may have been outshined over the first four months by the great year that Mason Miller is having in Oakland, Lucas Erceg was putting together an excellent season as a set-up option.

In 36.2 innings of relief work for the A’s, Erceg posted a 3.40 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 10.06 K/9.

And since his move to the Kansas City Royals at the trade deadline, Erceg has been even better. In 13.2 innings out of the Royals ‘pen, he’s converted five saves and posted a 2.63 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a .196 AVG against, while managing to more than double the 0.3 fWAR total he posted in Oakland, posting a 0.8 in just over a third of the time.

And those numbers are inflated after a rough outing on Aug. 29, where he left the game injured after taking a pitch off his throwing hand, in which he was on the hook for three earned runs.

Prior to that start, Erceg had a 0.68 ERA and 0.68 WHIP as a Royal.

Throughout the year Erceg has dazzled with the fastball. His heater sits at an average velocity of 98.5 mph, placing him in the 98th percentile of big league arms. And hitters have managed to hit just .210 off it.

Pair that with his slider that batters can’t seem to touch, as they’ve hit just .122 off of it, and a 98th percentile average exit velocity against (85.6 mph), and Erceg has the makings of being the next great closer for the Royals in 2025 and beyond.

Top Names Making a Case for Everyday Roles Next Season

C Joey Bart (PIT)

Joey Bart was tabbed to be one of the next great stars in the game and the heir to the Giants’ catching throne after Buster Posey.

But the 2018 second-overall pick failed to live up to expectations, resulting in the Giants designating their once-prized prospect for assignment on March 31.

But after the Giants subsequently dealt him to Pittsburgh days later, little did they know the change of scenery would revitalize Bart’s career.

This season in Pittsburgh, Bart is slashing .272/.347/.497 with a 132 wRC+ and a 1.4 fWAR in 219 plate appearances. This is a tremendous leap in production from his previous two seasons in the Bay.

And his numbers post All-Star break in particular have been exceptional.

In his last 30 games and 116 plate appearances is slashing .302/.362/.519 with a wRC+ of 114 while contributing 0.9 of his 1.4 season fWAR.

Bart has taken over the regular catching duties this season for the Bucs and, given his recent form, has earned the right catch every day and exercises the immense potential he had coming out of college.

The question is will this be with Pittsburgh? Prized catching prospect Endy Rodríguez was supposed to be the Pirates’ primary option behind the plate before going down for the season with right elbow surgery in February. If Rodríguez is healthy enough to resume his duties from behind the plate, it could push Bart out of his current regular role.

But with how Bart has played in the second half and the premium on catchers, there are certainly plenty of opportunities for him to start regularly through MLB in 2025.

1B Jonah Bride (MIA)

In a year of disappointment and roster turnover, the Miami Marlins look towards the future.

But despite the disappointment, one of the bright spots in their lineup of late has been Jonah Bride.

The corner infielder has slashed .258/.353/.417 with a 113 wRC+ this season, a stark contrast from his production in his previous two seasons in Oakland.

Like Bart, Bride has been especially impressive in the second half of the season.

Since the All-Star break, Bride has slashed .264/375/.453 with 5 HR, 17 RBI and a 129 wRC+ in 128 plate appearances.

While Bride doesn’t blow anyone away with the power metrics, he makes up for that with an above-average approach at the plate. He strikes out a 19.9% clip, walks 11.5% of the time and sports above-average Whiff and Chase rates at 17.4% and 26.1% respectively.

Bride deserves the chance to continue to be part a regular part of the big league lineup, like he’s been in the second half of the season for Miami. But like Bart in Pittsburgh, will the 28-year-old Bride be able to get that opportunity in Miami in 2025?

Since being recalled from the minors the recently acquired 14th-ranked prospect in the Marlins system, Connor Norby, has been a regular at third base and likely projects to be a big league regular in Miami moving forward.

And seventh-ranked prospect Deyvison De Los Santos, who was also acquired at the deadline, projects to play a role at first base for the Marlins sooner rather than later. Names like Jacob Berry and Nathan Martorella, who fall just outside of Just Baseball’s Top 15 Marlins prospects and, are also currently in the upper minors and could feasibly be within Miami’s plans at first in the near future.

But even if it’s not in Miami, Bride has played his way into consideration for a more everyday role with an MLB organization in 2025.

SP Bowden Francis (TOR)

After a rough start to the 2024 campaign, where he surrendered seven earned runs on 10 hits against the Houston Astros on April 1, Bowden Francis didn’t pitch more than 5.0 innings in an outing after that, and only made two more starts until July 29, when he was recalled after a stint in the minors.

But since Francis was recalled on July 29, he’s looked unbelievable after being re-inserted into the Blue Jays rotation. He’s posted a 1.59 ERA, 0.50 WHIP and a .114 AVG against.

And his past four starts in particular have seen Francis take things up a level even further, including taking a no-hit bid into the 9th inning against the Angels on Aug. 24.

Francis thrives in some key aspects that the Blue Jays look to improve upon in their rotation.

Francis ranks in the 80th percentile of the league in walk rate, sporting a 6.1% clip. As a collective unit, Toronto’s starters have found themselves in the bottom half of the league (T-16th) in walk rate this season. And where the Jays really struggle is minimizing hard-hit balls against them.

As a team, their starters have surrendered the third-highest hard-hit rate in MLB, only trailing the Colorado Rockies and the Miami Marlins. Francis ranks in the 72nd percentile for hard-hit rate allowed.

With how good Francis has looked on a Blue Jays team that has been begging for production across the board from their major league roster, Francis is making the right impression to be a part of Toronto’s rotation in 2025 as they supposedly look to compete.

SP Spencer Arrighetti (HOU)

If you look at Spencer Arrighetti’s numbers as a whole they don’t appear to be anything special. In 2024 he’s posted a 4.63 ERA with a 1.38 WHIP in 124.1 innings across 24 starts.

But his work in the month of August has been lights out contributing to Houston’s group of starters posting a league-leading collective 2.59 ERA and and 4.1 fWAR.

In this span Arrighetti has made five starts, posting a 1.95 ERA and 0.90 WHIP across 32.1 innings of work. This includes back-to-back shutout outings over 6.0+ innings pitched against two high-powered offenses in the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies.

And Arrighetti possesses high strikeout capabilities with 10.93 K/9 so far this season.

The 24-year-old Arrighetti offers another young option alongside fellow righty Hunter Brown in a Astros rotation that has seen its fair share of injuries this season with five starters currently on the 60-day IL, in Cristian Javier, José Urquidy, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr. and J.P France.

And with future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander getting no younger at the age of 41 years old, Arrighetti provides much-needed youth and swing-and-miss capabilities to make Houston’s rotation sustainable down the road.

RP Edwin Uceta (TBR)

The Rays have done it again and made another seemingly unknown reliever into a key piece in their bullpen in Edwin Uceta.

Before 2024, Uceta had been on a new team each year since making his big league debut in 2021, never finding any sort of success. But in 2024 Uceta has been nothing short of spectacular, posting a 0.84 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and a .143 AVG against with 11.69 K/9 and just 1.39 BB/9 across 32.1 innings of work.

And Uceta’s success looks sustainable with strong expected metrics. He’s sporting a 1.65 xERA and a .173 xBA in 2024.

Uceta primarily uses a three-pitch mix (Changeup, Sinker, Cutter), with his Changeup and Sinker being lights-out pitches this season. His changeup is holding hitters to a minuscule .089 AVG and a 40.7% Whiff rate. And his sinker offers a different look but is just as effective, as hitters are managing just a .129 average against it and whiffing at a 30.1% clip.

Tampa Bay sold off some key pieces of their roster at the deadline and shifted more towards a restructuring phase than they ever have in recent years.

With names like Pete Fairbanks being floated around with moves at this past trade deadline, it’s not out of the question that guys like Fairbanks could be on the move this winter, leaving opportunities open for arms like Uceta to claim those bigger roles. And the way Uceta has pitched in 2024, he’s certainly earned the right to be in the full-time set-up or closing mix for the Rays come 2025.

RP Bryan Hoeing (SDP)

With the Padres adding Tanner Scott to a loaded back-end of the bullpen at the trade deadline year in exchange for a king’s ransom in prospects, the fact Bryan Hoeing was also part of that deal can be lost on many fans.

But that is certainly not to the fault of Hoeing, as he’s put together a fantastic season between his time in Miami and San Diego.

In 30.0 innings pitched out of the Marlins ‘pen, Hoeing threw to the tune of a 2.70 ERA with a 1.27 WHIP.

But Hoeing managed to get even better after his move to the Friars. In 16.0 innings with San Diego, he’s sporting a 1.13 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP and a .179 AVG against.

Hoeing isn’t the flashiest pitcher. He sports low velocities with his pitches, and he doesn’t have a real swing-and-miss arsenal, but what he does he does well. He features near 50% groundball rate (47.7%) this season, so despite sporting a 55.6% medium-hit rate and a 30.8% hard-hit rate, the fact that the most common outcome will be a ground ball bodes well for Hoeing keeping low ERAs.

With one more year of pre-arb left under his belt, the Padres have an effective and affordable option at their disposal in Hoeing as they will look to continue to remain competitive in the NL postseason mix for years to come.