2024 has seen one of the deeper National League rookie classes in recent memory, with Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers all putting together candidacies that might have earned any of them American League Rookie of the Year over the remainder of the competition were they not all clumped in the NL.

Meanwhile, before the season, the AL rookie pool seemed likely to be incredibly deep, with Texas Rangers teammates Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford expected to compete with Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday for the honor in the Junior Circuit. As it turns out, all three of them have underwhelmed in 2024, with none of the trio expected to take home the honor.

Still, this feels like a particularly memorable rookie class. With that in mind, here are grades for 15 of the most notable rookies in the 2024 campaign.

Jackson Merrill

Grade: A+

Merrill was very good in the first half of the year, driving in 46 runs and posting a .745 OPS en route to an All-Star Game appearance.

However, since the Midsummer Classic, Merrill has been one of the best players in baseball, rookie or otherwise. The 21-year-old is hitting .307 with 11 home runs, 15 doubles, four triples and a .943 OPS over that period.

Merrill has also been insanely clutch in his rookie season, as he has seven home runs and a 1.048 OPS in situations deemed to be "late and close."

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Merrill's rookie season is that he has seven outs above average in center field, a position the natural shortstop hadn't played prior to the 2024 season.

Luis Gil

Grade: A-

Luis Gil made seven starts for the Yankees between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, before Tommy John surgery prevented him from appearing in pinstripes during the 2023 campaign. All of that allowed him to maintain rookie eligibility, and he will likely be an AL Rookie of the Year finalist in 2024.

Though a lower back strain cost him a few weeks, Gil has been the most consistently effective starter for the Yankees this season. Across 26 starts, Gil is 13-6 with a 3.18 ERA and 3.82 FIP.

The only negative about Gil is that he leads baseball with 70 walks, something that will become particularly problematic if he's issuing them in October. But overall, Gil has been one of the most successful rookies on this list.

Jackson Chourio

Grade: B+

The Brewers gave Jackson Chourio an eight-year, $82 million deal before he ever played a game at the MLB level. It looked like they may have jumped the gun a bit when the 20-year-old posted a .678 OPS in the first half of the season.

But since the All-Star break, Chourio has put to bed any concerns and made the contract look downright team-friendly. Chourio is hitting .320 with 12 home runs and a .984 OPS in the second half of the season. In the absence of Christian Yelich, he and Willy Adames have been the top offensive producers for the Brewers.

If Chourio was in the AL, he would probably be the favorite for the Rookie of the Year Award. He won't win it in the NL, but he's at the forefront of a Brewers team that has massively overachieved relative to expectations in Spring Training.

Colton Cowser

Grade: B

Colton Cowser has put himself in the mix for the AL Rookie of the Year Award by posting an .815 OPS in the second half of the season. In total, Cowser has 20 home runs and 21 doubles—a solid but not spectacular rookie campaign.

Cowser has seen time at all three outfield positions but graded out best in left field, where he has three defensive runs saved and eight out above average. He could become an even more important piece in the outfield if the Orioles lose Anthony Santander in free agency this upcoming offseason.

A side note: Orioles fans mooing at Camden Yards every time Cowser comes to the plate is one of the funniest developments of the 2024 campaign.

Paul Skenes

Grade: A+

The Pirates may have fizzled out in the second half of the season, but Paul Skenes hasn't.

Last year's No. 1 overall pick made his MLB debut in May and was so electric that he started the All-Star Game in July. Overall, he's been dominant with a 10-2 record, 2.10 ERA, 151 strikeouts and 0.992 WHIP across 20 starts.

Pittsburgh would be wise not to push Skenes too much in the waning weeks of the season given that it's out of the playoff race. But whether he edges out Merrill to win the NL Rookie of the Year or not, the Pirates have a superstar in their rotation. Ownership should capitalize on that by spending in the offseason to take advantage of their window with the power righty.

Evan Carter

Grade: D

Evan Carter burst onto the scene for the Rangers last September, earning the trust of manager Bruce Bochy and becoming a key player during their World Series run. After hitting .300 last postseason, Carter looked like one of the favorites for AL Rookie of the Year entering the season.

Instead, he disappointed in the 45 games he played in, hitting just .188 with a .633 OPS. He went on the injured list in late May with a lumbar sprain and hasn't returned since. One of the main reasons for the Rangers' World Series hangover is that Carter hasn't been available to deliver the outfield production that was expected of him entering the year.

The long-term outlook on Carter is still a strong one. He flashed star potential at the plate last season and has 11 career defensive runs saved in the outfield. This was a lost year for him, but expect a rebound in 2025.

Wilyer Abreu

Grade: B

Manager Alex Cora's Red Sox ran out of gas in the second half of the season, but there were quite a few positive long-term developments for Boston to feel good about. Among those is right fielder Wilyer Abreu.

The 25-year-old has 31 doubles, 57 RBI and an .808 OPS. In right field, he's graded out like a Gold Glove candidate with five outfield assists, 11 defensive runs saved and five outs above average.

Left fielder Tyler O'Neill will be an interesting player to monitor this offseason as he potentially becomes a free agent. But regardless of what happens in left field, the Red Sox appear to have two of their three outfield slots set for the foreseeable future with Abreu and Jarren Duran.

Shota Imanaga

Grade: A-

Shota Imanaga isn't like the other names on this list in the sense that he pitched eight professional seasons in Japan before making the jump to Major League Baseball. But even though Imanaga just turned 31, he is still a rookie as far as MLB is concerned, and he's been one of the very best.

An All-Star in 2024, Imanaga has gone 13-3 with a 3.03 ERA and NL-best 6.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He's also logged more than 160 innings, which is one of the benefits of having previously pitched professionally in another league.

Imanaga signed a complicated four-year deal to join the Cubs last offseason that now feels extremely team-friendly. The Cubs will have the chance to pick up a $57 million option on Imanaga next winter, which would pay him $20 million in 2026, $20 million in 2027 and $17 million in 2028. Right now, that appears like a pretty easy decision.

Mason Miller

Grade: A-

Mason Miller has been one of the most dominant relievers in baseball this year, posting a 2.34 ERA and 14.2 K/9 over 48 games. He's also converted 24 of 26 save attempts, which earned him a trip to the All-Star Game.

Where we'll dock the 26-year-old just a bit is he spent a couple weeks on the injured list shortly after the start of the second half of the season when he broke his left pinky after pounding it on a padded training table. Fortunately, it wasn't on his pitching hand, but it's a self-inflicted error that showed some immaturity.

The big question with Miller—who averages 100.8 mph on his fastball—is going to be whether his elbow holds up or not. The A's elected not to trade him this summer for a ransom, which at least is refreshing for a team that never seems to keep their stars. But they also made a bet he's going to still be this electric the next time the franchise fields a competitive team.

Jackson Holliday

Grade: D-

Outside of a stretch in which he homered four times in six games in early August, Jackson Holliday's rookie season has largely proven to be a flop.

The odds-on favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year entering the season, Holliday is hitting just .170 with five home runs, 21 RBI and a .521 OPS for the Orioles. His 34.8 percent strikeout rate certainly is discouraging.

Clearly, expectations were too high for the former No. 1 overall pick entering the season. He's still only 20 years old, and he's adjusting to a new position at second base. There's plenty of time for Holliday to get right, but he didn't provide the immediate impact expected of him this season.

James Wood

Grade: B

James Wood was a second-round pick by the San Diego Padres in 2021. The Nationals acquired him about a year later in the Juan Soto trade. While you would probably always rather have Soto, Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo appears to have done well with the return.

In addition to shortstop CJ Abrams and lefty MacKenzie Gore, Wood looks to be a building block for the Nationals. Wood made his MLB debut in July, and he already has 11 doubles, three triples and 33 walks.

Where the 6'7", 234-pounder could stand to improve is in the outfield. He's posted negative-3 defensive runs saved and negative-6 outs above average in a relatively small sample size, so he has some work to do to be more than a DH in the long run.

Still, if the Lerner family recommits to making investments via free agency, Wood could be part of a team that's a sneaky contender in 2025 if he continues to make strides at the plate.

Ceddanne Rafaela

Grade: B-

Ceddanne Rafaela is a little difficult to evaluate. There is some great stuff on his resume this season, but there's also some concerning signs.

Offensively, Rafaela has 21 doubles, five triples, 15 home runs and 70 RBI—all impressive marks. His .279 on-base percentage and 86 OPS+ (100 is the league average) are not good.

Defensively, Rafaela has played all over the diamond, seeing time at shortstop, second base, third base and center field. Shortstop and center fielder are the two primary positions he's played. His defensive metrics at each spot are entirely different.

Shortstop: Negative-2 defensive runs saved and negative-7 outs above average over 647 innings

Center Field: 10 defensive runs saved and five outs above average over 559.1 innings

Rafaela is probably most valuable in the super-utility role, but if you had to pick a spot for him to see the bulk of his time at, it would be at shortstop given that the aforementioned Duran is a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder. But Rafaela has been way more effective in the outfield than at shortstop.

Wyatt Langford

Grade: B-

Like Carter and Holliday, Wyatt Langford hasn't had the explosive rookie season that many believed he would.

Of that trio, though, Carter has been the most productive, with 11 home runs, 64 RBI and 44 walks. He has an .801 OPS against left-handed pitching this season, but just a .692 mark against righties. He'll need to see improved results against right-handed pitching moving forward to be in the lineup every day.

While Langford mostly spent time at DH early in the season, he showed strong value defensively in his rookie campaign. He posted seven defensive runs saved in left field and two in center field. Langford and Carter still project to be part of a very successful outfield in the long run.

Ben Joyce

Grade: A-

While it's been a relatively disappointing first full MLB season for first baseman Nolan Schanuel, the rookie class for the Angels has hardly been a wash.

Ben Joyce—a third-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft—has emerged as one of the most electric relievers in the sport this season. If the 100.9 mph he averaged on his fastball in 12 appearances a season ago wasn't enough, Joyce upped it to a staggering 102.9 mph during the 2024 season.

Of course, there's a ton of pressure put on your body when you throw that hard, which makes it less than surprising that Joyce is currently on the IL with right shoulder inflammation and won't return this season. With that said, he posted a 2.08 ERA across 31 games this season, so the Halos certainly have something at the back end of their bullpen if they can keep Joyce healthy.

Masyn Winn

Grade: B

The window appears to have shut on the Cardinals winning a title during the peaks of Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt. But the roster is hardly barren moving forward.

One of the most exciting pieces in St. Louis is shortstop Masyn Winn. He has a cannon arm, and after posting negative-1 defensive runs saved and negative-3 outs above average in his first 318 MLB innings a year ago, Winn has 11 DRS and three OAA in 2024.

It remains to be seen exactly how frequently Winn will get on base offensively, but he has 13 home runs, 50 RBI and a .727 OPS, so it's been a pretty successful first full MLB campaign.