Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson once was considered the No. 1 overall prospect in the sport and was the +300 betting favorite at Caesars Sportsbook to win AL Rookie of the Year on the eve of the 2023 season. Henderson has been pretty good and his odds have dropped to +290, but he's now the third-favorite for the award behind Rangers third baseman Josh Jung (+125) and Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida (+275) with the second half set to begin Friday.
MLB has interesting rules for what constitutes a rookie. Jung played in 26 games last year for Texas but maintained his rookie status. Henderson played in 30 and did, too. Yoshida was a professional player in Japan for several years before coming over to the majors. To qualify as a rookie, a player must not have exceeded 130 at bats or 50 innings pitched in the majors.
Jung started for the AL at third base in Tuesday's All-Star Game loss. The 25-year-old was the first Rangers rookie in history to earn a starting assignment and just the second Rangers position player ever to make an All-Star squad as a rookie, joining teammate Adolis García (2021). Jung is slashing .280/.331/.504 with 19 home runs, 56 RBI and 62 runs scored for the AL West leaders. The 19 dingers are tied for the second-most ever by any rookie third baseman before the break, behind only Cleveland's Al Rosen in 1950 (25 homers). Jung's four multi-HR games (one last year) are the most ever by a Rangers rookie.
The Rangers have had two AL Rookie of the Year winners: First baseman (and future MLB manager) Mike Hargrove in 1974 and pitcher Neftali Feliz in 2010. If Texas wins the West, which it leads by two games, that only boosts Jung's candidacy. He was the AL Rookie of the Month for both April and May.
Yoshida, a four-time NPB All-Star and the winner of two Pacific League batting titles in Japan, was the +600 second-favorite at Caesars entering the season after an impressive World Baseball Classic showing with his country. Yoshida, who will turn 30 this weekend, leads the team with a .316 average and .382 OBP to go with 10 homers and 44 RBI and six steals. He has been quite a bit more productive at Fenway Park than on the road. The last Red Sox player to win the award was Dustin Pedroia in 2007.
Henderson has the highest ceiling of this trio. The 22-year-old is batting .246 with 13 HRs and 37 RBI. While those numbers aren't spectacular, Henderson has been much better since the start of June, slashing .303/.350/.578 and ranking among AL leaders in slugging, homers and OPS. Henderson was voted the AL Rookie of the Month for June, his first monthly award. He's the sixth O's rookie to earn the honor. The last Oriole to win Rookie of the Year was pitcher Gregg Olson in 1989.
No other betting option on this prop is below +1500.
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