The consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball is Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Konnor Griffin.
The 19-year-old has been invited to spring training and has an outside shot at making the Opening Day roster after playing a grand total of 21 games at Double-A. Now, while that may sound like a premature move, he did nothing but hit last season. Across three minor-league levels, Griffin slashed .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs and 65 (!) stolen bases.
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The Pirates may be inclined to promote him early to make the most of former NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes’ time with the club. They’re in dire need of offensive upside, and he’d provide that. With a clearer path to the bigs, Griffin’s MLB odds to win have gone from +1400 to +600 in just one month.
New York Mets right-hander Nolan McLean (+370) is still drawing the shortest odds, and St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt – a fellow alumnus of the 2024 MLB Draft alongside Griffin – is right there at +400 after veteran Nolan Arenado was traded.>
Pitchers and catchers report soon, so we’ll have a better idea of where preseason battles will take us in just a few weeks.
Odds to win 2026 AL Rookie of the Year
|
Player |
|
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Trey Yesavage |
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Munetaka Murakami |
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Kazuma Okamoto |
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Tatsuya Imai |
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Carter Jensen |
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Kevin McGonigle |
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Samuel Basallo |
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Connelly Early |
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Chase DeLauter |
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Walker Jenkins |
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Travis Bazzana |
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Payton Tolle |
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Colt Emerson |
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Brice Matthews |
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Max Clark |
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Spencer Jones |
Odds as of 2-1.
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Odds to win 2025 NL Rookie of the Year
|
Player |
|
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Nolan McLean |
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JJ Wetherholt |
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Konnor Griffin |
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Sal Stewart |
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Moises Ballesteros |
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Bubba Chandler |
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Justin Crawford |
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Bryce Eldridge |
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Owen Caissie |
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Jonah Tong |
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Carson Benge |
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Rhett Lowder |
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Robby Snelling |
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Quinn Mathews |
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Jhostnyxon Garcia |
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Joe Mack |
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Andrew Painter |
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Thomas White |
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Alex Freeland |
Odds as of 2-1.
Covers MLB betting tools
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 17 for shortstops. Catchers are bringing up the rear with just two ROY victories over the past 73 years.
|
Year |
Player |
|---|---|
|
2025 |
Nick Kurtz (1B) |
|
2024 |
Luis Gil (SP) |
|
2023 |
Gunnar Henderson (3B/SS) |
|
2022 |
Julio Rodriguez (OF) |
|
2021 |
Randy Arozarena (OF) |
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2020 |
Kyle Lewis (OF) |
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2019 |
Yordan Alvarez (OF) |
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2018 |
Shohei Ohtani (P/OF) |
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2017 |
Aaron Judge (OF) |
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2016 |
Michael Fulmer (SP) |
|
2015 |
Carlos Correa (SS) |
|
2014 |
Jose Abreau (1B) |
|
2013 |
Wil Myers (OF) |
Popular MLB futures markets
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.
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However, unlike the AL — where the West has been the recent home of the top rookies — the NL East has housed six of the last 13 RoYs, with a mix of outfielders, infielders, starting pitchers, a catcher, and even a reliever.
|
Year |
Player (Team) |
|---|---|
|
2025 |
Drake Baldwin (C) |
|
2024 |
Paul Skenes (SP) |
|
2023 |
Corbin Carroll (OF) |
|
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) |
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here
