"What makes a baseball player exciting? In some ways, this is an unanswerable question, an aesthetic judgment that defies quantification. What makes a player exciting? Who can say? You know it when you see it. The beauty is that there is no right answer, as ESPN's most exciting MLB player brackets -- last year's debut and the 2025 version released Tuesday -- help illustrate."
"With a 2025 baseball age of 22, he's young. The bracket overall skews young, with the average age (26.4) more than two years younger than the MLB average (28.6). We're still getting to know Wood, who debuted just last season. The median debut season of our 32 entrants is 2022. Three players -- Nick Kurtz, Roman Anthony and Colson Montgomery -- have debuted since this year's Opening Day."
"At 6-foot-7, Wood is tall for a hitter. That's the same height as Aaron Judge and just 2 inches taller than Elly De La Cruz and Kurtz. The average height in MLB is 6-1½. Wood has a quick bat that generates hard contact. His swing speed (76.1) ranks in the 95th percentile and his average exit velocity (94 mph) is in the 98th percentile, according to Statcast."
Excitement in baseball arises from varied, often unquantifiable traits and different fan preferences. A 32-player "most exciting" MLB bracket emphasizes youth, recent debuts, unusual size and elite measurable skills. James Wood exemplifies common traits among entrants: a 2025 baseball age of 22, a recent debut, exceptional height and elite bat metrics. The entrant group skews younger than MLB averages and posts higher swing speeds and exit velocities (group averages: 74.9 swing speed, 92.2 mph exit velocity; MLB averages: 71.6 and 89.2). The median debut season is 2022, and several players debuted this season. Overall, excitement reflects combinations of tools that differ by player.
Read at ESPN.com
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