Nick Kurtz wins 2025 AL Rookie of the Year, Jacob Wilson finishes 2nd

In a final tally that was not expected to be all that close, Kurtz was the unanimous winner, totaling 210 points (30 first-place votes) to beat out fellow Athletics teammate Jacob Wilson (107 total points) and Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony (72 total points), as announced on MLB Network. He is the 14th player to win the AL award unanimously.

“That’s an important thing to look at for me,” Kurtz said of the unanimous vote. “It kind of shows that every [voter] felt the same way, so, it was really cool to see 30 votes for me. It’s pretty remarkable. I’m really happy about that and proud of it.”

Kurtz is the first Athletic to win Rookie of the Year since right-hander Andrew Bailey in 2009, and the first A’s position player to take home the award since Bobby Crosby — who is currently the team’s third-base coach — in 2004. The 22-year-old first baseman is the ninth Rookie of the Year in franchise history, making the A’s just one of six teams who have had eight or more Rookie of the Year winners:

Dodgers: 18
Yankees: 10
Braves: 10
A’s: 9
Orioles/Browns: 8
Reds: 8

“It’s a great honor to be put up with some of baseball’s greats who have also won the award,” Kurtz said. “It’s nice to put the finishing touches on the year, look back at it and enjoy what I’ve done a little bit.”

Kurtz produced one of the signature moments of the 2025 MLB season on July 25, when he went 6-for-6 with four home runs against the Astros at Daikin Park to become the first rookie in MLB history with a four-homer game and only the 20th player overall.

That historic game was only one major highlight in what was truly an overall spectacular rookie campaign. Playing in 117 games for the A’s, Kurtz led all MLB rookies in homers (36), RBIs (86), extra-base hits (64), runs (90), slugging percentage (.619) and OPS (1.002). He joined superstars Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge as the only three players with at least 400 plate appearances and an OPS over 1.000, and he finished as just the eighth rookie since 1901 to post an OPS over 1.000 (min. 400 plate appearances).

The power is undoubtedly a standout tool in Kurtz’s game. He can hit it out to all fields, but going the other way quickly became a trademark this season, with his 18 opposite-field homers leading all Major League hitters.

The A’s have had some special rookies over the years, and Kurtz managed to break through on those lists as well. His 36 homers ended up the second most by an A’s rookie over a single season, trailing only Mark McGwire’s 49 in 1987, and second most by an A’s player age 22 or younger, just one behind Jimmie Foxx, who hit 37 in 1930 for the Philadelphia Athletics.

Making this award all the more sweet for Kurtz was that following right behind him was Wilson, who finished tied for second-highest batting average in MLB (.311) and led all Major League rookies in batting average and hits (151).

Teammates to finish 1-2 in ROY voting:
2025 ATH: Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson
2022 ATL: Michael Harris II, Spencer Strider
2011 ATL: Craig Kimbrel, Freddie Freeman
1989 CHC: Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith
1984 SEA: Alvin Davis, Mark Langston
1975 BOS: Fred Lynn, Jim Rice
1963 CHW: Gary Peters, Pete Ward
1960 BAL: Ron Hansen, Chuck Estrada/Jim Gentile tied
1957 PHI: Jack Sanford, Ed Bouchee

Note: Prior to 1980, writers’ ballots consisted of listing just one choice for the award in their league (or MLB-wide, for the first two years in 1947-48). From 1980-2024, writers ranked a top three. In 2025, the ballot was expanded to five names.

“He was actually in the same room with me when we found out,” Kurtz said of Wilson. “We talked about how the last time [in the AL] was the Mariners in ’84 to have one and two for Rookie of the Year. That’s something that we really wanted to do together. That shows the kind of teammates we are and how we strive to make each other better.”