Final '25 Rookie of the Year poll: Who's in line for hardware?

With the stretch run well underway, the Rookie of the Year races in each league are shaping up quite differently.

While the race in the AL has long been decided, thanks to a certain slugging lefty for the A's, the NL campaign is far less certain. A few players in the Senior Circut could stake a claim with a strong final few weeks.

These are the takeaways from the latest MLB.com Rookie of the Year poll. In our final poll of the season, 41 experts cast votes for who they think will win the award in each league. As always, votes were based not just on the stats so far, but also how things are expected to play out the rest of the season.

Rookies received vote points on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale -- five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote and so on. Here are the results.

All stats are through Sunday.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1. Nick Kurtz, Athletics (39 first-place votes)

Kurtz seemed well on his way to wrapping this up even before his four-homer game on July 25, but the mashing that started that night and has continued since -- .336 average and 1.120 OPS through Sunday -- has made the race a very easy call. Entering Monday, Kurtz led all qualified MLB rookies with 29 homers and a 1.032 OPS. Barring the combination of an absolutely disastrous rest of the season for him and someone else on this list getting very hot, Kurtz will be your 2025 AL Rookie of the Year.

2. Jacob Wilson, Athletics

Before Kurtz took off, his teammate Wilson was the early ROY favorite because of an outstanding first two months (.345 average, .883 OPS). And, make no mistake, he continues to have a great season. Through Sunday, he led all qualified MLB rookies with a .315 average and was tied for third-most homers among AL rookies, with 12. Meanwhile, his .804 OPS was third-best among AL rookies with at least 300 plate appearances. In any other season, Wilson would probably still be the favorite.

3. Roman Anthony, Red Sox (two first-place votes)

Anthony might've made this race closer had he not injured his oblique on Sept. 2, which will in all likelihood keep him out for the rest of the regular season. The numbers speak for themselves: a .292 average, .396 on-base percentage and an .859 OPS, the latter two marks being the second-best among qualified MLB rookies behind Kurtz. Since finding his footing as an MLB hitter in late June, Anthony was batting .329 with a .930 OPS before the injury.

4. Noah Cameron, Royals

Cameron made his first appearance on this list last month, and he holds onto his spot here. After an excellent first five starts from April 30 to June 5 -- 0.85 ERA in 31 2/3 innings -- his numbers normalized a bit but still produced impressive results: a 2.44 ERA across 14 starts through the end of July. Since then, his ERA has risen, but still remains excellent overall at 3.03, the second-lowest mark among qualified AL rookies.

5. Colson Montgomery, White Sox

Montgomery is technically not even a "qualified" rookie yet based on plate appearances (he's played just 53 games entering Monday), but he's certainly been qualified with the long ball. The lefty slugger already has 18 homers, which ranked second only to Kurtz among AL rookies through Sunday, while his .849 OPS ranks third among rookies with at least 200 plate appearances. Meanwhile, his 46 RBIs are tied for the fourth-most in that group.

Others receiving votes: Carlos Narváez, Jack Leiter, Cam Smith, Jasson Domínguez, Kyle Teel, Will Warren, Chandler Simpson, Cam Schlittler, Mike Vasil, Shane Smith, Edgar Quero, Jake Mangum, Luke Keaschall

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1. Drake Baldwin, Braves (25 first-place votes)

Though Baldwin has slowed a bit since mid-August (he was hitting just .224 with a .644 OPS in his past 20 games through Sunday), he's been arguably the best overall rookie performer in the NL this season. Entering Monday, he led all qualified Senior Circuit rookies with 63 RBIs and a .447 slugging percentage, while his .796 OPS ranked second. He also had the second-most homers (15), second-highest average (.276) and second-best on-base percentage (.349). Despite his big lead in this poll, a strong finish would add more certainty to the race.

2. Cade Horton, Cubs (nine first-place votes)

Should Baldwin falter down the stretch, Horton could leap right over him as the NL ROY favorite -- because he continues to have a stellar season. Entering Monday, Horton led all qualified NL rookies with nine wins, a 2.78 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP and a .226 average against. The righty has not allowed more than two earned runs in a game since July 9 and has a 0.77 ERA over his past nine starts. In other words, he's finishing strong.

3. Isaac Collins, Brewers (six first-place votes)

Collins has been quite the revelation for the first-place Brewers. Entering Monday, the switch-hitter led qualified NL rookies with a .371 on-base percentage and an .804 OPS. Meanwhile, his 16 stolen bases were tied for most among NL rookies. He's been instrumental in the Brewers' surge to the top of the NL Central, so don't count him out in his race, especially if he makes more noise over the final few weeks.

4. Caleb Durbin, Brewers

This is Durbin's first appearance in these rankings, and he could very well give his teammate a fight in the race. Entering Monday, his 98 hits were third-most among NL rookies, as were his 22 doubles, while his 47 RBIs ranked fourth. After landing in the "also receiving votes" section the past two polls, Durbin forced his way into the rankings in part by hitting .314 with a .932 OPS over his past 14 games through Sunday, a stretch that included five multi-hit games.

5. Agustín Ramírez, Marlins (one first-place vote)

Ramírez continues to be a factor in this race given his propensity to slug. Entering Monday, he led all NL rookies with 48 extra-base hits, which included 19 homers and 28 doubles, both of which were tops among the rookie class. But he also led the group in overall hits, with 106, in runs scored, with 63, and in total bases, with 193. But he struggles with strikeouts (he leads NL rookies there, too), which is a big reason why his .701 OPS through Sunday ranked just seventh among his qualified peers.

Others receiving votes: Chad Patrick, Matt Shaw, Nolan McLean, Jakob Marsee, Jacob Misiorowski, Daylen Lile, Chase Burns, Jack Dreyer, Liam Hicks, Mike Burrows