Wyshynski Awards at midseason: Best team, player, goal, feud and more
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Greg Wyshynski, Senior NHL writer
The 2024-25 NHL season has been a little difficult to get a read on. Some teams that were expected to be very good aren’t very good. Some teams that were expected to be mediocre are anything but. As teams pass the midpoint of the campaign, there’s still time for either of those fortunes to be reserved.
What we do know about this regular season so far: a lot of goals have been scored, and not just by Leon Draisaitl and Alex Ovechkin. Through 649 games, the NHL averaged 6.1 goals per game, making its fourth straight season above the six-goal pace. This scoring spike has added to unpredictability: The NHL reports that 44% of those games had comeback wins, tied for the second-highest rate in history.
So what the season has lacked in clarity of contenders it has made up for with goal horns and scoreboard volatility. Which is nice.
That established, here are 20 NHL awards and superlatives for the midpoint of the season:
This could have been the Capitals, who led the NHL standings after 44 games and weathered their best goal scorer, Kyle Connor, missing 16 games. This could have been the Edmonton Oilers, who have in fact been the best team in the NHL since Oct. 31 and a 10-game Stanley Cup Final hangover to begin the season.
But it’s the Jets for a few reasons. They had the best start in NHL history with 15 wins in their first 16 games. While they couldn’t keep that sprint going, they’ve settled into a solid split, leading the Central Division by a good margin while being in the top three teams offensively and defensively.
Do we wish they were a little better at 5-on-5 and less reliant on the league’s best power play? Sure. But Connor Hellebuyck papers over a lot of deficiencies when he’s this dominant, looking very much like the first back-to-back Vezina Trophy winner since Martin Brodeur (2006-07 and 2007-08).
There have certainly been other disappointing teams in the NHL this season. But we knew the Chicago Blackhawks would be bad. We knew the Pittsburgh Penguins were a deeply flawed team holding onto a dream that was past its expiration date. If anyone has discerned the organizational plan for the Seattle Kraken in Year 4, please let us know.
But true disappointment is epically failing to meet expectations. Like the Boston Bruins teetering on the playoff bubble after having already fired a coach and two seasons removed from an NHL-record 135-point campaign. Like the New York Rangers, who went from Cup contention to core reconstruction in a matter of months. The Rangers earned an F in ESPN’s midseason report cards. The other team that did that was the Predators.
It’s not just that Nashville has been an utter disaster in the standings — .407 points percentage, even with a slight uptick in quality recently — it’s how bad they’ve been where we all expected they’d be great. They added Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault to a team that was 10th in the NHL in goals per game last season (3.24) and somehow became one of the NHL’s worst offensive teams (2.47). Players like Tommy Novak saw their production fall off a cliff. Nashville is last in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals after 43 games by a margin of 12 (!) tallies.
And yet they’re just one canceled trip to see U2 at Sphere in Las Vegas from rallying for playoff spot, as we saw last season …
Kirill Kaprizov had this thing locked up before his injury, as he was the Minnesota Wild offense.
In his absence, the Hart Trophy favorite has to be Draisaitl. His current goal pace (31 in 43 games) would rank in the top 10 scoring seasons since 2005. Evolving Hockey has him leading the NHL in expected goals above replacement (25.9) while adding 4.3 wins to the Oilers in the standings. This is while skating with the likes of Vasily Podkolzin, Viktor Arvidsson and Kasperi Kapanen.
Shoutout to Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, whose torrid December positioned him to potentially become the first back-to-back Hart winner since Alex Ovechkin (2007-09); and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, whose team either looks like a Cup contender or lottery fodder depending on whether he’s on the ice; and also Hellebuyck, who probably wishes goalies won league MVP at a higher rate than once in the past 21 seasons.
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Leon Draisaitl lights the lamp for Oilers
Leon Draisaitl lights the lamp for Oilers
On the other side of the coin in Edmonton is Skinner. The 32-year-old winger was a heralded value signing for the Oil after getting a buyout in Buffalo. Three years removed from a 35-goal season, fans were salivating at the idea of him potting pucks with Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
Alas, he hasn’t earned that time with them: Skinner has seven goals and eight assists in 40 games, skating 12:36 per game while having been a healthy scratch on occasion. He’s been a defensive liability, and he’s deep in the negative in goals scored above replacement. Probably not a great sign when your offensive free agent coup has one point more than Corey Perry halfway through the season.
Greatest on-ice achievement: Alex Ovechkin
The Washington Capitals captain decided not to prolong the inevitable, turning his chase of Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record (894) into a full-on dash to the finish line this season.
Through Wednesday, Ovechkin has 873 career goals thanks to 20 goals in 27 games — an unprecedented scoring clip for a 39-year-old player. Then again, Alex Ovechkin has been doing unprecedented things for Alex Ovechkin, too: His 17 goals in 20 games was by far the hottest goal-scoring start he has had at any age. This is his 20th straight 20-goal season, trailing only Gordie Howe (22 seasons) all time. If he continues his goal-scoring pace, Ovechkin could shatter the record by the end of March, and that’s despite missing time to injury this season.
Our favorite Ovechkin stat, courtesy of Mike Callow of ESPN Radio in D.C.: The Capitals star scored 848 goals in between playoff victories by Washington’s NFL team (from 2006 to 2025). OK, that might speak more to the struggles of Washington football than Ovechkin’s generational scoring prowess, but still impressive.
Best trend: The rarity of shootouts
Shootouts remain a pox on the NHL, an inferior mechanism for determining the victor from the previous 65 minutes of team effort in which not a single pass is attempted nor is there a defending skater on the ice. But that’s a discussion for another day.
The good news is that shootouts were a rarity in the first half of the season. According to the NHL, 76.5% of games that went beyond regulation were ended in the 3-on-3 overtime, the highest rate of OT goals in NHL history. Let’s keep that energy going!
Worst trend: Deferred money
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe, Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis and Anaheim Ducks forward Frank Vatrano signed contract extensions that featured a significant amount of money being deferred until after their playing days are done. That allowed teams to massage their salary cap numbers. All of this is allowed under the CBA and has been done before, as when Arizona re-signed Shane Doan in 2016.
But let’s be real: The NHL generally frowns upon creative accounting that allows teams to wiggle under the salary cap in the name of competitive balance. From someone who watched the draconian response by the NHL to marathon contract extensions with declining salary at the end: Enjoy this while you can, GMs.
The tragic death of Johnny Gaudreau is still being felt around the hockey world. His memory continues to be honored, like when the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints — where he played and was a minority owner — recently retired his jersey. But perhaps the greatest tribute to his spirit as a player has been the resiliency of his Columbus teammates.
The Blue Jackets entered the season with a new GM, a new coach and the heaviest of hearts. They finished the first half of the season as a legitimate playoff contender in the Eastern Conference, buoyed by a Norris Trophy-worthy performance by Zach Werenski and a point-per-game season from Gaudreau’s close friend Sean Monahan.
Memories of Johnny Hockey are found around Nationwide Arena, from his picture on the outside of the barn to his stall preserved in the locker room. His teammates continue to process their grief, using some of it to inspire this successful season. As GM Don Waddell told NHL.com, the team had lots of meetings to discuss how to do that.
“We’ve got to take the words that [Gaudreau’s widow] Meredith used at the funeral: ‘Johnny would want you guys to go play hockey. I want you to go play hockey. Go play hockey.’ And we kept echoing those things over and over. ‘This is what the Gaudreaus would want us to do,'” he said.
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Flames honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau with ceremonial faceoff
The Flames honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau by having their family perform the pregame faceoff with the Blue Jackets.
Most important rookie: Dustin Wolf
Center Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks and defenseman Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens have moved into their own tier in the Calder Trophy race for the class of 2024-25.
Celebrini’s 0.91 points per game in 34 games would rank him in the top 10 for rookies since 2005, and he market-corrected Matvai Michkov as the charismatic highlight-reel rookie. Hutson is currently leading all rookie scorers in points, is getting better every game and is within range of what Cale Makar (0.88 points per game) and Quinn Hughes (0.78) accomplished in points per game as freshmen.
The Calder is given for the best rookie performance, and I think Celebrini and Hutson are putting on a show. It’s not necessarily given for the most important rookie performance; although if it did, there would be a clear winner: Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames.
Wolf was 15-6-2 in his first 23 games, with a .916 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average, including two shutouts. (With three assists, no less!) He’s just outside the top 10 in goals saved above expected, via Stathletes. The Flames would be calculating their draft lottery odds right now without him. As is, they’re right in the wild-card mix.
The last thing you want to see from your franchise player in his second NHL season is the kind of vacant stare that Bedard has when discussing the trajectory of the Blackhawks, which at this point is akin to a malfunctioning bottle rocket. Even in those moments when he should be able to celebrate personal achievement — like reaching 100 career points faster than any other teenaged player in NHL history — his thoughts circle back to how bad the Blackhawks have been.
Chicago stripped the roster down to the foundation so it could acquire a player like Bedard in the draft, and yet the landscape remains barren. Celebrini joined a team with William Eklund, Will Smith and now Yaroslav Askarov in the mix. Bedard doesn’t have nearly that.
Where’s the Evgeni Malkin to his Sidney Crosby? The Nicklas Backstrom to his Ovechkin? The answer is “in future drafts,” which probably isn’t what Bedard wants to hear.
Goal of the (half) year: Nazem Kadri
The 1992 romantic comedy “The Cutting Edge” — written by “Andor” show runner Tony Gilroy! — asks what would happen if a hockey player became an Olympic figure skater.
Well, this Kadri goal from December is what it might look like if a figure skater became a hockey player: the Calgary Flames center leaping over a sprawled-out J.J. Moser, keeping his balance when hitting the ice, doing a 360-degree turn, dragging the puck back and then somehow beating Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Maybe not the highest technical score from the judges, but Kadri aced the presentation score.
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Nazem Kadri scores outrageous goal for Flames
Nazem Kadri shows incredible balance and athleticism en route to this wonderful goal for Calgary.
It’s not often you get two save-of-the-year candidates in the same game, but that was the kind of night Markstrom had against the Seattle Kraken on Jan. 6.
This gloved rejection of a sure-thing Eeli Tolvanen goal was good:
ANOTHER SAVE OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE FROM JACOB MARKSTROM!! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/09yIKJrb9j
— NHL (@NHL) January 7, 2025
This chaotic hand-eye coordination clinic — watch Markstrom stare at the puck before swatting it away — was absolute mastery.
JACOB MARKSTROM FOR A THIRD TIME. 😱
We have no words. pic.twitter.com/RjatOwP4GH
— NHL (@NHL) January 7, 2025
He even had a third save in the game that would have been the best of the night for most goalies. But not for this goalie on this night.
Coach of the (half) year: Spencer Carbery
In his first 125 games as a head coach, Carbery has a .608 points percentage. He coached the Capitals to an unlikely playoff spot last season, and has had them at or near the top of the NHL this season. While last season was impressive, this season established him as a coaching star. He has kept the ship steady despite not having Ovechkin for 16 games due to injury, gotten the most out of young players and integrated veteran additions to the lineup seamlessly.
Capitals GM Chris Patrick told me recently that Carbery’s open-mindedness as a head coach has impressed him. Take Pierre-Luc Dubois, who is resurrecting his career with the Caps. Other coaches might have been reticent to take on a guy who’s on his third team in three years. Carbery didn’t flinch, recognized the talent and was motivated to get him back on track.
Almost everything Carbery is doing has worked, and it might add up to a Jack Adams Award by season’s end — if not more for Washington.
Best glow-up: Colorado Avalanche goaltending
The Avalanche began the season with a specious goaltending trio: Alexandar Georgiev, Justus Annunen and Kaapo Kahkonen, the latter of whom they claimed off waivers after the other two were both lit up on opening night. Rather than watch his talented team dragged down by mediocre goaltending, general manager Chris MacFarland got aggressive and nuked the crease.
Annunen was traded to the Nashville Predators for veteran Scott Wedgewood, who had a rough start in his first season with the franchise. Then came the biggest swing: Shipping out Georgiev, in his third year as the team’s primary starter, in a package to the San Jose Sharks for goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.
So far, MacFarland looks like a genius: Blackwood has played so well for the Avalanche (9-2-1, .938 save percentage, 1.89 goals-against average) that they already awarded the 28-year-old with a five-year contract extension worth $5.25 million per season.
Most shocking move: The Jim Montgomery migration
The Boston Bruins firing Jim Montgomery was something I called before the season, considering he was in the last year of his contract and the team had diminishing returns. That it happened 20 games into the season was a surprise, but what occurred after that was the real stunner.
The St. Louis Blues fired head coach Drew Bannister — last season’s interim coach who was elevated to the big job in the offseason — after 22 games to quickly scoop up Montgomery, who had previously been an assistant coach with the team.
“I was willing to go through the peaks and the valleys with Drew,” Blues GM Doug Armstrong said, “until Monty became available.”
Most ruthless front office: New York Rangers
For all the obituaries written about the Rangers this season, they remain within spitting distance of the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, among a nine-team pileup of middling contenders.
But it’s clear the team has issues, just as it’s clear that ownership and management will seek to address those issues by any means necessary. Like using the pressure of waivers to force trades for Barclay Goodrow in the summer and captain Jacob Trouba during the season — after trying and failing to trade the latter during the offseason, undercutting his captaincy. Like listing beloved 13-year veteran Chris Kreider‘s name in an email to other general managers about being “open for business” for trades.
Whether or not the Rangers rally for a playoff spot, there are very few players on the roster whose safety is guaranteed from future moves.
This season hasn’t lacked for locker room drama. Boston Bruins stars Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak recently had to shut down a Boston radio report about a rift between them, with Marchand dumping a dozen photos on Instagram to show how tight they are, which is very “celebrity tabloid scandal” of him.
But that alleged Boston tension was sunshine and unicorns compared with what’s playing out across the continent.
Canucks star forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller have had heat for years, according to former Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau, who told TSN that it predated his time with the team and had something to do with quality of linemates.
This season, it manifested in a brief outburst at practice in which Miller allegedly called Pettersson a baby. Captain Quinn Hughes has acknowledged an issue between the two. Miller and Pettersson denied they’re feuding, with Miller saying, “You guys are just wasting your time. I don’t care.” But all of this has led to a cottage industry of trade speculation, with weekly reports about the Canucks fielding offers for both players to alleviate the tension in the room.
Complicating matters: Miller has a full no-movement clause, while Pettersson doesn’t have trade protection on a contract that runs through 2031-32. Also complicating matters: general manager Patrik Allvin having recently put Pettersson on blast. “He needs to mature and understand that there are certain expectations and it does not get easier. And you need to face the music when things don’t go well,” Allvin told reporters.
It’s going to take more than an Instagram photo dump to squash this.
For the first time in a long time, Patrik Lane is healthy. Not necessarily on the ice, where a knee injury and an illness have limited him to 15 games this season, but off the ice. Laine went through the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program last summer before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens, prioritizing his health and well-being. In August, he and fiancée Jordan Leigh launched From Us to You, a mental health initiative inspired by the many people who shared their stories with Laine.
When he has played, Laine has been productive: 10 goals in those 15 games, with nine of them coming on the power play. He remains one of the NHL’s most unfiltered star players … although sometimes that can mean giving bulletin board material to opponents, as he did prior to his first game back in Columbus.
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Patrik Laine nets winner for the Canadiens on the power play
Patrik Laine finds the back of the net as the Canadiens beat the Red Wings 4-3.
Best in (Utah Hockey) Club: Logan Cooley
The Utah Hockey Club started strong, fell off, dealt with some unfortunate injuries and is now hanging tough in a wild-card race.
There have been some highlights in the former Coyotes’ first season in Salt Lake City, from the unexpected heroics of goalie Karel Vejmelka to the expected dominance of star forward (and Team USA snub) Clayton Keller.
But people aren’t talking enough about Logan Cooley, the 20-year-old dynamo. He has 37 points in 43 games, including 12 goals. He’s second behind Keller in goals and wins above replacement according to Evolving Hockey. Given their roster and resources, it won’t be long until Utah is a force in the West. Cooley’s season is a taste of what’s to come.
Most likely to continue an NHL record playoff drought: Buffalo Sabres
Unless something dramatic happens in the second half, the Sabres will miss the playoffs for a 14th consecutive season, extending their NHL record. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2010-11. Not to put too fine a point on this, but that was the rookie season for Sergei Bobrovsky, Taylor Hall and Ryan McDonagh.
Through 43 games, Stathletes gave the Sabres a 0.4% chance of making the playoffs despite Buffalo bringing back coach Lindy Ruff and looking like a team that could break out in the East. What a perpetual bummer this is.
What’s next?
Finally, let’s look ahead three of the biggest storylines for the season’s second half:
This first-of-its-kind event replaces the All-Star Game and pits star players from the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland against each other in an exhibition tournament that’s meant to serve as an appetizer for both the 2026 Olympics and future World Cups of Hockey.
The expectation is that an in-season tournament combined with national pride will result in a hugely competitive event with pride on the line. But in talking to players, everything from injuries to the length of the season break — Feb. 9-21 — is on their minds. Do you really want to be the team that wins six of seven games, only to have the season pause for a two-week exhibition tournament? All that said: USA vs. Canada is going to rule.
2. The East wild-card chaos
The top three teams in the Metro Division appear set. Same goes for the top two teams in the Atlantic, and the Tampa Bay Lightning appear in good shape for that third spot ahead of the Boston Bruins. As of Wednesday, that means nine teams within seven points of the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference.
They include last season’s playoff qualifiers seeking to find their footing again (Boston, the Rangers and Islanders), teams trying break through (Ottawa, Detroit, Montreal) or recapture previous glory (Pittsburgh, Philadelphia). And then there are the Blue Jackets, a team that might have the rest of the NHL pulling for them if they remain near the bubble, given the circumstances. What a race.
3. The trade deadline
The March 7 deadline might be the biggest boom-or-bust moment in a while. If teams such as the Rangers, Bruins, Predators and Canucks decide to move significant players, it could upend the power balance in the Stanley Cup race.
But even if the fireworks are a little more muted, the top contenders are still going to add what they hope are final championship puzzle pieces. Or it could just be 20 defensive defensemen on expiring contracts getting moved for fifth-round picks. Such is the trade deadline.
The first day of the 2025 MLB draft is complete! The Washington Nationals selected Eli Willits with the No. 1 pick, opting for the prep shortstop — who might be more likely to sign below slot — in a draft with no clear-cut top prospect. And there were plenty of other intriguing selections as the first three rounds unfolded Sunday night.
The Seattle Mariners had to have been thrilled to have Kiley McDaniel’s No. 1-ranked prospect, Kade Anderson, fall to them at No. 3, and Ethan Holliday was selected at No. 4 by his famous father’s former squad the Colorado Rockies.
We asked ESPN baseball insiders Alden Gonzalez, Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield to break down their favorite and most head-scratching moves of the draft’s first night, as well as to predict which players will bring the most to their new teams in the long term.
A lot of us were thrown for a loop by the first two selections. What do you make of the Nationals taking Ethan Willits at No. 1 and the Angels picking Tyler Bremner at No. 2?
Gonzalez: I was stunned on both accounts. Though there was definitely some uncertainty around the Nationals’ approach, especially since the firing of GM Mike Rizzo, I didn’t see anybody, anywhere, projecting Willits to be their choice at No. 1 overall. But the Angels drafting Bremner was an even bigger risk. Kiley had him 18th in his latest ranking. Six pitchers were ranked ahead of him. But Bremner might be someone who can rise and impact their major league roster quickly, and the Angels are always looking for that.
Rogers: The first two picks really summed up the uncertainty of the entire draft. The Nationals’ faith in a 17-year-old will be tested over the coming years, but the pick will likely save them some money for later in this draft and give Willits time to grow. The same can be said of many of the top picks: They’re going to need time. There are far fewer sure things this year — though Bremner could be the exception. The Angles love to graduate their players quickly, and as a college arm, he could see the majors sooner rather than later. Like Willits, this could also be a cost-saving move for later spending.
Schoenfield: In a draft that not only lacked a sure-thing No. 1 overall pick but was viewed as weaker at the top than those of recent years, it’s perhaps not a huge surprise that the Nationals and Angels used their picks to strike likely underslot deals with Willits and Bremner, giving them money to spend later in the draft — which they can use on high school prospects who might have slipped, trying to buy them out from going to college. It’s a strategy teams have used with success over the years, so the drafts for the Nationals and Angels will have to be viewed in their totality and not just focused on these two players.
What was your favorite pick of the night — and which one had you scratching your head?
Gonzalez: The Rockies have done a lot of things wrong over these last few … uh, decades. But it was really cool to see them take Ethan Holliday at No. 4 after his father, Matt, starred in Colorado for so long. Outside of the top two picks, Ethan Conrad going 17th to the Cubs was my biggest surprise of the night. Kiley had him ranked 30th; others had him falling out of the first round entirely. There’s uncertainty coming off shoulder surgery. But Conrad, 21, put up a 1.238 OPS in 97 plate appearances before his season ended prematurely in March. And the dearth of college bats probably influenced a slight reach here.
Rogers: I’m loving Billy Carlson to the White Sox at No. 10. Though they lost 121 games last season, Chicago couldn’t pick higher than this spot per CBA rules — but the Sox might have gotten a top-five player. Carlson’s defense will play extremely well behind a sneaky good and young pitching staff that should keep the ball on the ground in the long term. Meanwhile, with the pick of the litter when it came to hitters — college outfielders and high school kids as well — the Pirates took a high school pitcher at No. 6. Seth Hernandez could be great, but they need hitting. A lot of it.
Schoenfield: The Mariners reportedly wanted LSU left-hander Kade Anderson all along, but they certainly couldn’t have been expecting to get him with the third pick. (Keep in mind that the Mariners were lucky in the first place to land the third pick in the lottery, so they added some good fortune on top of good luck.) They get the most polished college pitcher in the draft, one who should move quickly — and perhaps make it a little easier for Jerry Dipoto to dip into his farm system and upgrade the big league roster at the trade deadline. Even though I understand why the Angels did it, Bremner still seems a little questionable. With the second pick, you want to go for a home run, and the consensus is that Holliday or even Anderson is more likely to be a more impactful major leaguer. Bremner’s lack of a third plus pitch is an issue, and you have to wonder if the Angels are relying too much on his control — which, yes, should allow him to get to the majors — and ignoring the possible lack of upside.
Who is the one player you’d like to plant your flag on as the biggest steal of this draft?
Gonzalez: Seth Hernandez, who went sixth to the Pirates and should someday share a rotation with Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. High school pitchers are incredibly risky, especially when taken so early in the draft. But Hernandez is a great athlete who already throws hard, boasts a plus changeup and showed improvement with his breaking ball this spring. He’ll go the Hunter Greene route, from standout high school pitcher to major league ace.
Rogers: Jamie Arnold will look like a steal at No. 11, especially when he debuts in the majors well before many of the players taken around him. I’m not worried about the innings drop in 2025 — not when he was striking out 119 hitters and walking just 27. The A’s need to polish him up but will be pleased by how consistent he’ll be. You can’t go wrong with a college lefty from an ACC school — at least, the A’s didn’t.
Schoenfield: I’m going with Billy Carlson with the 10th pick — with the admitted caveat that the White Sox haven’t exactly been stellar at developing hitters. But Carlson looks like an elite defensive shortstop with plus power, and that alone can make him a valuable major leaguer. If the hit tool comes along, we’re looking at a potential star. OK, he’s Bobby Witt Jr. lite? That’s still an All-Star player.
What’s your biggest takeaway from Day 1 of this draft?
Gonzalez: The Nationals throwing a wrench into the proceedings by selecting Willits. It was a surprising choice, but in their minds an easy one. Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo called Willits the best hitter and best fielder available. And in a draft devoid of can’t-miss, high-impact talent, Willits is no doubt a solid pick — a polished hitter who should stick at shortstop and might consistently hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases at a premium position. He also might come under slot, allowing flexibility later in the draft. But his selection is what allowed Anderson to reach the Mariners at No. 3 and prompted the Rockies to draft Holliday at No. 4, among other dominoes. It set a really interesting tone.
Rogers: Things change quickly in baseball. Whereas college hitters are usually the safest bets early in the draft, this year high school position players dominated. (And they all play shortstop, at least for now.) Athleticism has returned to baseball, and draft rooms are acting accordingly.
Schoenfield: I’m agreeing with Jesse. The selection of that many prep shortstops stood out — and they all seem to hit left-handed and run well, and some of them have big power potential and a cannon for an arm. Look, the hit tool is the most important and the hardest to scout and project, so not all these kids are going to make it, but their potential is exciting and, to Jesse’s point, their wide range of tools is showing that baseball is still drawing top athletes to the sport.
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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