MLB futures: Rookies out West to watch despite their long ROY odds
Sure, the MLB season is only a month old, but it's never too early to look at which rookies are already shaping up to have a strong case for AL and NL Rookies of the Year.
But you will notice something very interesting when you go to your de facto sportsbook and look up the betting odds for who will win ROY honors: The favorites in both leagues are predominantly from East Coast and Midwest teams.
Outside of San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill — who is listed at +500 to win NL ROY after a very hot start to his season — the Left Coast is getting little love from oddsmakers as April comes to a close.
Should you consider putting early money on a rookie west of the Great Plains who has longer odds?
Here are a few candidates for you to consider.
Arizona Diamondbacks rookie shortstop Blaze Alexander is flying so under the radar that major books like BetMGM don't even list him on their ROY odds boards. FanDuel lists him, however, as a +3500 (35-1) long shot to win the end-of-season honor, and this may be the time to wager on him given how impressive he's been so far. The 24-year-old is slashing .316/.371/.544 with three home runs, 13 RBI and 18 hits through 57 at-bats. His power at the plate really came through on his third homer of the season, which was a towering grand slam against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park — which any hardcore baseball fan will tell you is not an easy venue to hit a home run in.
Speaking of the Giants, rookie outfielder Jung Hoo Lee is listed at 15-1 at DraftKings to win NL ROY while starting pitcher Kyle Harrison is a 30-1 long shot. Lee ranks second among all rookies with 25 hits and is finding consistency at the plate. Harrison is tied for second in the league with two wins over five starts and has pitched into the sixth inning in three of those games. Since San Francisco gets overshadowed by the Los Angeles Dodgers on the national news cycle, bettors outside of the greater Bay Area may not be as aware of these two players. But they are certainly worth keeping an eye on their performances — and their betting odds — over the next month.
Taking a look just across the Bay Bridge, Oakland A's catcher Kyle McCann is off to a solid start in his rookie campaign — although you wouldn't know it by his long 150-1 odds to win AL Rookie of the Year. Granted, being on the A's makes it difficult to win any awards these days since they are playing below .500 yet again this season and are making more headlines for their low crowd sizes and move to Las Vegas. Nonetheless, McCann is tied for sixth in the league with a .500 slugging percentage and hit the first home run of his career against veteran pitcher Lance Lynn.
He may be the longest shot on our list, but McCann is worth keeping an eye on — especially if you need something positive to look for when the A's are playing.
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