Wiz outfielder Ahn Hyun-min voted KBO's top rookie for 2025

Ahn Hyun-min of the KT Wiz gives an acceptance speech after winning the Rookie of the Year award at the Korea Baseball Organization Awards ceremony at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

KT Wiz outfielder Ahn Hyun-min has been voted the best rookie in Korean baseball for the 2025 season.

The 22-year-old slugger won the Rookie of the Year prize in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in a landslide Monday, earning 110 out of 125 votes cast by media, after a highly productive season for the Wiz.

Hanwha Eagles pitcher Jeong Woo-joo finished a distant runner-up with five votes.

Ahn led all freshmen with a .334 batting average, 22 home runs, 80 RBIs, a .448 on-base percentage and a .570 slugging percentage. Ahn ranked first overall in on-base percentage, second in batting average and third in slugging percentage.

Ahn was one of only three players to finish with at least a .300 batting average, a .400 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage.

Ahn also dominated in advanced metrics. He led all players in wins above replacement with 7.22 and had the highest weighted runs created plus — which measures a player's total offensive value and adjusts performance based on the ballpark and league average — with 172.5.

Ahn posted these numbers in only 112 games. He logged just six at-bats across two games in April, the first full month of the season, and didn't start playing regularly until May following a stint in the Futures League, the KBO's minor league.

In addition to his trophy, Ahn received 3 million won ($2,040) in prize money.

"I am so lucky to win this prestigious award as a member of the KT Wiz," Ahn said after accepting his award at the ceremony in Seoul. "I couldn't have won this award alone. All of my teammates and coaches took such great care of me and gave me the opportunity to win this award. Next year, I will try to win an even bigger prize."

He is the third player in Wiz franchise history to win the Rookie of the Year award, joining outfielder Kang Baek-ho in 2018 and pitcher So Hyeong-jun in 2020. Ahn is also the first position player to win this award since Kang, after pitchers had been voted the top rookie in each of the past six seasons.

For the top rookie award, players who entered the KBO in 2025 or those who had joined the league within the past five years and not accumulated 30 innings pitched or 60 plate appearances were eligible.

Ahn made his KBO debut last year but only had 29 plate appearances in 16 games.