A Look at Who Won AL and NL Rookie of the Year in 2024

The 2024 MLB season was a memorable one. In his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hit an American League (AL) best 58 home runs, becoming only the fourth player to hit at least that many home runs in multiple seasons. The Dodgers and Yankees also met in the World Series, with the Dodgers prevailing in five games in a matchup involving two of the league's biggest markets.

Unsurprisingly, Judge and Ohtani won the AL and National League (NL) MVP, respectively. Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers won the AL Cy Young, given each year to the best pitcher, and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves won the award for the NL. Two pitchers—Luis Gil and Paul Skenes—also won AL and NL Rookie of the Year, respectively, marking the first time since 1981 that the best first-year players in both leagues were starting pitchers.

Here's a closer look at the impressive seasons of Gil and Skenes in 2024.

Luis Gil (AL Rookie of the Year)

Gil, a starting pitcher with the Yankees, won AL Rookie of the Year ahead of runners-up Austin Wells (Yankees) and Colton Cowser (Baltimore Orioles). The 26-year-old native of the Dominican Republic played seven games in the big leagues in 2021 and 2022, but had a breakthrough first full season in 2024, posting a win-loss record of 15-7 to go along with a 3.50 earned-run average (ERA) and 171 strikeouts in 151.2 innings pitched.

Gil also allowed just 104 hits, but walked an AL-worst 77 batters. He was particularly effective in May, going 6-0 with a 0.70 ERA and 44 strikeouts. He is the 10th Yankee to win AL Rookie of the Year and won the closest race since 2003, beating Cowser by just five points. 

Paul Skenes (NL Rookie of the Year)

Voting for the NL Rookie of the Year wasn't as close. Skenes, a 22-year-old from Fullerton, California, received 23 of 30 first-place votes and finished 32 points ahead of runner-up Jackson Merrill (San Diego Padres). He also finished third in NL Cy Young voting.

Skenes was the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Amateur Draft and proved he was worthy of that distinction in 2024, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts in just 133 innings pitched across 23 starts. He was also the first rookie pitcher to start the All-Star Game since Hideo Nomo in 1995 and the second to win at least 10 games, record 150 strikeouts, and a sub-2.50 ERA in the last 35 seasons.