National League Rookie of the Year Odds: Corbin Carroll Is the Runaway Favorite

We're well into the MLB season at this point, and some things are starting to take shape. This includes the betting odds for the major awards.

Today, let's look at the National League Rookie of the Year odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Of all the awards, this one has the clearest favorite. Let's look at the odds and see if there's anyone who could change that.

Corbin Carroll, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

The clear favorite to win this award is Corbin Carroll. He has not only been the best rookie, but he's one of the top players in all of baseball.

Carroll has completely exploded onto the scene. His weighted on-base average (wOBA) is second behind only Aaron Judge in MLB. His weighted runs created plus (wRC+) is third in baseball. These impressive stats have him leading the entire league in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), according to FanGraphs.

It's not unprecedented that a rookie could win the MVP award, and Carroll could be the first one to do it since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001. There are some areas where Carroll might regress, however. His expected wOBA (xwOBA) is a fair bit lower than his actual wOBA. This means he's experiencing a fair bit of luck with his batted balls.

It would take a ton of regression for Carroll to not win the award at this point, and that is reflected in his extremely short betting odds.

Elly De La Cruz, 3B/SS, Cincinnati Reds

He's played just eight games in the big leagues, but Elly De La Cruz has the second-best odds to be the NL Rookie of the Year. He's been one of the talking points around the league since getting called up and will need the hype to continue if he wants to get close to winning the award.

Obviously with De La Cruz only playing eight games, all of his numbers are over a small sample size. He's posted a .367 wOBA and a 129 wRC+ so far. What's been perhaps most impressive is he's stolen five bases in just eight games.

It's hard to know exactly what we'll get from De La Cruz moving forward since he's seen such little time in the major leagues. He has done one thing that award winners need to do -- generate some buzz from national media.

It's still possible that De La Cruz overtakes Carroll, but at this point, it would take a big step forward.

Bobby Miller, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

Like De La Cruz, Bobby Miller hasn't spent much time in MLB. He has shown enough promise to be considered the best rookie pitcher in the NL.

Miller is a power pitcher, averaging 98.8 MPH on his four-seam fastball. This has resulted in a 26.4% strikeout rate and an 11.8% swinging strike rate. His fielding independent pitching is a stellar 2.19. Of course, these numbers are only over the span of 23 innings.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a team that gets a lot of public attention, which could shine a light on Miller if he continues to excel. If they are able to overtake Carroll and theArizona Diamondbacks for the NL West crown, there's a chance he could get in the conversation. Taking a flier on him at the current odds could be worth the handsome reward.

Kodai Senga, SP, New York Mets

Kodai Senga is a rare 30-year-old rookie. He came over from Japan this season and has performed relatively well for the New York Mets.

Senga has been able to fool MLB hitters in his first season in the league. He has a 28.3% strikeout rate, earning swinging strikes on 12.3% of his pitches. Where he's struggling is with his control (14.3% walk rate). That would be the highest rate in the majors if he had enough innings to qualify.

While pitching well over some stretches, it's hard to make the case that Senga should win the Rookie of the Year award. His 4.10 FIP isn't exactly anything to write home about. If he is to even get into contention, he will definitely need to lower his walk rate quite a bit.

The +3500 odds reflect that Senga would need a massive change to get voters on his side.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.