The MLB season starts in two days, and with it comes a new crop of MLB futures markets to bet on.
It also brings a new crop of players with odds to win Rookie of the Year, as every team will have a neophyte or two looking to make the biggest debut and strongest first impression on MLB betting fans in 2023.
Let's take a look at the latest MLB odds for who will be crowned the top rookies in the AL and NL this year, with the Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals currently rostering the favorites to win the 2023 Rookie of the Year Awards.
Odds to win AL Rookie of the Year
| Player | Team | Position | Odds to win |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunnar Henderson |  Baltimore Orioles |
3B/SS | +265 |
| Anthony Volpe |  New York Yankees |
SS | +500 |
| Masataka Yoshida |  Boston Red Sox |
OF | +500 |
| Triston Casas | Boston Red Sox |
1B | +800 |
| Royce Lewis |  Minnesota Twins |
SS | +1,100 |
| Grayson Rodriguez | Baltimore Orioles |
RHP | +1,100 |
| Hunter Brown |  Houston Astros |
RHP | +1,300 |
| Oscar Colas |  Chicago White Sox |
OF | +1,300 |
| Logan O'Hoppe |  Los Angeles Angels |
C | +1,700 |
| Josh Jung |  Texas Rangers |
3B | +2,000 |
| DL Hall | Baltimore Orioles |
LHP | +2,000 |
| Oswald Peraza | New York Yankees |
SS/2B | +2,500 |
| Kyle Muller |  Oakland A's |
LHP | +3,000 |
| Bo Naylor |  Cleveland Guardians |
C | +3,000 |
| Zack Gelof | Oakland A's |
2B/3B | +3,500 |
| Matt Wallner | Minnesota Twins |
OF | +5,000 |
| Emerson Hancock |  Seattle Mariners |
RHP | +5,000 |
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of March 28, 2023.
AL Rookie of the Year odds analysis
3/28/2023: Baltimore 3B/SS Gunnar Henderson remains the favorite to win the AL RoY at +265, but the big story is the jump that New York Yankees top prospect Anthony Volpe took up the board.
The New York shortstop, whose highest level of experience is just 22 games at AAA last season, has continuously impressed during Spring Training, hitting .309 with three home runs and five stolen bases during the spring, forcing the Yankees to include the No. 5 prospect in the MLB Top 100 on the Opening Day roster, presumably installed as the everyday shortstop.
Volpe was 11/1 at the beginning of Spring Training but is now tied at +500 with Boston's Masataka Yoshida, who also improved slightly from the beginning of the Spring, when he was 6/1.
Previous AL Rookie of the Year odds analysis
3/7/2023: Baltimore 3B/SS Gunnar Henderson is the early favorite to win the AL RoY, as the 2019 second-round pick is currently the No. 2-overall prospect in the MLB 100 pipeline. Henderson got a cup of coffee with the O's last year, posting a .348 OBP in 34 games, but is a five-tool prospect that should be a major part of a rising young Baltimore lineup.
After the 21-year-old Henderson is, well, a guy who isn't that young: Masataka Yoshida (+600), a 29-year-old outfielder who came over to Boston from Japan on a five-year, $90-million contract over hitting .326 over seven seasons in the NPB. Just behind Yoshida is his teammate Triston Casas, a third baseman that is currently MLB's 25th-ranked prospect, and Minnesota shortstop Royce Lewis, the first-overall pick in the 2017 draft, both of which are at 9/1.
The first pitchers on the board are Houston's Hunter Brown and Baltimore's Grayson Rodriguez, both sitting at +1,000.
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Odds to win NL Rookie of the Year
| Player | Team | Position | Odds to Win |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Walker |  St. Louis Cardinals |
OF/3B | +360 |
| Corbin Carroll |  Arizona Diamondbacks |
OF | +400 |
| Miguel Vargas |  Los Angeles Dodgers |
2B/3B | +700 |
| Kodai Senga |  New York Mets |
RHP | +950 |
| Andrew Painter |  Philadelphia Phillies |
RHP | +1,100 |
| Ezequiel Tovar |  Colorado Rockies |
SS | +1,200 |
| Elly De La Cruz |  Cincinnati Reds |
SS/3B | +1,500 |
| Matt Mervis |  Chicago Cubs |
1B | +1,700 |
| Francisco Alvarez | New York Mets |
C | +1,800 |
| Brett Baty | New York Mets |
3B | +1,900 |
| Spencer Steer | Cincinnati Reds |
3B/1B/2B | +2,000 |
| Sal Frelick |  Milwaukee Brewers |
OF | +2,500 |
| Garrett Mitchell | Milwaukee Brewers |
OF | +3,000 |
| Hayden Wesneski | Chicago Cubs |
RHP | +3,000 |
| Michael Busch | Los Angeles Dodgers |
2B/OF | +3,500 |
| Kyle Harrison |  San Francisco Giants |
LHP | +4,000 |
| Matthew Liberatore | St. Louis Cardinals |
LHP | +4,000 |
| James Outman | Los Angeles Dodgers |
OF | +4,000 |
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of March 28, 2022.
NL Rookie of the Year odds analysis
3/28/2023: There was a small shuffle at the top of the NL odds board too ahead of Opening Day, with previous favorite Corbin Carroll sliding from +380 to +400... but also dropping to the No. 2 spot behind St. Louis' Jordan Walker, who leapfrogs him as a +360 favorite.
The sixth-ranked overall prospect in the MLB Top 100, Walker had a monster start (hitting .429 with six XBH in 21 at-bats) to the spring despite not playing above AA last year, and despite cooling off following a shoulder ailment, he has made the Cardinals' Opening Day roster.
The rest of the odds board remains generally unchanged, although Washington pitcher Cade Cavalli (who was 12/1 at the beginning of Spring) is off the board after undergoing Tommy John surgery that will put him out until 2024, while Chicago Cubs righty Hayden Wesneski — who looked impressive following a late 2022 callup and earned a spot in the Opening Day rotation by posting a 2.12 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 17 Spring innings — have moved up the board to sit at +3,000.
Previous NL Rookie of the Year odds analysis
3/8/2023: Just like in the Junior Circuit, the NL's current favorite to win RoY is another one of MLB 100's top prospects: Arizona outfielder Corbin Carroll at +380.
The MLB's No. 3-ranked prospect was a first-round pick by the Diamondbacks in 2019 and posted a .330 OBP in 32 games with Arizona last season, while also hitting .287 in AAA. Carroll's strength is in his pure hit tool and plus-speed (graded 65 and 70 on the 20-80 scale), and with an expected full-time role in the AZ outfield, he should get plenty of run in 2023.
After Carroll is St. Louis' Jordan Walker at 5/1, an IF/OF that is the sixth-ranked overall prospect and is having a monster start (hitting .429 with six XBH in 21 at-bats) to the spring despite not playing above AA last year, and third on the board is Dodgers infielder Miguel Vargas (+550), who seems slated to start the year as either the starting second basemen or third basemen, depending on where Max Muncy plays.
The New York Mets have a few interesting players on the board as well: The fourth favorite is currently another overage Japanese import (and our first pitcher to have RoY odds) in 30-year-old Kodai Senga, while the MLB's No. 1-ranked prospect is Francisco Alvarez, who is one of the top offensive prospects in baseball (despite being a catcher) but is only 10th on the board at +1,800 — presumably because he is expected to start the year at Triple-A (following six months off due to ankle surgery) and is stuck below Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido on the depth chart.
Past Rookie of the Year winners
Previous AL RoY winners
Although all players have an equal chance of winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award, the honor has been claimed disproportionately by outfielders since its inception in 1949. Outfielders have 24 victories compared to 17 for pitchers and 16 for shortstops. Catchers are bringing up the rear with just two ROY victories over the past 72 years.
With Julio Rodriguez's win in 2022, the Seattle Mariners have also claimed two of the last three RoYs — and five of the last six have come from the AL West.
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Julio Rodriguez (OF) |
| 2021 |  Randy Arozarena (OF) |
| 2020 | Kyle Lewis (OF) |
| 2019 | Yordan Alvarez (OF) |
| 2018 | Shohei Ohtani (P/OF) |
| 2017 | Aaron Judge (OF) |
| 2016 |  Michael Fulmer (SP) |
| 2015 | Carlos Correa (SS) |
| 2014 | Jose Abreau (1B) |
| 2013 | Wil Myers (OF) |
| 2012 | Mike Trout (OF) |
Previous NL RoY winners
No franchise has won more Rookie of the Year awards than the Dodgers. "The Blue Crew" have claimed 18 RoY trophies dating back to the club's early days in Brooklyn.
However, unlike the AL — where the West has been the recent home of the top rookies — the NL East has housed seven of the last 12 RoYs, with a mix of outfielders, infielders, starting pitchers, and even a reliever.
| Year | Player (Team) |
|---|---|
| 2022 |  Michael Harris (OF) |
| 2021 | Jonathan India (2B) |
| 2020 | Devin Williams (RP) |
| 2019 | Pete Alonso (1B) |
| 2018 | Ronald Acuna Jr. (OF) |
| 2017 | Cody Bellinger (1B/OF) |
| 2016 | Cory Seager (SS) |
| 2015 | Kris Bryant (3B) |
| 2014 | Jacob deGrom (SP) |
| 2013 |  Jose Fernandez (SP) |
| 2012 |  Bryce Harper (OF) |
Understanding MLB ROY odds
Most sportsbooks will display odds in the American format as listed above. When Julio Rodriguez all but claimed the AL Rookie of the Year last year, his odds had a minus (-) sign ahead of the number down the stretch.
- Jonathan India -4,000
That means that a bettor in September had to wager $4,000 to win $100 by betting on J-Rod to win AL RoY. Before the season starts, almost every player will have a plus (+) sign ahead of their odds.
- Corbin Carroll +380
That means a bettor would profit $380 for a $100 wager on Carroll before the season started if he's ultimately successful.
If American odds aren't your thing, simply use a tool like our odds converter to switch the odds to decimal or fractional format. Most online sportsbooks also give you the option to change the odds format that you see.
MLB Rookie of the Year Awards FAQ
Baltimore 3B/SS Gunnar Henderson is the current favorite at +265, followed by Boston's Masataka Yoshida and New York's Anthony Volpe at +900.
St. Louis' Jordan Walker (+360) is the current favorite, followed by Arizona OF Corbin Carroll (+400) and Dodgers' 2B Miguel Vargas (+700).
Seattle OF Julio Rodriguez won the AL ROY and Atlanta OF Michael Harris II won in the NL in 2022.
MLB rules state a player is considered a rookie unless he has 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched, or 45 total days on an active MLB roster prior to September 1.
