Lewis and Bohm Favored To Win 2020 AL and NL Rookie of the Year Awards

The 2020 MLB season will be one to remember. Rather than the full 162-game swing, baseball teams were limited to just 60 contests each amid the coronavirus pandemic. MLB announced last week the three finalists for the AL and NL Rookie of the Year Awards, with the winners to be revealed on November 9.

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Bovada has listed Seattle Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis as the favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year at -500. Lewis is followed by Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert at +425 and Houston Astros pitcher Cristian Javier at +1200 to round out the three candidates in AL Rookie of the Year odds.

In the NL Rookie of the Year odds, sportsbooks have pegged Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm as the favorite at -135. He’s followed by San Diego Padres utility player Jake Cronenworth at +185 and Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Devin Williams at +450.

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Can Lewis Edge Out Robert For AL ROY?

Odds as of November 5 at Bovada

Why Lewis Is The AL ROY Favorite

Kyle Lewis was selected 11th overall in the 2016 MLB Draft and came into the majors this year doing what he does best, which is get on base. The speedy outfielder joined the Mariners lineup batting around the sixth spot but quickly became a staple in the three hole.

Lewis had fallen off people’s radar because he was working his way back from a serious right knee injury and wasn’t even included on MLB’s Top 100 Prospects list coming into 2020. He now has the best odds to win AL Rookie of the Year at -500.

Lewis got off to a blazing start, slashing .328/.418/.527 with eight home runs in 36 games through to the end of August, which really helped put him back on the radar. The six-foot-four, 220-pounder finished the season with a line of .262/.364/.437 to go along with 11 homers, 28 runs batted in and five stolen bases.

Everything he did this season jumped out at you. He led all AL rookies in WAR (1.7), runs scored (37), walks (34), total bases (90), on-base percentage (.364), slugging percentage (.437) and OPS (.801), and was also tied for first in home runs by a rookie (11).

Not only was he great offensively but he was superb defensively. He found a way to track down almost every ball hit to him in the outfield.

OMG, KYLE LEWIS.pic.twitter.com/RwOAaA8ti2

— MLB (@MLB) September 15, 2020

Lewis deserves to be the AL Rookie of the Year odds favorite among this trio. He is vying to become the first Mariners player to win the award since outfielder Ichiro Suzuki did it in 2001.

Can Bohm Hold Off Cronenworth And Williams?

Odds as of November 5 at Bovada

Bohm’s Away with the NL ROY Odds

As a member of the Wichita State Shockers, Alec Bohm was so good that the Philadelphia Phillies selected him third overall in the 2018 draft. Bohm had a meteoric rise, with his contract only optioned to the majors on August 13, and he wasn’t even listed in MLB Rookie of the Year odds.

That’s what makes this so crazy. He has the best odds to win NL Rookie of the Year at -135 because of how great he was in just over a month of action. He had 54 hits in just 160 at-bats, good for a .338 batting average.

His 11 doubles were good for 25th-best in the NL and he played a very good third base. He only slugged four home runs but his 23 RBIs puts him in the neighborhood of AL rookie award candidates Lewis and Robert, who both played a full season. Bohm is the complete package and despite a small sample size, he is the right person to be the NL Rookie of the Year odds favorite.

First baseman Ryan Howard was the last Phillies player to be named NL Rookie of the Year, in 2005. Scott Rolen, another highly touted Phils third baseman who went on to star in the majors for 17 years, won it in 1997.