National League Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
In full disclosure, if I felt that St. Louis Cardinals’ prospect Jordan Walker would be in MLB all season, I would have chosen him for this award. Reality is, the young Walker has yet to even play at the Triple-A level, much less the big-league level. He will be in St. Louis very soon, and when he gets there, he will rake.
But enough about someone that I didn’t even select for this prediction. The selection here is Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Corbin Carroll, and it was a pretty easy choice. Carroll may be small, but he is awfully wiry. Standing at 5-foot-10 and listed at 165 pounds, the left-handed center fielder can flat out run. In fact, Baseball Savant lists Carroll in the 100th percentile in sprint speed.
Carroll will not only be patrolling center field for the D-backs, but is slated to be their leadoff hitter as well. This will give him plenty of opportunities to show off his bat skills and wreak havoc on the bases.
Corbin had the opportunity to play in 32 games late last season for Arizona. In those games, he slashed an impressive .260/.330/.500, slugged four home runs, and had a 130 wRC+. Those numbers along with the overall talent that he is, led the Diamondbacks to signing the 22-year-old to an eight-year, $111 million contract (with a 2031 team option) last weekend. With the money part taken care of, Carroll can relax and enjoy the ride. A ride that should take him to be Rookie of the Year in the National League for 2023.