Top 10 MLB Players at Each Position 1 Month Into 2025 Season

Which players have been the best of the best across baseball in 2025?

That's the question we set out to answer each month with our positional player rankings, casting aside previous production and future expectations to focus solely on what is happening during the current season.

This is the first version of these rankings this year, so all we have to go off of is what each player did during the month of April.

Will stars off to slow starts turn things around? Will unexpected breakout players maintain their production going forward? Those questions will inevitably be answered in the coming months, but for now this serves as a rundown of the 10 best at each position right now.

In order to be eligible for inclusion, position players had to have tallied at least 50 plate appearances, starting pitchers had to have made at least four starts, and relief pitchers had to have recorded at least eight appearances.

Let's kick things off with the catchers.

Top 10 Catchers

1. Cal Raleigh, SEA
2. Will Smith, LAD
3. Carson Kelly, CHC
4. Sean Murphy, ATL
5. Dillon Dingler, DET
6. Logan O'Hoppe, LAA
7. Keibert Ruiz, WAS
8. Shea Langeliers, ATH
9. Austin Wells, NYY
10. William Contreras, MIL

—After posting his second straight 30-homer season while winning Platinum Glove honors a year ago, Cal Raleigh is further cementing his status as the best catcher in baseball with a terrific start to the 2025 season. The 28-year-old has a 158 wRC+ with an AL-leading 10 home runs and 1.4 WAR in 28 games.

—Signed to a two-year, $11.5 million deal during the offseason, Carson Kelly made headlines by hitting for the cycle on March 31, and he has continued to put up stellar offensive numbers while splitting time with Miguel Amaya in his first season with the Cubs.

Top 10 First Basemen

1. Pete Alonso, NYM
2. Tyler Soderstrom, ATH
3. Spencer Torkelson, DET
4. Jonathan Aranda, TB
5. Michael Busch, CHC
6. Paul Goldschmidt, NYY
7. Josh Naylor, ARI
8. Bryce Harper, PHI
9. Matt Olson, ATL
10. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR

—Slugger Pete Alonso looks like a man on a mission after an offseason where he did not find the robust market he was expecting in free agency. He is hitting .333/.451/.646 for a 203 wRC+ with six home runs and 26 RBI in 28 games, and he has slashed his strikeout rate from 24.7 to 14.8 percent.

—Tyler Soderstrom, Spencer Torkelson and Jonathan Aranda have been three of the biggest surprises in baseball through one month, and they are doing it at a position loaded with offensive star power. All three have a Top 100 prospect pedigree and the potential to maintain their newfound level of production.

Top 10 Second Basemen

1. Brendan Donovan, STL
2. Kristian Campbell, BOS
3. Brice Turang, MIL
4. Bryson Stott, PHI
5. Tommy Edman, LAD
6. Jazz Chisholm Jr., NYY
7. Kyren Paris, LAA
8. Tyler Fitzgerald, SF
9. Nico Hoerner, CHC
10. Gleyber Torres, DET

—A standout super-utility player in years past, Brendan Donovan has settled in as the primary second baseman for the Cardinals this season while still seeing some action at shortstop and in left field. He leads the NL with a .359 batting average, and it is accompanied by a .396 on-base percentage, .930 OPS and 12 extra-base hits in 26 games.

—Kristian Campbell signed an eight-year, $60 million extension shortly after making the Opening Day roster for the Red Sox, and he has looked the part of a future star in the early stages of his MLB career, hitting .305/.412/.474 for a 154 wRC+ in 114 plate appearances.

Top 10 Third Basemen

1. Alex Bregman, BOS
2. Matt Chapman, SF
3. Austin Riley, ATL
4. Nolan Arenado, STL
5. José Ramírez, CLE
6. Isaac Paredes, HOU
7. Manny Machado, SD
8. Eugenio Suárez, ARI
9. Maikel García, KC
10. Ke'Bryan Hayes, PIT

—With a .319/.394/.543 line and 16 extra-base hits through his first 29 games in a Red Sox uniform, Alex Bregman has been one of the most impactful signings of the offseason through the first month. Will he opt out of the final two seasons of his three-year, $120 million deal if he keeps it up?

—Veteran Eugenio Suárez turned in MLB's first four-homer game since 2017 last week, and while he is hitting just .206 on the year, he already has 10 long balls through 28 games as he searches for the sixth 30-homer campaign of his career.

Top 10 Shortstops

1. Bobby Witt Jr., KC
2. Francisco Lindor, NYM
3. Corey Seager, TEX
4. Geraldo Perdomo, ARI
5. J.P. Crawford, SEA
6. Jacob Wilson, ATH
7. Anthony Volpe, NYY
8. Elly De La Cruz, CIN
9. Mookie Betts, LAD
10. Trevor Story, BOS

—On the heels of one of the best individual seasons by a shortstop in recent memory in 2024, Bobby Witt Jr. is off to a strong start again, hitting .315/.381/.477 for a 138 wRC+ with 1.5 WAR through 25 games.

—Rookie Jacob Wilson struck out just 31 times in 697 plate appearances during his three seasons at Grand Canyon University before going No. 6 overall in the 2023 draft, and he has continued to show elite contact skills since starting his pro career. The 23-year-old is hitting .324 with just two walks and five strikeouts in 107 plate appearances.

Top 10 Left Fielders

1. Steven Kwan, CLE
2. Wyatt Langford, TEX
3. James Wood, WAS
4. Lars Nootbaar, STL
5. Jackson Chourio, MIL
6. Austin Hays, CIN
7. Randy Arozarena, SEA
8. Max Kepler, PHI
9. Jarren Duran, BOS
10. Ian Happ, CHC

—With elite contact skills, a sneaky mix of power and speed, and elite defense in left field, Steven Kwan continues to be one of the most underrated players in baseball. The 27-year-old is hitting .346/.397/.505 for a 165 wRC+ with 1.2 WAR in 27 games, and now that he has reached arbitration he could be a candidate for an early extension.

—Wyatt Langford, James Wood and Jackson Chourio might spend the next decade jockeying for position on this list, as all three up-and-comers possess superstar potential and are already producing at a high level.

Top 10 Center Fielders

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CHC
2. Jung Hoo Lee, SF
3. Cedric Mullins, BAL
4. Andy Pages, LAD
5. Trent Grisham, NYY
6. Oneil Cruz, PIT
7. Byron Buxton, MIN
8. Kameron Misner, TB
9. TJ Friedl, CIN
10. Ceddanne Rafaela, BOS

—According to the DEF metric at FanGraphs that measures a player's overall defensive contributions, Pete Crow-Armstrong has been the most valuable defensive player in baseball so far this season. The 23-year-old is also hitting .286/.328/.527 with five home runs and 12 steals en route to an impressive 2.0 WAR through 29 games.

—The Rays appear to have found another diamond in the rough in Kameron Misner, who was acquired from the Marlins in the deal that sent Joey Wendle the other way prior to the 2022 season. The 27-year-old was a first-round pick in 2019, and he has finally broken through with a .315/.358/.562 line and 164 wRC+ in 24 games.

Top 10 Right Fielders

1. Aaron Judge, NYY
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., SD
3. Corbin Carroll, ARI
4. Kyle Tucker, CHC
5. Wilyer Abreu, BOS
6. Teoscar Hernández, LAD
7. George Springer, TOR
8. Mike Yastrzemski, SF
9. Juan Soto, NYM
10. Sal Frelick, MIL

—Can Aaron Judge make it three MVP awards in four years? The reigning AL winner is off to an otherworldly start, hitting .406/.500/.717 with eight home runs while leading the AL in hits (43), RBI (27), runs scored (25), wRC+ (247) and WAR (2.7).

—Set to reach free agency for the first time next winter, Mike Yastrzemski is hitting .277/.394/.494 for a 150 wRC+ with 10 extra-base hits in 99 plate appearances. The 34-year-old is not going to reel in a $100 million payday, but he could better position himself for a multi-year deal if he keeps it up.

Top 10 Designated Hitters

1. Marcell Ozuna, ATL
2. Jorge Polanco, SEA
3. Pavin Smith, ARI
4. Shohei Ohtani, LAD
5. Kyle Schwarber, PHI
6. Ben Rice, NYY
7. Seiya Suzuki, CHC
8. Kyle Manzardo, CLE
9. Brent Rooker, ATH
10. Christian Yelich, MIL

—Since the start of the 2023 season, Marcell Ozuna ranks ninth among all qualified hitters with a 151 wRC+, and he is off to a stellar start at the plate again this year. Aside from his usual power production, he also leads the NL in on-base percentage (.486) and walks (26).

—Eight years after going No. 7 overall in the 2017 draft, Pavin Smith is finally living up to his lofty draft position. The 29-year-old is hitting .333/.465/.638 over 86 plate appearances, and he has backed his surface-level production with some loud batted-ball metrics.

Note: The threshold for inclusion was lowered from 50 to 25 plate appearances for the utility players list.

Top 10 Utility Players

1. Zach McKinstry, DET
2. Dylan Moore, SEA
3. Josh Smith, TEX
4. Gavin Lux, CIN
5. Gabriel Arias, CLE
6. Javier Báez, DET
7. José Caballero, TB
8. Javier Sanoja, MIA
9. Edmundo Sosa, PHI
10. Jon Berti, CHC

—Zach McKinstry has seen action at second base, shortstop, third base and both corner outfield spots for the Tigers already this season, and he is hitting .321/.426/.476 for a 163 wRC+ with eight extra-base hits, 13 RBI, 15 runs scored and 1.3 WAR in 26 games.

—One of the youngest players in the majors right now at only 22 years old, Javier Sanoja is hitting .340/.360/.426 over 51 plate appearances. He has started games at second base, shortstop, third base, left field and center field, and he could eventually play his way into a large role if he continues to hit.

Top 10 Right-Handed Starting Pitchers

1. Nick Pivetta, SD
2. Tyler Mahle, TEX
3. Hunter Brown, HOU
4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, LAD
5. Hunter Greene, CIN
6. Nathan Eovaldi, TEX
7. Logan Webb, SF
8. Paul Skenes, PIT
9. Kodai Senga, NYM
10. Tylor Megill, NYM

—One of the last major dominos to fall in free agency, Nick Pivetta inked a four-year, $55 million deal with the Padres on Feb. 17 after turning down a qualifying offer from the Red Sox at the start of the winter. The 32-year-old has been brilliant for his new team, posting a 1.20 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 30 strikeouts in 30 innings while allowing just 16 hits and a .155 opponents' batting average.

—The next 10 right-handed starting pitchers, listed alphabetically: Shane Baz (TB), Jack Flaherty (DET), Logan Gilbert (SEA), Michael King (SD), Casey Mize (DET), Freddy Peralta (MIL), Drew Rasmussen (TB), Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL), Shane Smith (CWS), Bryan Woo (SEA)

Top 10 Left-Handed Starting Pitchers

1. Andrew Heaney, PIT
2. Garrett Crochet, BOS
3. Jesús Luzardo, PHI
4. Tarik Skubal, DET
5. MacKenzie Gore, WAS
6. Max Fried, NYY
7. Nick Lodolo, CIN
8. Kris Bubic, KC
9. Jose Quintana, NYM
10. Matthew Liberatore, STL

—With a 1.72 ERA and 0.77 WHIP in 31.1 innings, Andrew Heaney is off to a dominant start after signing a one-year, $5.25 million deal with the Pirates on Feb. 22. His production has helped ease the loss of Jared Jones, and he could give Pittsburgh an extremely valuable trade chip this summer if he continues to pitch at an elite level.

—The next 10 left-handed starting pitchers, listed alphabetically: Tyler Anderson (LAA), Matthew Boyd (CHC), Shota Imanaga (CHC), Mitchell Parker (WAS), Martín Pérez (CWS), Cole Ragans (KC), Carlos Rodón (NYY), Cristopher Sánchez (PHI), JP Sears (ATH), Framber Valdez (HOU)

Top 10 Relief Pitchers

1. Mason Miller, ATH
2. Andres Munoz, SEA
3. Josh Hader, HOU
4. Robert Suárez, SD
5. Hunter Gaddis, CLE
6. Randy Rodriguez, SF
7. Luke Weaver, NYY
8. Reed Garrett, NYM
9. Kyle Finnegan, WAS
10. Jeff Hoffman, TOR

—There is a long list of potential candidates for the No. 1 spot among relief pitchers, but Mason Miller gets the nod thanks to the dizzying fact that he has struck out 21 of the 36 batters he has faced this season. The 26-year-old has also converted all eight of his save chances while allowing just seven baserunners.

-The next 10 relief pitchers, listed alphabetically: Jason Adam (SD), Aroldis Chapman (BOS), Danny Coulombe (MIN), Lucas Erceg (KC), Yimi García (TOR), Tommy Kahnle (DET), Shelby Miller (ARI), Steven Okert (HOU), Tyler Rogers (SF), Justin Sterner (ATH)