Rookie Spotlight: Caleb Durbin
- Mason Linken
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
Editor's note: All statistics are as of the morning of July 16.
As the 2024 Arizona Fall League Breakout Prospect of the Year, former Yankees infield prospect Caleb Durbin was a hot commodity during the 2025 offseason. Trades involving Durbin as a key piece were frequently rumored, with many teams eager to add the 25-year-old to their depth charts. Eventually, Durbin was dealt alongside Nestor Cortes in the deal that brought Devin Williams to the Yankees.
When the Yankees shipped Durbin to the Brewers, expectations rose for the infielder to be a valuable member of a contending Milwaukee team. Although he had a solid spring training, Durbin was optioned to start 2025 as a member of the Nashville Sounds. He got the call to the majors not long after, when fellow third baseman Oliver Dunn was sent to AAA on April 18.
Since his call-up, Durbin has remained the Brewers' primary at the hot corner, where he’s contributed steadily so far. Even after starting the season slowly, Durbin quickly became one of the National League’s top-performing rookies and third basemen in general.
His stats may not immediately jump off the page, but Durbin’s proven to be valuable for the Brewers. Through 74 games played, Durbin has slashed .261/.348/.363, with a wRC+ of 107. He’s swatted just four home runs; expected given his 5’7” frame. Durbin isn’t known for power numbers anyway. It’s his speed and elite bat-to-ball skills that excel.
Durbin has struck out just 9.2% of the time in 2025, placing him in the 98th percentile in the majors. He has also squared up the ball 33.2% of the time, a high number and a common trait for contact hitters. Durbin’s 68.2 MPH bat speed prevents him from hitting the ball exceptionally hard, and has led to his 1st percentile average exit velocity (84.3 MPH), but allows him to maximize the contact he does make.
What’s helped Durbin remain above average, even with his weak bat speed and exit velocity, are his pull tendencies. He pulls the ball 41.1% of the time, while utilizing a high 20.1 Pull AIR%. All four of Durbin’s homers have been to the pull side, typical for batters with lower exit velocities. On pulled baseballs this season, he’s batted .315 with a 121 wRC+.
Durbin has held his own at third base as well, contributing 6 DRS and 1 OAA thus far. On the season, he's been just above average in batting runs (3, 49th percentile), fielding runs (0, 59th percentile), and baserunning runs (0, 63rd percentile). Overall, Durbin’s 1.4 fWAR has been good for sixth among rookies in MLB (second in the National League), and 16th among MLB third basemen (seventh in the National League).
While his season statistics are impressive for a rookie already, it’s Durbin’s recent contributions that truly spark hope for a second-half breakout. Over his last 100 AB (dating back to June 4), he’s hit an exceptional .320 with an .840 OPS. His wRC+ has been 144 during this span, a season high.
During that span, Durbin’s rolling xwOBA has continued to trend upwards, and has increased by .085 points. Essentially, this means that Durbin’s xwOBA over his last 100 plate appearances (.361) is .085 points higher than his xwOBA in the previous 100 (.276).
As Durbin has gotten hot, the Brew Crew has as well, going 23-9 since June 4. His contributions have been key during the scorcher, alongside Jacob Misiorowski’s emergence. The rookie pair has helped keep the Brewers in the NL Central race, where they sit just 1.0 game back of the Cubs. Just last week Durbin smacked a clutch walk-off single to the opposite field off of Kyle Finnegan, completing an improbable comeback for Milwaukee’s sixth consecutive win (watch here).
With the second half kicking off tomorrow, Durbin’s poised for an excellent finish to the season. He’s been one of baseball’s best third basemen and rookies, especially over the past month. Given his recent play, things are looking bright for Durbin and the Brewers.
(Statistics found via: baseballsavant.com, baseball-reference.com, fangraphs.com, mlb.com, brewers.com)
(Video found in: mlb.com)
Cover photo credit: mlb.com
