I’m not sure if I’ll get to previewing every major MLB award with the season opening three weeks from Wednesday, but I do want to look at the latest odds for National League Rookie of the Year at DraftKings Sportsbook and specifically Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin, the +280 favorite. The top prospect in the sport has been showing power this spring.
Do the Pirates know how to draft or what? They took LSU pitcher Paul Skenes at No. 1 overall in 2023 – really a no-brainer choice – and he might already be the best right-hander in the majors. Skenes won 2024 NL Rookie of the Year honors and then claimed the Cy Young Award last year after leading the majors in ERA. Will Skenes, the +225 Cy Young favorite this year, finish his career in Pittsburgh? My guess would be no simply for financial reasons, but that’s for another day.
The Guardians, Reds, Rockies, Athletics, White Sox, Royals, Cardinals and Angels are likely kicking themselves for not taking Griffin in the 2024 MLB Draft as those clubs were in the top eight spots. Cleveland selected Oregon State infielder Travis Bazzana at No. 1 overall.
Bazzana is a strong prospect and ranked No. 20 overall by MLB.com but the 19-year-old Griffin, the ninth pick out of Jackson Prep in Mississippi, is easily No. 1. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder is a five-tool guy who also can play center field. Griffin hit .333 with 21 homers and 65 steals last year across three minor league levels, topping out at Double-A Altoona. He was named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year.
The Pirates brought Griffin to spring camp in Florida with an opportunity to win the everyday shortstop job, although I think the general plan was to have him start the year in the minors (protecting a year of service time) before joining the Show and forming perhaps the most dynamic young duo in the majors with Skenes. The Bucs did keep Skenes in the minor leagues to start his rookie season even though he was clearly ready.
Also note that Skenes spent three years in college and was two weeks shy of turning 22 when he debuted in May 2024. Griffin would be the first teenage hitter to debut on Opening Day since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989. He turned out pretty well but didn’t win AL Rookie of the Year. The youngest Rookie of the Year winner in either league was Bryce Harper, who won in his age 19 season in 2012.
National League Rookie of the Year odds (via DraftKings)
Bet on Major League Baseball at DraftKings:
Griffin, who turns 20 on April 24, may be forcing the Pirates’ hand so far with a team-best three homers and six RBI in just 14 at-bats – he got Monday’s Grapefruit League game off. His OPS is a stellar 1.124, although his batting average (.214) and OBP (.267) leave a lot to be desired.
What might we expect from Griffin this year if he does leave the Sunshine State with the big club? MLB.com did an interesting breakdown of the 18 position players in the past 40 years to debut as teenagers. The average debut year OPS+ of those players is 75, which means about 25% below MLB average when adjusting for ballpark and run-scoring environments. Griffey slashed .264/.329/.420 with 16 homers and 16 steals as a rookie, while Harper hit 22 homers with a .270/.340/.477 slash line.
There are only two other players below +1100 at DraftKings for NL Rookie of the Year: St. Louis shortstop J.J. Wetherholt (+425 and the No. 5 overall prospect) and New York Mets righty Nolan McLean (+500; No. 6 overall prospect). McLean would be my early lean. The 24-year-old is locked into the No. 2 spot in the rotation and was excellent in 2025 at 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 48.0 innings. He retained his rookie status due to his protracted playing time at the top level.
You don’t have to be on a good team to win Rookie of the Year — neither of last year’s winners, Atlanta’s Drake Baldwin and Sacramento’s Nick Kurtz, played on a winning club. But it only helps if said rookie is a big contributor to a playoff team. The Pirates likely won’t make the playffs and the rebuilding Cardinals definitely won’t. The Mets should be contenders.
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