MLB All-October team: Stars who ruled 2025 playoffs
What an MLB playoffs!
After an exciting month of postseason action – so exciting, in fact, that it extended into early November – it’s time for our 2025 MLB All-October Team.
Although Yoshinobu Yamamoto won World Series MVP honors for his incredible performance in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ seven-game triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays, that doesn’t tell the whole story of the month. So to honor the best from each stage of the playoffs, let’s hand out some gear to a list of October stars.
From wild-card sensations to World Series standouts, here are the players our panel of ESPN MLB experts voted as the best of the best at each position, plus award hardware for October’s brightest stars.
October 2025 Team
Catcher: Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
Why he is here: Raleigh’s record-setting regular season continued into October as he hit five home runs and posted a 1.081 OPS before Seattle’s playoff run ended in Game 7 of the ALCS.
Honorable mentions: Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays; Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
Why he is here: If the Blue Jays had won one more game in the World Series, the introduction to this story would have been all about Guerrero and his incredible October exploits. The Blue Jays superstar hit an incredible .412 with a 1.330 OPS during the postseason, delivering highlight-reel moment after highlight-reel moment while leading Toronto to where it hadn’t been in three decades.
Honorable mentions: Michael Busch, Chicago Cubs; Josh Naylor, Seattle Mariners
2B: Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
Why he is here: In a difficult year for the position, Hoerner had the highest OPS (.973) of any second baseman during the postseason while playing stellar defense as the Cubs dispatched the Padres and forced a Game 5 against the Brewers in the NLDS.
How little production did the second basemen provide in October? A voter chose Miguel Rojas as his choice for the job based solely on a very important swing in Game 7.
Honorable mentions: Jorge Polanco, Seattle Mariners; Miguel Rojas, Los Angeles Dodgers
3B: Ernie Clément, Toronto Blue Jays
Why he is here: Clement was instrumental in the Blue Jays’ run, providing consistent production at the plate and solid defense in the field. His postseason OPS of 1.032 topped all third basemen and his 30 hits were not only the most of any player in October, but they also set a major league record for the most hits in a single postseason.
Honorable Mention: José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians
SS: Andres Gimenez, Toronto Blue Jays
Why he is here: The pickings were pretty slim at shortstop and Gimenez earned that spot more for his hitting than his overall numbers.
Honorable Mention: Trevor Story, Boston Red Sox
FROM: Addison Barger, Toronto Blue Jays
FROM: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
FROM: Jackson Chourio, Milwaukee Brewers
Why they are here: If you didn’t know the name Addison Barger before this, you do now. The 25-year-old, who was called up from the majors in mid-April, had an outstanding postseason, slashing .367/.411/.583 with three homers, nine RBIs and a 1.025 OPS while also making a number of dives in right field. But what moment will ensure Barger’s name is remembered? His grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series – which happened after he slept on a teammate’s sofa bed the night before.
Judge’s postseason performance had long been under scrutiny due to his checkered postseason history compared to his excellent regular season numbers. But all that should be put aside after this year, as he racked up 13 hits in 26 at-bats over seven games and finally met his October moment in the form of a monster three-run, tying homer in a crucial ALDS Game 3 to keep New York’s season alive.
Chourio, 21, was brilliant last October, helping Milwaukee to a hard-earned NLDS victory over the Cubs, with a two-run double and single in Game 1 and a three-run homer — which he hit with a 101.4 mph fastball, the fastest pitch for a postseason home run in the pitch-tracking era — to cement another victory in Game 2. were swept in the NLCS, Chourio hit his only home run and drove in half of his runs in the series.
Honorable mention: Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners; Kerry Carpenter, Detroit Tigers
Defender: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Why he is here: It was a mixed October for Ohtani, with his postseason slash line of .254/.397/.714 heavily buoyed by a few notable games. But those performances turned out to be two of the best single-game performances in baseball history in October: a three-homer game (while throwing a gem on the mound) in Los Angeles’ deciding game of the NLCS and an all-time World Series Game 3 in which he got on base nine times in the Dodgers’ 18-inning triumph.
Honorable Mention: George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays
SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
SP: Trey Yesavage, Toronto Blue Jays
Why they are here: There was simply no better pitcher in the sport than Yamamoto last October, as the Dodgers ace created one of the best postseason runs in recent history. Before earning World Series MVP honors by winning three Fall Classic games, Yamamoto was masterful in a complete game of the NLCS Game 2 gem against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Yesavage burst onto the scene in October in a way rarely seen before, becoming the starter in Game 1 of the World Series just six weeks after making his MLB debut. He provided Toronto with two of the best starts in the playoffs: Game 2 against the Yankees and Game 5 against the Dodgers.
Honorable mentions: Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers; Blake Snell, Los Angeles Dodgers; Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles Dodgers; Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees; Christopher Sánchez, Philadelphia Phillies
PR: Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers
RP: Will Vest, Detroit Tigers
Why they are here: Misiorowski played a crucial role on the mound for Milwaukee as a starter coming out of the bullpen to throw massive innings of high-leverage relief — with his first eight career postseason pitches hitting 102 mph or faster. In 12 innings over three games, he totaled 16 strikeouts while allowing six hits and three runs (two earned) and issuing three walks.
Vest was nearly untouchable in October as Detroit moved closer to the primary, allowing just two hits — and zero runs, for a 0.00 ERA in the postseason — and striking out nine in eight innings to help the Tigers beat Cleveland in the wild-card round and stay competitive against Seattle in the ALDS before ultimately losing in a 15-inning Game 5.
Honorable mentions: Roki Sasaki, Los Angeles Dodgers; Andrés Muñoz, Seattle Mariners; Louis Varland, Toronto Blue Jays
The winners of the month of October
October MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Launcher of the month: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Best October intro: Trey Yesavage, Addison Barger
Clutch Performer: Yamamoto
