Ranking top 25 players of 2025 MLB playoffs: Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Kyle Schwarber and more

The 2025 Major League Baseball postseason field has been set, and highest-of-high-stakes playoff baseball is upon us. To help set the scene for the month-long dramatics that will determine who wins both belt and title, we’re here to rank the top players who will be participating in these playoffs. Specifically, we’re about to rank the top 25 players chosen from the 12 teams making the 2025 postseason. So that’s 25 in ’25, you see.

As for the criteria, excellence in the current season and whether or not said excellence seems sustainable in the near term is the leading consideration. It’s also about the current value at this moment in time. Effectively, that means players whose “counting stats” may have taken a hit because of injury earlier in the season but are now healthy and in prime form will be on here despite some cumulative deficits. As such, these rankings are more about who’s primed and skilled up enough to put up big numbers in October (and possibly November). 

On that point, it’s worth noting that a number of elite performers on these 12 teams won’t be here because of current injury woes. That, of course, includes Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, who will miss these entire playoffs. It also includes the likes of Bo Bichette of the Blue Jays, Will Smith of the Dodgers, Brandon Woodruff of the Brewers, Roman Anthony of the Red Sox, Cade Horton of the Cubs, and Bryan Woo of the Mariners — all of whom are varying degrees of uncertain for the early rounds of the playoffs. 

As well, you’re not going to find two names below who under normal circumstances would probably be in the top 10: Trea Turner of the Phillies and Kyle Tucker of the Cubs. Turner came back in time for game 162 from a significant hamstring strain and did so after just 20 days on the injured list. It’s fair to wonder whether he’s truly 100%, and it’s fair to wonder that even with the Phillies having a first-round bye. As for Tucker, hand and finger injuries probably had something to do with his prolonged power slump earlier in the season, and mere days ago, he returned from a calf strain that cost him more than two weeks. As with Turner, it’s not unreasonable to wonder whether Tucker might be compromised to some degree. Again, both of these top-shelf talents would be on this list and high on this list under normal circumstances, even though this is a highly competitive fray (playoff teams tend to have lots of good players, you know). Things are what they are, though; Turner and Tucker are the two most painful omissions. Now for those who did make the cut …

Besides the aforementioned Turner and Tucker, other painful omissions include, in no particular order, Freddie Freeman, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, Michael Busch, Jarren Duran, Nick Lodolo, Ceddanne Rafaela, Carlos Rodón, William Contreras, Gavin Williams, Tyler Glasnow, Manny Machado, Trevor Story, and anyone else you’re mad about. Yes, him, too.