Athletics' Nick Kurtz, Braves' Drake Baldwin Take Rookie of the Year Honors

Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin won Rookie of the Year honors, with Kurtz taking the AL award in unanimous fashion.

The 22-year-old Kurtz batted .290 with 36 homers, 86 RBIs and a 1.002 OPS in 117 games this year. The first baseman became the eighth rookie since 1901 to finish with an OPS over 1.000 while making at least 400 plate appearances.

A’s teammate Jacob Wilson was second in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America that was announced on Monday night. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony was third. Cubs pitcher Cade Horton and Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin finished behind Baldwin for NL honors. 

Each Rookie of the Year gets $750,000 from a pre-arbitration bonus pool, and each runner-up receives $500,000.

The Manager of the Year for each league will be announced on Tuesday, followed by the Cy Young Award winners on Wednesday.

Baldwin, 24, stepped up for Atlanta after No. 1 catcher Sean Murphy was sidelined by a cracked rib in spring training. While Murphy was limited by injuries for much of the year, Baldwin hit .274 with 19 homers, 80 RBIs and an .810 OPS in 124 games.

Baldwin’s win secured an extra selection for Atlanta after the first round in next year’s amateur draft under the collective bargaining agreement’s prospect promotion incentive.

Kurtz, 22, starred at Wake Forest University before he was selected by the A's with the No. 4 pick in the 2024 amateur draft. The 6-foot-5 slugger began this season in the minors, but he hit an RBI single in his first big league at-bat on April 23 against Texas.

It was a sign of things to come.

He hit a solo drive off Dodgers reliever J.P. Feyereisen for his first big league homer on May 13. He belted four more homers in a span of