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

Matt McLain, Corbin Carroll, Javier Assad, Kodai Senga and Nolan Jones are all worthy candidates for the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year Award, but who will win?

Jack Vita | Oct 14, 2023

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

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Now that the 2023 Major League Baseball regular season has reached its end, MLB awards season will soon be upon us.

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

5) Javier Assad, RHP, Chicago Cubs

32 G, 10 GS, 5-3, 3.05 ERA, 109.1 IP, 147 ERA+, 4.29 FIP, 1.226 WHIP, 7.7 SO9, 2.29 SO/W, 2.3 WAR

Assad made his big league debut in August of last year. Though he impressed in his eight starts, he opened the 2023 season in the Chicago Cubs' bullpen when the club's pitching rotation consisted of Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele, Drew Smyly, Jameson Taillon and Hayden Wesneski. When Wesneski, Taillon and Smyly each struggled and Stroman landed on the IL at the start of August, Assad received a chance to start. The right hander emerged as the club's third-best starter behind Steele and Kyle Hendricks during the final stretch of the season, logging a 2.84 ERA over 50.2 IP.

4) Matt McLain, SS, Cincinnati Reds

89 G, .290/.357/.864, 16 HR, 50 RBI, 14 SB, 129 OPS+, 3.7 WAR

McLain would probably be higher on this list, had he played more games and not gone down with an oblique strain at the end of August. He may have been the Cincinnati Reds' most valuable player in 2023. While slashing .290/.357/.864 and playing stellar defense at shortstop, the Reds went 50-42 between the time of McLain's May 15 call-up and his season-ending injury. Cincinnati was 32-38 without their star rookie on the roster.

3) Nolan Jones, OF Colorado Rockies

106 G, .297/.389/.931, 20 HR, 62 RBI, 20 SB, 138 OPS+, 4.3 WAR

The Colorado Rockies acquired Jones in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians over the winter and the Guardians sure could have used Jones' pop in their lineup this season. He batted .297 with a .389 OBP, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Jones is a star in the making and was the lone bright spot for the Rockies, who lost 103 games in 2023.

2) Kodai Senga, RHP New York Mets

29 G, 29 GS, 12-7, 2.98 ERA, 166.1 IP, 142 ERA+, 3.63 FIP, 1.220 WHIP, 10.9 SO/W, 4.5 WAR

Had Senga logged more innings, he would warrant serious NL Cy Young Award consideration. Nonetheless, Senga was remarkable in 29 starts this season, logging a 2.98 ERA and 142 ERA+.

1) Corbin Carroll, OF Arizona Diamondbacks

155 G, .285/.362/.868, 25 HR, 76 RBI, 54 SB, 134 OPS+, 5.4 WAR

While Assad, Senga, Jones and McLain all had exceptional rookie campaigns, Corbin Carroll set himself apart as this year's best newcomer in the National League. Carroll will likely finish top-5 in NL MVP voting, and was an integral part of the Arizona Diamondbacks' success in 2023.

Published Oct 14, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies, 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.