2022 AL Rookie of the Year Opening Odds, Contenders

Wander Franco might be close to an odds-on favorite to win the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year Award if he wasn’t classified as a rookie last year. Instead, a trio of top prospects are the favorites to be named the top debutante in the American League this season. The top four prospects in baseball coming into the 2022 campaign are all in the AL, so this could be an incredible race.

2022 AL Rookie of the Year Betting Odds

• Bobby Witt Jr. +300
• Spencer Torkelson +450
• Adley Rutschman +550
• Shane Baz +700
• Julio Rodriguez +800
• Jeremy Pena +1100
• Riley Greene +1500
• Joe Ryan +2000
• All Other Players +2800 or More

Odds Provided by DraftKings - Subject to Change

Bobby Witt Jr. is the frontrunner after dominating at AA and AAA last season. Witt didn’t play a game in the big leagues, but there is a lot of hype surrounding him after his performance in 2021. He hit 33 home runs with a .936 OPS, and his stats were virtually identical between AA and AAA. We saw a big-name prospect in Jarred Kelenic struggle mightily after being promoted in 2021 though, so this price is a bit low.

Another one of the favorites to avoid is Spencer Torkelson. Detroit might be ready to turn the corner as a franchise, and Torkelson is likely to make the jump to the majors early this year. However, he split time between A, AA, and AAA last season, and his numbers went down each time he was promoted.

Adley Rutschman is the only frontrunner worth backing at the current price. Rutschman was a standout catcher at Oregon State, and he made the necessary adjustments with his hitting last season. The No. 1 pick in the 2019 MLB Draft won’t be in the minors long, and although he will toil away with Baltimore, he will have plenty of chances to impress voters.

There will be some people that take chances on Julio Rodriguez of Seattle too. Rodriguez has a little bit of value at 8-1, but there’s a decent chance he doesn’t see the majors until June or July.  He was only promoted to AA midway through last season, and he spent just 46 games with the Arkansas Travelers in 2021.

If you are looking for a longshot that can pay off in a big way, take a gander at Vidal Brujan at 28-1 to be named AL Rookie of the Year. Tampa Bay has been better at finding and developing talent than any other team in baseball the last decade, and the Rays have had four of the last 14 AL Rookie of the Year winners. Brujan struggled in his 10 games in The Show last season, but he had much needed seasoning and possesses enough speed to be among the league leaders in stolen bases.