The Lens · Rookie Report
Rookie Report — July 18, 2026
JULY 18, 2026
The first-year players worth watching.
The rookie class
Top first-year players, hitters by OPS (minimum real playing time).
Esmerlyn Valdez
Pittsburgh Pirates1.084OPS rookie›AVG .309 · HR 10 · OPS 1.08427 RBI · 0 SBOPS1.084elite
Munetaka Murakami
Chicago White Sox0.906OPS rookie›AVG .233 · HR 20 · OPS 0.90642 RBI · 1 SBOPS0.906elite
Cole Carrigg
Colorado Rockies0.881OPS rookie›AVG .280 · HR 4 · OPS 0.88122 RBI · 2 SBOPS0.881above avg
TJ RumfieldColorado Rockies0.851OPS rookie›AVG .295 · HR 12 · OPS 0.85147 RBI · 0 SBOPS0.851above avg
Bryce Eldridge
San Francisco Giants0.837OPS rookie›AVG .269 · HR 9 · OPS 0.83722 RBI · 0 SBOPS0.837above avg
Jake Bennett
Boston Red Sox2.35ERA rookie›ERA 2.35 · WHIP 0.88 · IP 53.2GS 9 · 5 W · 38 KFORM87elite
Bradgley Rodriguez
San Diego Padres2.18ERA rookie›ERA 2.18 · WHIP 1.14 · IP 41.1GS 3 · 2 W · 38 KFORM78elite
Parker Messick
Cleveland Guardians2.73ERA rookie›ERA 2.73 · WHIP 1.07 · IP 112GS 19 · 8 W · 110 KFORM75elite
Rookies breaking out
Rookies with the biggest OPS jump this week.
- Esmerlyn ValdezPittsburgh PiratesOPS 0.993→1.084 (+0.091) rookie›AVG .309 · HR 10 · OPS 1.08427 RBI · 0 SBOPS1.084elite
Stats via the MLB Stats API. Colors, form scores and power rankings are Baseball Lens's own.