In a normal year, Jackson Chourio's 2024 season probably would have won him NL Rookie of the Year. Instead, he had to settle for third because he had the misfortune of being a rookie in the same year as Paul Skenes and Jackson Merrill. But Chourio posted a .914 OPS after the All-Star break last season, and he has already homered three times this season. With all due respect to former NL MVP Christian Yelich and All-Star catcher William Contreras, Chourio is now the face of the team.

Kyle Tucker, whom the Cubs acquired in an offseason trade from the Astros, is off to a red-hot start in his first season in the Windy City. Tucker currently leads MLB in total bases (40) and has hit five home runs in his first 14 games. As he tries to set himself up for a major payday in free agency, Tucker projects to have a monster year.

The Cardinals are a tough team to pick for. Nolan Arenado is a future Hall of Famer who's hitting .342 early in 2025 after posting a .746 OPS over the past two seasons. There's a chance he tapers off or gets traded if the Cardinals fall out of playoff contention, but perhaps he'll continue having a resurgence on a team that might be better than we anticipated.

Elly De La Cruz stole an MLB-high 67 bases last season and posted an .809 OPS. He also struck out an MLB-leading 218 times and had 29 errors at shortstop, so he's still a work in progress. But the electrifying talent is still only 23 years old and is just scratching the surface of his potential.

Paul Skenes was excellent over his first pair of starts in 2025 after winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2024, a campaign where he also started the All-Star Game and finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting. It's fair to wonder if the Pirates are equipped to make the best of having a generational talent on the mound, but there's no question Skenes is going to be dominant.