Opening day in Major League Baseball is less than two weeks away, and it’s time to place some early futures bets for AL Rookie of the Year.
Early odds are favoring players that look to make opening day rosters. After all, playing time matters!
Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez is the reigning AL ROY. Not only did he start from day one for the Mariners, he also set a record for most home runs hit by a rookie in the first round of the Home Run Derby. As a result of his rookie success, he signed a long-term contract with Seattle that could be worth up to $470 million.
Here is where the current market for 2023 stands at SI Sportsbook:
AL Rookie of the Years Odds
Gunnar Henderson (BAL) +250
Masataka Yoshida (BOS) +600
Triston Casas (BOS) +900
Hunter Brown (HOU) +900
Grayson Rodriguez (BAL) +900
Anthony Volpe (NYY) +1100
Royce Lewis (MIN) +1100
Oscar Colas (CHI) +1500
Josh Jung (TEX) +1600
Logan O'Hoppe ( LAA) +1600
Oswald Peraza (NYY) +2500
Noah Garret "Bo" Naylor (CLE) +3000
Dayton Layne Hall (BAL) +3000
Kyle Muller (OAK) +4000
Daniel Espino (CLE) +4000
Zach Neto (LAA) +5000
Ken Waldichuk (OAK) +5000
Matt Wallner (MIN) +5000
Zack Gelof (OAK) +5000
Curtis Mead (TB) +5000
Esteury Ruiz (OAK) +5000
Kyle Manzardo (TB) +6000
Marcelo Mayer (BOS) +6600
Emerson Hancock (SEA) +6600
Joey Wentz (DET) +8000
Pedro Leon (HOU) +8000
Jasson Dominguez (NYY) +8000
Evan Carter (TEX) +8000
Gavin Scott Williams (CLE) +8000
Austin Wells (NYY) +8000
Colton Cowser (BAL) +8000
Nick Loftin (KC) +8000
George Valera (CLE) +8000
Top contenders
Despite being mired in a spring slump, Gunnar Henderson leads the field with +250 odds for AL ROY. The Orioles third baseman had a limited run in the bigs last season and he performed admirably, with four home runs, 12 runs, 18 RBI and a stolen base across 34 games played. The number one overall pick in 2019, Henderson was raking in the minor leagues before getting that late-season call up. He has power, speed and good contact skills, and he should be with the team for opening day.
Masataka Yoshida is next up with +600 odds. The Japanese power hitter has performed well in the World Baseball Classic, and he is expected to bat cleanup for the Red Sox from opening day. Six-to-1 odds is a decent payout, but Japanese power hitters transitioning to MLB haven’t always done as well as people have predicted.
Tristan Casas (+900) has also been a factor for this Red Sox team that has been dominant in spring training with a .632 win percentage. Caution is advised, though, as most of the other teams have had impact players missing due to the World Baseball Classic. Still, Casas has impressed this spring, batting .359 with a 1.009 OPS and two home runs. In his limited time in the majors last year, Casas hit .197 with five homers across 74 at-bats. Casas will be the starting first baseman for the Sox this season.
Hunter Brown (+900) will have his chance to make an impression in the Astros’ starting rotation due to the injury to Lance McCullers. Brown is the depth piece for Houston that could be used in relief or as a starter (think Cristian Javier), and he has the potential to make a big impact. Brown started two games in 2022 and pitched in seven total games to the tune of a 0.89 ERA and a K rate of 9.74 per nine innings.
Grayson Rodriguez (+900) is considered the game’s best pitching prospect, and should make the starting rotation for the Orioles. He’s run into trouble a couple of times in spring training, allowing seven earned suns across 11 innings pitched, but there’s plenty of time for him to get right before opening day.
Anthony Volpe (+1100) and Oswald Peraza (+2500) present decent value for a Yankees team that will no doubt need to turn to some fresh talent sooner than later this season.
