This American League Rookie Class May Be The Most Talented Group Of Rookies We've Ever Seen

We made it folks, MLB's Opening Day. A day we thought may not happen just a few weeks ago, but look at us now. We made it. A lot of great storylines bringing us into the season opener but one thing I can't get my mind off of, the AL Rookie Class has a chance to be an all time class. There are 6 or 7 legit names who could win the AL Rookie Of The Year and it wouldn't surprise me. This class is absolutely stacked, event the guys who aren't going to be mentioned for ROY have the chance to be great. This group of guys are going to be so much fun to watch all year, and hopefully for years to come. Some of the recent classes are damn good, 2012 had Trout, Harper, Machado, and Anthony Rizzo. 2015 had Carlos Correa, Kris Bryant, Francisco Lindor, Noah Syndergaard, and Kyle Schwarber. Hell, 1977 had Eddie Murray and Andre Dawson, but this 2022 class could be all time. Let's just dive into some of these names and their odds via the Barstool Sportsbook real quick. 

Bobby Witt Jr. - Kansas City Royals (Barstool Sportsbook ROY Odds +257)

Odds on favorite to win the Rookie Of The Year award, Witt has all the makings of becoming a stud infielder. He has the bat, the speed, the power, he's incredible. There was a short period of time where it was thought the Orioles could take Witt Jr. first overall in the 2019 Draft before taking Adley Rutschman. He ended up going #2 to KC and he's been hitting ever since. He's going to continue to hit too. He's only 21, just hit .406 with 3 homers, 8 driven in, and 2 stolen bases this spring. He's the odds on favorite to win the Rookie Of The Year award, something that wouldn't be a surprise to anyone. He's the absolute real deal. KC got a stud here.

Julio Rodriguez - Seattle Mariners (Barstool Sportsbook ROY Odds +475)

J-Rod is built like everyone I create in MLB The Show. He just looks like a ball player. The #3 overall prospect in baseball will be in the starting lineup for the Mariners who are a popular pick to make the playoffs this year. They'll go as he goes, and I have a feeling they're in for a good ride. Greg Amsinger of MLB Network said Rodriguez was a mix between Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto….2 decent players to be compared to. He's a superstar in the making and is going to put up some massive numbers. The only thing that may hurt him is he plays in Seattle. West coast, so you're only going to really see him on late night MLB Network. It didn't hurt Ichiro, but it does help that J-Rod has an insane amount of hype around him. The flashy jewelry, he's confident but not cocky, he's got the whole package. Any other year he'd be a shoo in. But he's by far the best outfield rookie prospect out there right now. 

Spencer Torkelson - Detroit Tigers (Barstool Sportsbook ROY Odds +525)

Tork Daddy is a guy who is going to hit some MONSTER home runs. He's going to send a lot of balls wayyyyy deep into the seats in Detroit. He's an unreal hitter, he was fantastic at ASU and it hasn't dropped off in the minors. He, Witt, and Adley Rutschman all have very similar power, but Tork's just look different off his bat. How good was he at ASU? He broke the Sun Devils record for home runs in a season with 25. Barry Bonds held the previous record with 11. That's how good he is. He was the 1st overall pick in the 2020 draft for good reason. Such raw power from this guy, good chance he sniffs 30 home runs as a rookie. Not a bad pick for ROY and easily the best first baseman in this class. He's got some big shoes to fill up there in Detroit too, I think he's up for it.

Adley Rutschman - Baltimore Orioles (Barstool Sportsbook ROY Odds + 750)

If you know me you know I've got a man crush on Adley. He's the Orioles lord and savior. He's the guy that will bring Baltimore back to the promise land. He plays a premium position and has 70 power. Switch hitter, filthy on defensive, built like a horse, he's the real deal. His floor is basically an All-Star player. Ceiling is a top 3 MVP candidate and the best catcher in baseball. The big knock against him for ROY is he's out a few more weeks with a triceps injury. He was going to make the Opening Day roster but the injury shut him down a few weeks before. So he'll be debuting well after most of these guys, but at least he'll have his day in the sun and not share it on Opening Day with the others. But honestly, he has a legit chance to be the top catcher in baseball, the day he steps on the the field for the first time he's a top 6-7 catcher in the game. Would love to know how many All Star Games we will see with Rutschman, Witt Jr., and Rodriguez up the middle. That is a murders row. Adley is going to be the top backstop in baseball for years to come.

Shane Baz - Tampa Bay Rays (Barstool Sportsbook ROY Odds +1100)

Even though Baz is out for a few more weeks after getting elbow surgery a few weeks back, I had to put him on the list. Why? He's simply that good, and he plays for the Rays and they can develop pitching like it's nobodies business. He dominated Double-A and Triple-A before making his MLB debut last season. He made three starts for Tampa going 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 18 Ks and only 3 walks in 13 1/3rd innings. Damn good for a 22 year-old. Tampa liked him so much they threw him out there to start game 2 of the ALDS. The injury hurts his chances for ROY but you know Tampa will be in the thick of the race and he'll likely be one of their top guys. With Tyler Glasnow out for a while, Baz may end up being the ace for this Tampa Bay staff. Legit chance he eats up the AL East for a long time (until Tampa trades him out west for a boatload of prospects).

Jeremy Peña - Houston Astros (Barstool Sportsbook ROY Odds +1500)

People in Houston were freaking out over who was going to play shortstop once Carlos Correa left for Minnesota. Jeremy Peña, that's who. The number 1 ranked Astros prospect showed why this spring. He hit .350, had a .381 OBP, slugged .700 with an OPS of 1.081. Decent numbers there for the youngster who's known as a wizard with the leather. He hit 2 homers this spring, both coming in the same game, but he finished spring very strong. People are excited over this guy and for good reason. He isn't like Correa though, he isn't the power hitter at short, but he's still a really good player.

Reid Detmers - Los Angeles Angels (Barstool Sportsbook ROY Odds +3000)

I know, Angels and pitchers don't go together. Reid Detmers may be the guy to break that streak. He's breaking camp as the Angels #6 starter (you can do that when you have Ohtani) and should catch peoples attention pretty quickly. He struggled last year after the came up in August but this spring he was deadly on the mound. All he does is throw strikes, solid fastball and really good curveball. Just look at some of those pitches up there. He's currently the top rated lefty pitcher prospect and the Angels are going to let him show why he earned that ranking. This kid has a chance to be very good. We'll just have to see if he can keep that Angels pitching stink off of him. A super talented kid who's going to get a lot of run support, hopefully that helps his case. 

Grayson Rodriguez - Baltimore Orioles (Barstool Sportsbook ROY Odds +3300)

The top pitching prospect in baseball for good reason. I witnessed this horse hit 103 on an MLB radar gun more than a handful of times. He has an overpowering fastball that moves late, an above average changeup, a slider, and his curveball has become a really good pitch for him. It always helps when you're throwing to a catcher like Adley Rutschman too, he'll steal you some strikes. But pound for pound Grayson may be the most talented pitcher in this class. 6'5, 220 coming at you with almost 100 every pitch has to be terrifying. He has the makings of a flamethrower ace. He's one of those big Texas high school kids so you know he was put on this earth to be a pitcher. When it's all said and done I think there's a good chance he is the prize of this class on the bump. It'll be a few weeks but we will for sure see him in the league. 

Those are just 8 names that I mentioned, and I didn't even get to talk about Riley Greene (+1100) who was going to be on this list but due to his injury I held him off. Guys like Vidal Brujan (+2500), Jarren Durran (+2500), Triston Casas (+3500), Josh Lowe (+2800), Luis Gil (+4000), Daulton Jefferies (+3300), I could keep going on for another 5-6 names. This entire class is stacked, such a deep class. talent at all positions all around the diamond. You have to feel good with the state of the American League with guys who could become the top players in the game all in this league. All of these guys coming up at basically the same time is awesome. Pay special attention to these young guys, they're different. The AL is in good hands. In 30 years we're going to look back at this rookie class and be SHOCKED at how many stud, Hall Of Famers are in this class. Those top 4 guys alone are all unreal talents, some would say generational talents. Now go enjoy some baseball and watch these rookies tear it up.