2023 NL Rookie of the Year: Predictions, Analysis and Bets

As the World Baseball Classic comes to a close, the MLB regular season peaks its head around the corner.

It’s truly starting to feel like baseball season now, and a crop of young players is ready to join the show.

While the American League Rookie of the Year award may have some heavy favorites, the National League race should be much more wide open with countless players looking to kick off their potential All-Star careers with some hardware.

Honorable Mentions: Miguel Vargas, 2B/3B, Los Angeles Dodgers; Kodai Senga, RHP, New York Mets; Ezequiel Tovar, SS, Colorado Rockies; Elly De La Cruz, SS/3B, Cincinnati Reds; Francisco Alvarez, C, New York Mets; Brett Baty, 3B, New York Mets.

Corbin Carroll, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks 

Let’s start off with the odds on favorite, both in the eyes of Vegas and myself, to win it this year.

The young Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder is on the books at +380 to win and for good reason.

In today’s game, you hear the term “five-tool player” thrown around somewhat loosely.

With Carroll though, there would be no other way to describe his abilities on the field.

Carroll was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of Lakeside High School in Seattle, WA and immediately delivered in rookie ball.

Unfortunately for Carroll, the 2020 season was lost to COVID, and 2021 wouldn’t be much better, as he was forced to undergo a shoulder surgery that halted another year of development.

While it offered a bit of a scare–seeing a supposed future star miss two years of development all together–Carroll didn’t let it deter him and exploded in his first season back.

In 2022, between AA Amarillo and AAA Reno, Carroll put up an unreal line of .307/.425/.611 with 24 home runs, 62 RBI and 31 stolen bases.

I mean, wow.

As if the numbers at the plate weren’t enough, the speedy outfielder racking up 31 stolen bases is out of this world.

At the end of the 2022 season, Carroll got the call to the big leagues to showcase his skillset to the Arizona fans.

In his brief MLB stint the outfielder put up a line of .260/.330/.500 with 4 home runs, 14 RBI and a pair of stolen bases.

This season, Carroll seems set to man centerfield for the D-Backs and should certainly be slotted high up in the everyday lineup.

When it comes to predictions or expectations, I truly believe he is one of the few guys who can put up a 30/30 season in his rookie year.

Only time will tell with this star in the making, but he is a confident selection to show out with plenty of playing time in his first full big league season. 

Join us on Pikkit to track our bets, sync your sportsbooks, and get the best lines for every bet you take. When you signup for FREE with our code, LINETIME, Pikkit will send you $3 or $100 when you sync a book with 10+ bets.

For the best data on all player prop bets throughout the season, sign up for props.cash and use our code, LINETIME, for 25 percent off.

Our code is LINETIME. You can click here to sign up for both.

Jordan Walker, 3B/OF, St. Louis Cardinals

Carroll is the odds-on favorite to win the Rookie of the Year, but Jordan Walker makes that a much more difficult feat.

You can find Walker at around +500 on the books to take home the hardware.

Jordan Walker is an absolute beast, and he gets to slide into a lineup with reigning NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt and perennial All-Star Nolan Arenado.

Have fun pitching around those guys to get to Walker, who has every bit of a chance to be just as good and feared as his Cardinal teammates.

Walker was the 21st overall selection by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2020 MLB Amateur Draft out of Decatur High School in Georgia.

Walker, who is only 20 years old, has flown through the Cardinals minor league system.

In his first year of professional baseball in 2021, Walker posted a .317/.388/.548 line with 14 home runs, 48 RBI and 14 stolen bases between A+ and A Palm Beach.

Walker proved to the Cardinals he was ready to hit at a higher level, starting and ending the 2022 season in AA Springfield.

In 536 AA plate appearances Walker put up a line of .306/.388/.510 with 19 home runs, 68 RBI and 22 stolen bases, further proving to the Cards that all he does is hit, no matter the level.

The fascinating thing about Walker is where he will fit into St. Louis’ big league club, as his natural position of third base being occupied by 10-time Gold Glove Award-winner Nolan Arenado.

Standing at 6 ‘5 and 220 pounds, Walker shows sneaky speed for his size, but one would think his cannon for an arm and larger frame would suit him better at a corner outfield position, at which Walker played 249 innings last season in the minors.

If Walker starts the season in the big leagues, it will more than likely be at a corner outfield position.

While that transition will be intriguing to watch, Walker has the skills and ability to put up the offensive numbers to run away with the Rookie of the Year Award.

Endy Rodriguez, C/OF, Pittsburgh Pirates 

Yes, it’s a long shot.

But the value is definitely there if you believe as much as I do, with Endy sitting as high as +10000 to win the award.

Endy was signed for only $10,000 by the New York Mets in 2018 out of Santiago, Dominican Republic and bounced around rookie ball between 2018-19.

It wasn’t until the Pirates acquired Rodriguez in 2021 in a three-team deal, in which Joe Musgrove was sent to the San Diego Padres, that he got his opportunity to prove himself.

In his first full season of professional ball in 2021, Rodriguez impressed with a .294/.380/.512 line with 15 homers and 73 RBIs with A Bradenton.

This opened the eyes of Pittsburgh’s front office, realizing that they may have found a diamond in the rough in Rodriguez.

In 2022, Rodriguez solidified that he might just be the real deal, moving from A+ ball all the way to AAA Indianapolis by the end of the year.

Throughout 2022, he posted a .294/.380/.512 line with 25 home runs and 95 RBI, perhaps earning himself the title of Pirates prospect of the year.

Not to mention he puts up these offensive numbers while manning arguably the most premium position in the sport: catcher.

When watching Rodriguez, especially at the plate, he just doesn’t look like a catcher–in a good way.

Endy is an athletic six-foot tall and 170 pounds, almost like a center fielder or shortstop.

Long term, the Pirates seem committed to keeping Endy as the eventual backstop, even with 2021 first-overall selection Henry Davis coming up at the same position.

But the sky’s the limit for the Buccos future man behind the plate; the only question now is when.

The Pirates are notorious for keeping prospects down in the minors for service time, so if Endy does get called up to the big leagues in 2023, it likely won’t be until at least July.

While there is always the possibility he hits his way onto the big league squad out of spring training, it is not very likely.

If this is the case however, Rodriguez at +10000 to win Rookie of the Year almost sounds too good to be true.

Join us on Pikkit to track our bets, sync your sportsbooks, and get the best lines for every bet you take. When you signup for FREE with our code, LINETIME, Pikkit will send you $3 or $100 when you sync a book with 10+ bets.

For the best data on all player prop bets throughout the season, sign up for props.cash and use our code, LINETIME, for 25 percent off.

Our code is LINETIME. You can click here to sign up for both.