Wilson had been the Rookie of the Year favorite for the majority of the season while threatening Yankees slugger and reigning MVP Aaron Judge to win the American League batting title. A recent slump put Wilson's average down to .311 after it had been as high as .360 on June 17.

In Japan, many agreed with Chris Assenheimer's stance that Ichiro wasn't a true rookie. In the US, it didn't go over quite that well.

Coming off of a historic game on Friday night in which he became the first Major League Baseball rookie to hit four home runs, the general public has been introduced to Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz. This is following the 22-year-old Kurtz being named the AL Player of the Week. The betting market has taken notice as well.

The second half of the 2025 MLB season is in full swing. And while the fast-approaching trade deadline is the focal point across the baseball world right now, the AL and NL award races will also start to become more of a talking point.

Kurtz became the 20th player and first rookie in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a game.

Given that he hit .401 in 79 minor-league games and was a career .361 hitter in college (with a .411 average his last year at Grand Canyon), I'm willing to believe he keeps hitting like he has.

Still holding a sizable lead for American League Rookie of the Year coming out of the All-Star break in MLB.com’s most recent poll last week, Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson may have just officially been overtaken by a new favorite -- his teammate Nick Kurtz.

Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Shohei Ohtani, Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes are among this year's top awards contenders.