2023 MLB Awards: Top 5 AL Rookie of the Year Award Candidates

Tanner Bibee, Yainer Diaz, Gunnar Henderson and Triston Casas are all worthy candidates for the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year Award, but who will win the award?

Jack Vita | Oct 24, 2023

2023 MLB Awards: Top 5 AL Rookie of the Year Award Candidates /

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Baltimore Orioles

With the 2023 Major League Baseball regular season in the rearview, voting has already taken place for MLB's most prestigious awards.

Award winners will be announced in November, after the World Series.

As part of our 2023 MLB award selections, here are our top five American League Rookie of the Year Award candidates:

5) JP France, RHP Houston Astros

24 G, 23 GS, 11-6, 3.83 ERA, 136.1 IP, 110 ERA+, 4.66 FIP, 1.357 WHIP, 6.7 SO9, 2.15 SO/W, 1.5 WAR

After toiling away in the minor leagues for five years, France made his Major League debut at the age of 28 in early May. He seized his opportunity, posting a 2.75 ERA over the first 17 starts of his career, one of the lowest ERA's in all of baseball during that time. With injuries to Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr. and Jose Urquidy, France stepped into the Astros' rotation and played a critical role in Houston's return to the postseason, as they won their sixth division title in seven years.

4) Triston Casas, 1B Boston Red Sox

132 G, .263/.367/.856, 24 HR, 65 RBI, 0 SB, 129 OPS+, 2.2 WAR

Casas was one of two Boston Red Sox rookies that really shined in 2023. Masataka Yoshida excelled in his first season playing in the United States, but it was Casas that put forth the better season between the two of them, besting Yoshida in OBP, OPS, home runs and OPS+.

3) Yainer Diaz, C Houston Astros

104 G, .282/.308/.846, 23 HR, 60 RBI, 0 SB, 128 OPS+, 3.2 WAR

In only 104 games, Diaz slugged 23 home runs, compiled 60 RBI and batted .282... fantastic numbers for a catcher!

2) Gunnar Henderson, IF Baltimore Orioles

150 G, .255/.325/.814, 28 HR, 82 RBI, 10 SB, 125 OPS+, 6.3 WAR

The Baltimore Orioles won 101 games in 2023, posting their highest win total in a season since 1979, and Henderson was a huge reason why. In his first full season, he slashed an impressive .255/.325/.814, smashing 28 home runs and 82 RBI.

1) Tanner Bibee, RHP Cleveland Guardians

25 G, 25 GS, 10-4, 2.98 ERA, 142.0 IP, 140 ERA+, 3.52 FIP, 1.176 WHIP, 8.9 SO9, 3.13 SO/W, 3.6 WAR

Henderson will most likely win the award, but Bibee is our pick for the AL's top rookie. Like France, Bibee stepped into a pitching rotation riddled by injuries and delivered. He logged a 2.98 ERA, 10-4 record and 140 ERA+ across 142.0 IP. The Guardians continue to churn out promising young arms from their farm system, like a factory.

Published Oct 24, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Orioles, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.