The most feared players in the MLB this season

As the 2025 Major League Baseball season is underway, the stars are shining bright on the diamond and teams are fearing several players around the league.

Among the stars of MLB, many of them are feared by their opponents. These most feared players dominate the game of baseball and discourse about who is the best of the best in MLB occurs year-round. I am going to be ranking the five most feared players in MLB through the first few weeks of the 2025 season.

5. Paul Skenes, Starting Pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a team with a fan base that is not holding out much hope for their squad through the first few weeks of the season. Pirates fans do, however, have Paul Skenes.

Skenes was last year’s National League Rookie of the Year and is a generational arm. The first overall pick from the 2023 MLB Draft throws a fastball that tops out at 102 miles per hour and has incredible breaking stuff.

Going into this season, Skenes was the favorite to win the NL Cy Young award and is the most feared pitcher in baseball thanks to his arm. The 22-year-old recently threw seven innings and allowed two runs against the Cleveland Guardians and has a 2.87 ERA to start 2025.

4. Bobby Witt Jr., Shortstop, Kansas City Royals

Bobby Witt Jr. is the ultimate five tool player in baseball. His combination of power, speed, fielding, arm talent and ability to hit for average. Last season, Witt made his first all-star team, won the American League batting title and won Silver Slugger and Gold Glove at shortstop in the AL.

Witt has also totaled back-to-back 30+ home-run, 30+ stolen base seasons for Kansas City, and could be well on his way to a third straight 30-30 season and another batting title. Through 23 games this season, Witt is hitting .307 with two home runs and six stolen bases.

Any pitcher would fear facing Witt because he has one of the best bats in baseball and can also cause chaos when he is on the basepaths.

3. Shohei Ohtani, Designated Hitter and Pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers

While his numbers may not be as great as some of the other players on this list, Shohei Ohtani is still one of the most feared players in baseball. Ohtani is a two-way player still recovering from Tommy John surgery on his elbow.

Last season, Ohtani hit 50+ home runs and tallied 50+ stolen bases, which was something never seen in MLB history and will likely never be seen again. Ohtani may be the most talented player anyone has ever seen step foot on a baseball field.

The three-time MVP has not pitched in nearly two years, but when he is on the mound, hitters fear him and when he is in the batter's box, pitchers fear him. Through 21 games played, Ohtani is hitting .277 with six home runs and five stolen bases and is expected to return to the mound at some point later this season.

2. Pete Alonso, First Baseman, New York Mets

Pete Alonso is one of the most locked-in hitters in all of baseball right now. Alonso has always had generational power throughout his seven-year career; however, in the last two seasons, the man they call “Polar Bear” has not been the same.

Last season, Alonso didn’t even reach 35+ home runs, a mark that he has never missed in his career, excluding the 2020 season. He looked totally lost at the plate several times last season, too. In the postseason, Alonso turned it on and saved the Mets' season in Game 3 of the Wild Card series against the Brewers.

This season, Alonso has looked better than ever, hitting .346 with a National League-leading 24 runs batted in and an NL league-leading OPS of 1.171 through 22 games. If Alonso keeps this up, he will be positioning himself for a nice payday in the winter.

1. Aaron Judge, Right Fielder, New York Yankees

Aaron Judge has been baseball’s most feared player since he hit 52 home runs as a rookie in 2017. Judge has also hit 50+ home runs in a season three times in his career, most notably in 2022 when he broke Roger Maris’ Yankees single-season home run record by hitting 62 long balls.

The 2-time AL MVP was going to need to step up big time again this season for the Yankees with the departure of Juan Soto and boy has he been doing that. Judge leads Major League Baseball in nearly all offensive categories and is hitting .384 through 23 games played this season.

The Yankees captain is well on his way to winning back-to-back AL MVPs and his third AL MVP in four years if he continues to keep up his stellar play all season long.

Ian Rothenberg is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email imr5327@psu.edu.