Masataka Yoshida hasn’t been the only rookie in Major League Baseball to have a strong start this season.
The Boston Red Sox left fielder was among the favorites to win American League Rookie of the Year heading into the 2023 season, and he is the favorite to win the award at +145 at FanDuel Sportsbook.
But Corbin Carroll has lived up to the hype for the National League West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s why ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield, Bradford Doolittle and Kiley McDaniel ranked the outfielder No. 1 in their rookie rankings Wednesday. He is the favorite to win National League Rookie of the Year at -135, which makes it his award to lose.
Yoshida was ranked No. 3 behind Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung, who has the second-shortest odds to win AL Rookie of the Year at +400. ESPN acknowledged Yoshida has better offensive stats than Jung, but the defensive play of the Rangers third baseman gave him the edge over Yoshida, who still is adjusting in that department.
“Yoshida’s continued value will hinge, as expected, almost entirely on his ability to produce at the plate,” Doolittle wrote on what to watch out for during the rest of 2023. “… The part that’s been a little surprising is the pop: Yoshida’s isolated power figures have been well above the MLB average. His expected numbers, based on his Statcast measures, suggest there might be a bit of regression to come, but not a ton. Yoshida has been what the Red Sox have thought he would be, and that’s a good thing. We should be seeing this exact player over the next handful of seasons.”
Scouts expressed concern over Yoshida’s ability to transition from Nippon Professional Baseball to MLB, and while Red Sox coaches are working on his defensive aspects of the game, his offense has been a valuable part of the Red Sox lineup.
Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown was ranked fourth on ESPN’s list and has +550 odds to win AL Rookie of the Year. Oddsmakers see it as a three-man race between Yoshida, Jung and Brown — Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Taj Bradley, Oakland Athletics outfielder Esteury Ruiz and Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee have +2000 odds to win the award.
You’re buying high on Yoshida if you’re betting on the 29-year-old in June, but Carroll’s price at least indicates odds could be shorter if Yoshida continues his pace, so the sooner the better when betting on the Red Sox outfielder.
Boston faces off against Bibee and the Guardians at Progressive Field on Wednesday. Full coverage of the matchup can be watched on NESN with pregame starting at 6 p.m. ET.
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