Ranking youngest and oldest 2025 Silver Slugger nominees: PCA and a new generation

We now officially know which of baseball’s top hitters are Silver Slugger finalists at their respective positions, though many of the names shouldn't be surprising (American League and National League). Then again, if Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are never up for an MVP Award, let alone a Silver Slugger, that’s bad news for them and their teams.

Many of the nominees have captured a Silver Slugger before, and plenty are finalists for the first time. There’s a healthy mix of grizzled veterans and budding stars vying to add a Silver Slugger on their résumés following their impressive 2025 seasons, whether they earned their spots via the long ball or terrorizing opponents with the always-deadly hitting and speed combination.

For this list, we ranked the youngest and oldest Silver Slugger finalists in order of their date of birth. All ages are accurate as of Oct. 23, 2025. We also want to reiterate that we are not picking who we believe should win the Silver Slugger at their position, although we do have an issue with one of the players nominated for reasons that we’ll soon elaborate on. 

Youngest 2025 Silver Slugger nominees

Junior Caminero, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays: Kudos to Caminero, who turned 22 on July 5 and quickly emerged as the Tampa Bay Rays’ latest affordable superstar. Caminero hit .264 with 45 homers, 110 RBIs, 28 doubles, an .846 OPS, and 4.5 bWAR in 154 games. Unfortunately, we’re left to wonder how long it’ll be before the Rays trade Caminero rather than pay him.

James Wood, LF, Washington Nationals: It’s always tempting to write James Woods instead of James Wood, but the 2021 second-round pick shouldn’t need to worry about being confused with the legendary actor for much longer. Wood turned 23 on Sept. 17 in the last days of an impressive sophomore season, one where he recorded 31 home runs, 38 doubles, 94 RBIs, and an .825 OPS. Although Wood tallied 3.7 bWAR, he also led the league with 221 strikeouts.

Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics: Kurtz turned 22 on March 12 and made his MLB debut on April 23, less than a year after the Athletics selected him No. 4 in the draft. The A’s fans who stuck with the team following their controversial relocation to Sacramento watched Kurtz smash 36 home runs with a .290 average, 86 RBIs, 26 doubles, 5.4 bWAR, and an incredible 1.002 OPS in nearly 500 plate appearances. If the A’s break out next season, look for Kurtz to be a major reason why. 

Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF, Chicago Cubs: Crow-Armstrong celebrated his 23rd birthday on March 25, only days before embarking on a breakout 2025 campaign. The 2020 first-round pick finished with a .247 average, 31 homers, 95 RBIs, 35 stolen bases, and 37 doubles in 157 games. Immaculate Grid players will want to keep Crow-Armstrong in mind for any grids featuring players with a 6bWAR season, as PCA finished at exactly 6.0.

Oldest 2025 Silver Slugger nominees

Freddie Freeman, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers: Freeman turned 36 on Sept. 12, but he’s still going strong, hitting .295 with 24 home runs, 90 RBIs, 39 doubles, and an .869 OPS for the NL West-winning Dodgers. All signs point to Freeman, who has two seasons left on his contract, returning for 2026 even if the Dodgers win their second straight World Series.

George Springer, OF/DH, Toronto Blue Jays: Springer, who turned 36 on Sept. 19, qualified for both spots despite playing 82 of his 140 games at DH. We don’t get it, but Springer certainly earned the right to be a Silver Slugger at least one position. The four-time All-Star hit .309 with 32 home runs, 84 RBIs, 27 doubles, and 18 stolen bases in 19 attempts. Springer’s .959 OPS and 4.8 bWAR marked his highest since 2019, though he saved his most important hit (thus far, at least) for October.

Salvador Perez, C, Kansas City Royals: Considering that Perez has been the Royals’ full-time catcher since 2012, it’s strange to think he only turned 35 in May. Although Perez only recorded 0.4 bWAR, he hit 30 homers for the first time since 2021 and added 100 RBIs and 35 doubles. Cal Raleigh’s presence means that Perez won’t win his sixth Silver Slugger, but we expect the Hall of Fame talk to ramp up this offseason. 

Max Muncy, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers: Muncy might seem like a strange inclusion here, but he turned 35 in August and, yes, he’s older than the likes of Manny Machado and Aaron Judge. The Dodgers don’t care, seeing as Muncy provided them with 3.6 bWAR (his highest since 2021) over 100 games. Muncy’s .376 on-base percentage was the second-best of his career, and he smashed 19 homers with 67 RBIs for the NL champions.