MLB’s Next Big Stars: Uncover the Hidden Gems Set to Explode in 2025 Before Anyone Else Does

February rolls in, and with it, baseball’s sacred month for the hipsters—the early adopters, the trailblazers, the ones itching to claim first dibs on the next big thing. But here’s a question: amidst the hype surrounding the shining stars like Roki Sasaki and the debuting heavy hitters poised to shake up the AL East, who are the under-the-radar players ready to explode onto the scene? This isn’t about the usual suspects; it’s about those ready to flip the script, turn heads, and redefine what breakout means in 2025. Whether it’s a stealth rise to MVP contention, a dazzling All-Star campaign, or just a delightful blip on the radar, I’m peeling back the layers—statistically and stylistically—to spotlight the players already in the majors who’ve got that simmering potential. Ready to meet the names you’ll be shouting come summer? Let’s dive in and see who’s about to turn the heat up on the diamond. LEARN MORE.
Why he’s primed for success: The 24-year-old catcher enters Cardinals camp with his first crack at the full-time job as Willson Contreras moves to first base, but his bat started making a loud case last season. Across 259 plate appearances, he bashed his way to a .301/.372/.428 line, complete with a 112 mph maximum exit velocity that ranked in the 85th percentile. It’s enough for Cardinals fans to salivate over his muscle-stretching stance, even as he works to improve his framing on defense.

What a breakout would look like: A .340 on-base percentage and enough pop to win playing time without catching.

RIYL: Brendan Donovan, proud dads, symmetrical spray charts

Why he’s primed for success: A 29-year-old right-hander who toiled in the Pirates system long past any pretense of prospect status, Bido found an opportunity with the A’s in 2024. A sturdy 6-3, Bido works from a similar angle as 2024 breakouts Hunter Greene and Luis Gil, but without the same amped up stuff. Seemingly as a way to account for that, he wedged a cutter that looks like a slider right in next to his slider that looks like a cutter. Combine it with a fastball that doesn’t sink as much as hitters visually expect it to, and this worked like gangbusters. Nobody allowed less hard contact than Bido – seriously: his 31 BIP+ was tied for first among hurlers with 60 innings – and this sort of mind-muddling arsenal does not tend to get easier to solve.

Why he’s primed for success: A strapping 6-foot-5 corner infielder who might find himself plugged into the Astros’ fluid left field situation, Dezenzo has hit the ball with persistent power in the minors who still has questions to answer about whether he can connect with major-league stuff. His star dimmed after a wrist injury and a rocky debut in 2024, but this is big time power that has successfully paired with a patient eye at every stop so far except the majors.

RIYL: Sliders, swords, tormenting Mets fans

The long-levered, 6-foot-5 Meadows achieved the change by slowing down and shortening his swing – as Foolish Baseball pointed out in a helpful video analysis – and discovered consistent solid contact on the other side. With a body type somewhere in the Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger mold, Meadows has a terrific baseline of skills that could balloon as he adds muscle. He could be one of the game’s elusive all-around center field stars.

2025 MLB Top Breakout Candidates

Parker Meadows, Detroit Tigers

What a breakout would look like: 100 innings and an obscene strikeout rate

What a breakout would look like: Threatening to join the 30/30 club, boosting the on-base percentage above .330, one way or another.

RIYL: Silent letters, spot-the-difference puzzles

Why he’s primed for success: Having demolished every level of the minors with intelligently aggressive swing decisions and pulled fly balls, Rice donned the pinstripes for 50 games last year. The top-line numbers aren’t pretty (yes, that’s a .171 batting average), but the batted-ball data was beautiful. His 115 BIP+ tracks with his record for doing damage in the minors, and Giancarlo Stanton’s injury issues seem likely to open a door for the first baseman/catcher again.

Luis Garcia Jr., Washington Nationals

Why he’s primed for success: You don’t often see professional baseball players flip the switch quite as obviously as Meadows did in 2024. In 97 scattershot plate appearances prior to a mid-summer stint in the minors, he slashed an abysmal .131/.247/.286. From his Aug. 3 call-up on, the fast-moving string bean reached for the sky alongside his roaring Tigers team, racking up a .296/.340/.500 line. Pair that with game-breaking defense as a center fielder, and it’s a superstar formula.

Why he’s primed for success: Haaaaave you seen his slider (below)? The one-time college ace who took a winding route to the majors possesses one of the most promising pitches in the sport. Rocker threw it 84 times across limited action in 2024, posting an impressive 135 whiff+ on it albeit with only a 79 command+. If he can put it all together, Rocker could emerge as an AL Rookie of the Year candidate.

RIYL: Quirky batting stances, exit velocity

RIYL: Funhouse mirror Spencer Strider, UFOs, hardcore bands

Ivan Herrera, St. Louis Cardinals

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RIYL: Franmil Reyes, all-fields power, nominative determinism

What a breakout would look like: Zone-contact over 80%, whiff rate under 30%, home run balls over your head and under the waters of McCovey Cove.

Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays

Why he’s primed for success: It’s only 119 plate appearances, but the massive, 6-4, 250-pound outfielder pummeled the baseball in 2024, registering a 154 RV+ in his limited action. He doesn’t have a great walk rate, but 2024 represented a leap forward from his previous numbers. With maximum exit velocities near the top of the charts, he will get a look as the Giants DH if he can maintain his gains.

Why he’s primed for success: A postseason hero in 2023, Pfaadt’s first full season as a starter was thanklessly productive. Diversifying his arsenal with a sinker helped him attack more efficiently, cutting down on homers without sacrificing control. His 112 command+ across 181.2 innings is a strong platform upon which to build a steady No. 2 or No. 3 starter. His 94 RV- wedged in between the obvious triumphs of Seth Lugo and Sean Manaea, but Pfaadt wound up with a 4.71 ERA and no October follow-up act.

Why he’s primed for success: He’s got the body of Big Bird and a pitch that sounds like an X-Games spinoff. The 6-6 25-year-old coming off an injury-shortened season throws the “death ball.” In traditional terms, it’s a really hard curveball that doesn’t move laterally as much as hitters expect. Brown throws a promising one, along with a 97-mph four-seamer. There’s plenty of polish to add, yet a whole load of MLB pitchers would happily trade for Brown’s stuff.

What a breakout would look like: 25 homers + a full season pushing a .350 on-base percentage + that defense = MVP votes.

Will Wagner, Toronto Blue Jays

But that’s neither new nor in danger of getting old. That’s going to be the story of April, no matter what. While there’s snow on the ground up north and rust being dusted off in Florida and Arizona, we’re looking for breakout players ready to make truly unexpected marks on the season.

What a breakout would look like: Following in Willson Contreras’ footsteps eh? How about the rise of William Contreras as a stellar offense-first catcher? He has averaged 20 homers with a .283 batting average over his three full seasons.

What a breakout would look like: 20+ starts, a strikeout per inning, a fastball mix that plays

Recommended If You Like (RIYL): Gazelles, triples, above-the-wall grabs

Zach Dezenzo, Houston Astros

With each name on our list, we’ll dig into their promise and offer some guidance as to what their breakout might look like in the 2025 MLB season, both statistically and aesthetically.

RIYL: Mitch Garver, Danny Jansen, etc.

Like last year’s version, our parameters are simple: These players must have appeared in the majors already. With each name, we’ll dig into their promise and offer some guidance as to what their breakout might look like, both statistically and aesthetically.

Ben Rice, New York Yankees

RIYL: Rafael Devers’ swing, “growers”

What a breakout would look like: 20+ starts, with an ERA 10% better than league average.

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Jerar Encarnacion, San Francisco Giants

Why he’s primed for success: It’s not James Wood or Dylan Crews but Garcia who makes our list. Having debuted at just 20 years old, Garcia is a classic example of how simply holding one’s own in the majors at an early age can be a sign of potential. It’s fair to say the second baseman broke out last year, flying significantly ahead of MLB average for the first time as a defender and a hitter (131 raw value+ with 18 homers and 22 steals). A free swinger with more pop than you’d expect, Garcia could settle in as a latter-day Brandon Phillips, but he has the body to keep growing into power.

Why he’s primed for success: Always at the forefront of innovation, it seems the Rays have mastered strategic cloning. Having deemed Isaac Paredes expendable, they printed out Aranda as the left-handed version. By making above-average contact (102 contact+) and yanking as much of it as possible in the air toward the pull side, he could take aim at 25 or more homers. In very limited 2024 action (143 plate appearances), the first baseman’s 160 raw value+ (RV+) would have wedged into the top 10 near Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

This is the frustration and the promise of pitching. You get the sense Pfaadt’s sinker-sweeper formula is a twist of one or two dials away from something truly stellar.

Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers

RIYL: Death by paper cut, magic, pitch movement charts

What a breakout would look like: The Cubs’ Michael Busch won a job at a new position with 21 homers and flashes of promise last year. So, something like that.

RIYL: Short porches, clones, hitters whose position is hitter

Brandon Pfaadt, Arizona Diamondbacks

The post MLB Breakout Players 2025: Learn These Names This Spring Before They Heat Up in the Summer appeared first on Opta Analyst.

What a breakout would look like: 30 homers, a strikeout rate under 20% and plenty of walks

Now, the 2025 MLB season – currently heating up with spring training – will undoubtedly herald the arrival of some exciting new talents and serve as a milestone in other historic careers. The latest buzzy Japanese star, pitching phenom Roki Sasaki, is joining the Los Angeles Dodgers to see if he can convince anyone to look away from Shohei Ohtani for even a second. Top prospects Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell are due to join the Boston Red Sox as they power up for a renewed AL East race.

That can mean different things for different players, but the idea is to spot talents ready to level up. Some will go from everyday players to MVP candidates. Others will grab All-Star status, and some will merely create a surprise blip on the radar.

Osvaldo Bido, Athletics

Why he’s primed for success: He’s a Blue Jays hitter with a dad headed for the Hall of Fame. What could go wrong?

This is when you get to stake your claim to being first, to being right, to being ahead.

What a breakout would look like: Add his minor-league discipline to the .300 average, take a run at Steven Kwan for the AL’s best walk-to-strikeout ratio.

Ben Brown, Chicago Cubs

RIYL: Big cuts, the Crawford Boxes, position change adventures

What a breakout would look like: A sub-3.00 ERA with fewer than one homer per frame.

With premium contact skills in tow, continuing to add discipline or loft to level up his bat could help Garcia assert himself as a major piece of the Nationals’ young core.

Aranda won’t reach that level of all-around value due to defense and platoon limitations. However, his potential will be amplified this season because the Rays are playing their home games at the Yankees’ spring training park. Like Yankee Stadium, its right field corner is a perfect target for a left-handed pull-power specialist.
In truth, Wagner’s path to the majors has been very different from his teammates with family pedigree. An 18th-round pick, the progeny of famed closer Billy Wagner had to whack away doubts all the way up the minor-league ladder – and did so emphatically by demonstrating top-tier hit rates. He finally debuted last August, two weeks after his 26th birthday, and batted .300 to reinforce the 93% and up zone-contact rates that would land in the top 10 among qualified major leaguers. If Wagner can continue to capably stand at second base and take some at-bats from the corners or DH, he’ll stick longer than Cavan Biggio.