AL Rookie of the Year Odds, Prediction: Trey Yesavage Favored Over Kazuma Okamoto, Munetaka Murakami

The Rookie of the Year award is one of the most interesting to handicap in Major League Baseball. While the MVP and Cy Young awards are won by established names, these young players have a chance to come in and impress in their first MLB seasons.

Of course, some of these players did see some action last season, and they’re usually ahead of the pack in the odds, but longshots can always come out of nowhere to take down the field.

The influx of international imports have also added a wrinkle in recent years, as we see in this year’s odds.

Let’s take a look at some of the 2026 AL Rookie of the Year odds ahead of the MLB season starting on March 25.

2026 AL Rookie of the Year Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Trey Yesavage: +370
Munetaka Murakami: +600
Carter Jensen: +600
Kazuma Okamoto: +600
Tatsuya Imai: +850
Kevin McGonigle: +900
Samuel Basallo: +1000
Dylan Beavers: +1300
Connelly Early: +1400
Chase DeLauter: +2000
Payton Tolle: +2200
Colt Emerson: +2200
Travis Bazzana: +2200
Walter Jenkins: +2500

The Toronto Blue Jays have two of the top players competing for the AL Rookie of the Year this season.

The first is Trey Yesavage, who rose through the ranks from Single-A to the World Series last year. In three regular-season starts, he allowed five runs on 13 hits while striking out 16 in 14 innings. He only got better in the postseason, allowing 11 runs on 18 hits with 39 strikeouts in just 27.2 innings, including four runs and 17 strikeouts in 12.2 innings in the World Series. The right-hander is the rightful favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year award.

Kazuma Okamoto isn’t a household name in North America, but he’s well known overseas. The Japanese third baseman had six 30-homer season in the NPB, and a career .782 OPS. If he can translate that to a solid Blue Jays lineup, he’ll have a chance at +600. Furthermore, he could make some noise in the World Baseball Classic to shorten his odds before he even makes his MLB debut. He also has the advantage of turning 30 in June, so he has plenty of professional experience under his belt.

Another player who appeared in last year’s postseason is Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter. He mashed 21 home runs with an .859 OPS in 34 Triple-A games last season. In a Cleveland lineup in need of some bats, he could rack up the counting stats hitting either ahead of or behind Jose Ramirez, who I also like for AL MVP.

Kevin McGonigle is another name to keep an eye on in Detroit. The Tigers prospect is battling for a roster spot out of spring training, so I don't want to pull the trigger just yet. However, he is a guy who could come up midseason and make a case to win the AL Rookie of the Year after an impressive showing in the Arizona Fall League.

Going back to those Japanese imports, Munetaka Murakami is up there as well. However, he’ll be joining a much worse team in the White Sox, which will allow teams to pitch around him if he does become truly dangerous. Still, he had 24 home runs and an OPS of 1.051 last year in the JPCL.

For my money, I want someone who is going to be playing from Opening Day and is close to a lock to staying in the majors. I’ll take the chalk of one of the Blue Jays. After all, Yesavage and McGonigle both received 25% of the vote from MLB executives earlier this offseason.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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