American League 2023 Rookie of the Year Betting: Close Race in Early Going

Each season, a crop of new talent emerges that inspires hope for future MLB seasons, and the 2023 edition is no different. 

Here, we’ll explore the American League, Rookie of the Year award, going over the top three players for the award. Every player inside the top three is relatively close in futures betting odds, so it’s looking like this could turn into a three-player race.

Let’s dive in. 

Favorites for the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year Award

Masataka Yoshida, Boston Red Sox

Hitting Stats: .315/.387/.491, 7 HRs, 33 RBIs, 24 Ks, 68 Hits

Odds: DraftKings Sportsbook (+125)

The Red Sox have been atrocious by their legendary team standards this season, floating right around .500 at 31-32. Still, their new signing from Japan, Masataka Yoshida, has been a bright spot. 

Batting from the No. 2 spot, Yoshida, in his first MLB season, is hitting over .300, which is already impressive. He may not have the home run numbers as the second player on this list, but he’s breathing new life into the franchise. No player on the team is batting above .286’s that’s played more than ten games besides Yoshida, and he’ll be responsible for a lot of the Red Sox's success moving forward. 

Josh Jung, Texas Rangers

Hitting Stats: .293/.343/.511, 12 HRs, 38 RBIs, 67 Ks, 67 Hits

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook (+400)

Batting out of the five spot, Jung has shown some power, hitting 12 home runs, which is second on the team. He’s not too far off of Yoshida, but as you can see, he’s turning into a bit of a hit-or-strikeout type of player with identical hit-and-strikeout numbers. That said, he’s still managing to hit .293.

If he can tone down the strikeouts and get that batting average to .300 or above, he should be able to catch up to Yoshida. That said, Yoshida doesn’t appear to be slowing down, so his batting average and ability to lift a team offensively may ultimately prevail. 

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Hunter Brown, Houston Astros

Pitching Stats: 5-3, 3.69 ERA, 68.1 IP, 79 Ks, 23 Walks

Odds: Caesars Sportsbook (+650)

We have our first pitcher making an appearance here, and it’s Hunter Brown, who’s serving as more of a back-end of the rotation player.

For a rookie pitcher, he’s performing well with an ERA under 3.70 and a K/9 over 10. However, the strength of the hitters above him will be tough to catch. Again, his statistics are rock-solid for a rookie. Still, if his ERA was closer to 3.00 with these numbers, then he’d have a real shot of even supplanting Yoshida with a batting average above .300. 

Either way, the Astros have found an excellent No. 3 or No. 4 starter for the foreseeable future.