Top MLB Rookies for 2024: Who Could Win?

The Rookie of the Year race in the MLB season is one of the annual awards that is highly anticipated in the game. This year’s edition is not running short of deserving players who are performing at a high level in the current season, which makes it more fun to enjoy especially with top-notch performances from the young players who are expected to make an impact for their respective teams.

Why the Rookie of the Year Race is Hyped?

Many people claim that rookies are quite a nuisance, especially when it comes to various teams’ playoff runs where these young players are overcome with pressure and end up underperforming. Still, their contributions to the club in the season remains invaluable, and this year’s edition is seeing a lot of promising performances on the big stage from rookies, which is why many fans are expecting to see some crucial rookies stepping up to deliver promising wins for their respective teams. This is why there are a lot of talks as to how this year’s Rookie of the Year race may yet be one of the most exciting awards races to look out for.

Gunnar Henderson was the best player from the previous rookie class image

One thing that rookie critics should always consider is the fact that every win in the season, whether it would come in April or even August, matters a lot more than most people think. Clubs that are chasing a spot in the playoffs or are looking to secure a home-field advantage will find every single win a massive blessing – and rookies, like it or not, play a huge role in securing each of those victories. Not all rookies are impactful, that’s true, but the ones who shine on the big stage when it matters most deserve a lot of credit when it’s due.

Rookies also play a huge role in making their teams better, and this year’s set of rookies doesn’t fall short of any less expectations considering the fact that they have done a great job of helping their respective clubs take a leap.

Who are the Top Rookie of the Year Candidates?

There are a lot of promising rookies who are delivering a promising set of performances in the current season, and one can definitely say that these players are definitely shining bright when it matters most. So far, there are at least five players who are getting a number of first-place votes based on the recent poll among MLB’s analysts, which is a good basis for their chances of winning the Rookie of the Year award by the end of the season.

Here are the top candidates for the Rookie of the Year award:

Paul Skenes (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Paul Skenes image

Paul Skenes is known well for being a promising pitcher in college, and he has been quite the rising star for the Pittsburgh Pirates so far. His rise to prominence isn’t unexpected, given how high his potential upside was to begin with. Skenes has been praised for his impressive upside in the game, and it cannot be denied that we are seeing a promising pitcher emerge at the top of the league. While the Pirates aren’t really much of a highly competitive team at this point, it is worth noting that they are not that far behind the .500 mark, which is a drastic improvement from their 76-86 record, which saw them finish with a .469 winning percentage in the previous season. That’s how Skenes’ impact is becoming a huge help for the team’s hopes of improving into a contender soon enough.

Luis Gil (New York Yankees)

The absence of Gerrit Cole has played a huge role in the Yankees giving Luis Gil extended minutes as their main pitcher in the rotation. It cannot be denied that Gil’s impressive performances have led New York to a drastic improvement, alongside Aaron Judge’s improvement in the game as a whole. So far, what turned out to be a lackluster June with a 2-2 record in just 6.45 ERA in five stars, Gil has been a promising player with a strong whiff at 29.2% and strikeout rates at 28%. So far, the Yankees would not have been contending for the top spot in AL East had it not been for Gil’s contributions, which makes him the most important rookie on this list.

Luis Gil image

Colton Cowser (Baltimore Orioles)

Colton Cowser image

The Baltimore Orioles are enjoying a massive stride in their games thanks to superb performances from Colton Cowser, who has been quite the elite performer with a total of 12 homers as of July 1st, and 116 OPS+. He is hitting the ball hard with a high barrel rate, and his offensive production has taken a massive upside thanks to his consistency. Of course, there will be struggles for rookies, such as Cowser’s low batting average of .223, which just means that there’s still a lot to improve in his games, but he is definitely showing the massive potential that many rookies cannot come up with this early in the season.

Mason Miller (Oakland Athletics)

The Oakland Athletics are dead second to the last in the American League, but it cannot be denied that Mason Miller is showing off his impressive right-hand game for the A’s at this point, and he is shining bright on that end. He leads all the AL relievers when it comes to various stat line such as strikeouts (64), strikeout percentage (47.1), K/9 (15.7), fWAR (1.6) and batting average against (.132). If you are not impressed, Miller has already managed to notch a total saves of 14 in 16 opportunities all while pitching at a promising rate of 1.96 ERA. Miller deserves to be on this list if he is not going to win at all, and it cannot be denied that he is going to be the top star that the A’s can build around.

Mason MIller image

Joey Ortiz (Milwaukee Brewers)

Joey Ortiz image

Perhaps the highly underrated batter on this list, Joey Ortiz is arguably one of the biggest rookies who is enjoying a promising campaign in the National League, with the Brewers sitting third in the standings as of the time of writing. His OPS of .835 leads all rookies at the top hitters, and he also boasts a .380 on-base percentage. If you’re not impressed by those, Ortiz clearly ranks second among rookies in walks at 35, which hints at an elite potential for the batter. The A’s have also had him explore defensive opportunities, and he has played multiple infield positions and is one of the leaders in Runs Prevented and Outs Above Average, making him a young potential Shohei Ohtani in the making.

What to Expect in the 2024 MLB Rookie of the Year Race?

The Rookie of the Year race doesn’t wrap up in a snap. There’s still a few months of action to look out for. What makes this year’s edition more exciting is the fact that there are multiple rookies playing on various playoff teams, which means that we will be seeing these rooks take on the bigger stage of the MLB with all of the mounting pressure on their backs.

Make sure to stay tuned for the latest updates on the MLB and the rest of the sports world! Don’t miss out on the latest happenings with GambleSpot! We have top-notch news, blogs, tournament previews, game predictions, betting guides, game analyses, and many other sports-related content that you can use to make promising bets that will yield you massive rewards!