MLB: Listing the top 5 contenders for the NL Rookie of the Year in 2023

The National League Rookie of the Year honor is an illustrious achievement. Winning this MLB award means you join the ranks of legends such as Fernando Valenzuela, Darryl Strawberry, Mike Piazza, and the great Albert Pujols. Also, the prospect who wins the Rookie of the Year earns his team an additional draft pick.

Let’s look at the top five MLB candidates for the NL Rookie of the Year Award

Sal Frelick, Milwaukee Brewers

Sal Frelick will start the season in Triple-A, but how long will he stay there? The Brewers have had a string of injuries, leaving a hole in right field. Frelick looks to be the right solution for the Brewers’ problem sooner than later.

Frelick returned to the Brewers in Arizona for spring training after impressing the world by playing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Since returning, he has been hitting a jaw-dropping .385/.385/.808 with three stolen bases. Frelick will have an excellent average and has already proved to have the clutch gene by coming up with big hits for Italy.

He will be hard to best for NL Rookie of the year if he holds a .300 average over 450+ at-bats. The stolen bases will be there; the only thing he is lacking is the ability for 25+ homers. For that reason, Frelick is number five on the NL ROY list.

Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds have their everyday third baseman for the future ready for Opening Day. Spencer Steer is projected to get more than 400 at-bats this year which, looking at his impressive spring numbers, have landed him at number four on our list. Steer has a slash line of .271/.364/.864 in 48 at-bats. On a subpar Reds team, he will be batting toward the bottom of the lineup to start the season, but could move up. His place in the lineup will help his NL ROY contention, but his team is why he isn’t ranked high on the list.

Kodai Senga, New York Mets

Senga is the number three contender for National League Rookie of the Year. After completing 11 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, he has signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the New York Mets. He brings a fastball that can reach triple digits and a rare forkball called the ghost fork. It is called the ghost fork because it disappears when thrown (it is thrown like a splitter but slower).

Unfortunately, we haven’t seen his signature ghost fork this spring due to tendinitis in his right index finger. Senga will be ready for the start of the season, and saving this mysterious pitch for the regular season and catching the league offguard could be a way for the Japanese veteran to walk away with the NL ROY.

Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona’s Corbin Carroll will open his first full season against the Dodgers in Los Angeles and is the number two top contender for the National League Rookie of the Year. Check out this walk-off blast against the Cubs.

Carroll is a first-round pick with both blazing speed and a powerful bat. He has astonished the baseball world this spring, confirming every scout was right about him. The D-backs will hit him atop the lineup in hopes of changing the course of the franchise.

However, the Diamondbacks are bad, and attendance at Chase Field fell below 20,000 on average last year. The weight and fate of the Diamondbacks franchise are on Carroll’s shoulders, and that burden alone is why he is number two on the list.

Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals

Walker is the unanimous favorite among analysts, baseball writers, and Las Vegas. Walker will be electric in the Cardinals’ stacked lineup. While most of the Cardinals were playing the WBC this spring, Walker posted a .286 batting average and OPS of .816. He has also a pair of homers and is nearing double-digits in RBI. I can only imagine what he will do hitting in front of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.

The mammoth 6-foot-5 outfielder has taken the Grapefruit League by storm with his power and speed. Check out the video of Walker, who learned on Saturday afternoon that he had made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster.

Expectations are high for Jordan, and he will look to replicate Pujols 2001 NL Rookie of the Year season when he hit .329 with 37 home runs. That’s a tall order, but at +450 odds, it seems like a good bet.