Marlins star Agustin Ramirez closing gap on early Rookie of the Year favorites

Miami Marlins slugger Agustin Ramirez is off to a strong start to his major league career, creating a surge of positive momentum that is already justifying the blockbuster Jazz Chisholm trade that brought him to South Beach.

Ramirez’s early call-up has opened a real path toward earning NL Rookie of the Year honors. Dodgers phenom Roki Sasaki was the odds-on favorite to win the prestigious award on Opening Day. NL East rival and Washington Nationals standout Dylan Crews was also on the short list of top options. 

As the first quarter of the regular season has unfolded, breakouts by AJ Smith-Shawver, Drake Baldwin, Luisangel Acuna and others have only strengthened the field. 

Yet, despite this sharp rookie class, Fish star Agustin Ramirez remains a top candidate. 

While Sasaki boasts one of (if not the best) splitters in baseball, his slow start (4.72 ERA, 1.485 WHIP) has thrown some doubt on his Rookie of the Year campaign. When you combine that with the fact that the Dodgers are likely to cruise to a postseason berth, there’s little incentive for Los Angeles to push Sasaki toward a heavy innings workload.

The Dodgers' rookie will need to maximize every inning he throws this season. However, it's more likely that he will be limited to shorter starts, making it tougher to accumulate wins, quality starts and counting stats. Sasaki’s raw talent is undeniable, but his early-season struggles suggest he may require an extended runway to truly adapt to MLB competition.

Similarly, Crews began the 2025 season on a slower note. While he has started to flash his unique combination of power (seven home runs in 45 games) and speed (11 steals), his low batting average (.196) and on-base percentage (.266) could weigh heavily on his ROY case.

Crews remains a real threat to post a 20+ homer, 25+ steal season, but he’ll need to improve his batting average, OBP and other counting stats to fully realize his Rookie of the Year potential.

Ramirez, meanwhile, boasts six homers with a .245 batting average and a .311 OBP in just 25 career MLB appearances. His advanced stats also show that his exit velocities and quality of contact metrics are already among the league's best. 

Atlanta Braves' budding star AJ Smith-Shawver may have already overtaken Sasaki as the top rookie pitcher in the NL with his 2.33 ERA, 40 strikeouts and 1.241 WHIP. If he remains healthy and productive, he has a real claim to Rookie of the Year honors. 

Fellow NL East players Drake Baldwin (ATL) and Luisangel Acuna (NYM) are also off to strong rookie campaigns. 

However, if Ramirez continues anywhere near his current pace, he has a high probability of locking in a top-three finish in the NL Rookie of the Year race and give him a chance to become the Marlins’ first ROY winner since Jose Fernandez in 2013.