The 2025 Topps All-Star Rookie Team...Thoughts?

When I was a bit more active on the blog years ago, one of my end-of-the-season focuses was on who would be named to Topps' All-Star Rookie Teams. Even during the hiatus, every time the ASRT was announced, I'd find my way to Wikipedia and update the Topps All-Star Rookie Team pages and add the newly-named players to the article. I think I've added names to the List of Topps All-Star Rookie Teams page since 2009 (the page itself was created in 2006).

Not only have I updated the team roster list, but if a player who was named onto the ASRT was eventually enshrined into Baseball's Hall of Fame, I updated that important list as well. As of today (the announcement for who will be inducted into Baseball's HOF will take place on January 20) there are 37 Hall of Famers who were named to the ASRT, 35 as players, 2 as managers. Jeff Kent, voted in by the Contemporary Baseball Era committee last month, now ranks among this special group.

Back to the point.

In what is probably the latest it was ever announced, on December 30, 2025, Topps named their All-Star Rookie Team:

• Drake Baldwin, C, Atlanta Braves
• Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics
• Luke Keaschall, 2B, Minnesota Twins
• Matt Shaw, 3B, Chicago Cubs
• Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics
• Isaac Collins, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
• Roman Anthony, OF, Boston Red Sox
• Jakob Marsee, OF, Miami Marlins
• Cade Horton, RHP, Chicago Cubs
• Noah Cameron, LHP, Kansas City Royals
• Jack Dreyer, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Agustín Ramírez, DH, Miami Marlins

The team includes both of this year's AL and NL Rookies of the year, Drake Baldwin of the Braves and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics.

2025 Topps Update Series Nick Kurtz #US201 and Drake Baldwin #US87

Of the 12 players named to the team, both Roman Anthony and Jakob Marsee did not appear in any of the flagship sets (Series 1, 2, Update). Even their Topps Now cards had a "Call Up" designation, meaning they will have their rookie cards in 2026 Topps products.

As a Cubs fan, it's great to see both Horton and Shaw make the team, making it two years in a row that the Cubbies had a pair of players named to the ASRT (Michael Busch and Shota Imanaga were last year's duo). 

But what do you think of this year's team? Was there someone who should have been named? I keep hearing Caleb Durbin of the Brewers should have been picked over Shaw, but other than that, it seems that other collectors are happy with the list.

I just want to see what the 2026 design looks like so we can see these players' cards are going to look like with the Rookie Cup trophy. We've seen what the packaging is going to look like, so it's only a matter of time.

That reminds me. I still have an extra base set of the 2005 Topps Rookie Cup set...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama