2024 MLB Rookie of the Year Odds: AL & NL Favorites, Predictions

Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles were named Rookie of the Year in their respective leagues in 2023, making an immediate impact for two playoff teams.

It also proved that MLB odds are getting better at projecting the future superstars of the league, as Henderson was the preseason favorite in the AL (+250), and Carroll was the No. 2 option (+400) in the NL last spring.

Will the favorites for the 2024 MLB Rookie of the Year odds deliver again?

AL Rookie of the Year Odds: Favorites

The preseason favorite has won AL Rookie of the Year in two of the last three seasons, with the lone exception being Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez, who was slightly second in odds behind Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr.

Preseason odds of recent AL winners:

• 2023: Gunnar Henderson (+250)
• 2022: Julio Rodríguez (+400)
• 2021: Randy Arozarena (+350)

Wyatt Langford eventually passed Evan Carter as the preseason favorite less than a week before Opening Day when he was added to the Rangers’ initial roster.

Langford was selected in the first round of last year’s MLB draft and has soared up the professional ranks due to his ability to mash the baseball.

Baltimore’s Jackson Holliday, who opened as the co-favorite with Carter, has fallen to fourth on the oddsboard after a slow start to his MLB career.

Holliday’s teammate, Colton Cowser, has become the betting favorite after being +3000 in the preseason.

If Cowser does win this award, the Orioles would become the first AL East team to have consecutive Rookie of the Year winners.

Prediction: Colton Cowser (+250)

NL Rookie of the Year Odds: Favorites

Unlike the American League, three of the last four NL winners were off the original oddsboard in the preseason.

This market has been good for NL Rookie of the Year long-shot picks, though that might be more difficult this summer.

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the front-runner in this race, leaping to the majors from Nippon Professional Baseball.

In December, Yamamoto inked a 12-year, $325 million deal, receiving the most guaranteed dollars ever given to a pitcher.

But these odds are a bit rich, even after the recent movement. Yamamoto’s odds have gone from +200 to +450 since the preseason.

Staying in the NL West, my favorite NL Rookie of the Year odds prediction is Jung Hoo Lee of the San Francisco Giants.

Lee is moving from KBO, where he won Rookie of the Year in 2017 and MVP in 2022. He bats leadoff for the Giants and will get plenty of opportunities to accumulate counting stats.

Prediction: Jung Hoo Lee (+1500)

2023 AL Rookie of the Year Voting

2023 NL Rookie of the Year Voting

List of AL & NL Rookie of the Year Winners

*There was only one award for both leagues in 1947 and 1948.

MLB Teams With Most Rookie of the Year Awards

The Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have the most Rookie of the Year Awards (18):

Dodgers: 18
Braves: 9
Yankees: 9
Athletics: 8
Orioles: 8
Reds: 8

Has a Rookie Ever Won the Cy Young Award?

Only one rookie has won the Cy Young Award: Fernando Valenzuela.

Valenzuela was a 21-year-old rookie for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981 when he led the MLB in strikeouts and lead the Dodgers to the World Series.

Has an MLB Rookie Ever Won MVP?

Two rookies have won MVP: Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki.

Lynn won AL MVP in 1975 after leading the Boston Red Sox to 95 regular-season wins and a World Series appearance in the World Series. Ichiro won AL MVP in 2001 as the Seattle Mariners tied the MLB record for most wins in a season (116).