D-backs’ Corbin Carroll picked to win NL Rookie of the Year in latest MLB Pipeline rankings
May 5, 2023, 12:33 PM
Corbin Carroll #7 of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits the ball during the first inning of the Spring Training game against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 12, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
(Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll is favored to win the National League Rookie of the Year, according to MLB Pipeline’s latest rankings.
Once a month, the MLB Pipeline staff ranks the top 10 rookies in Major League Baseball by who they think will win the award come the end of the season.
After Carroll began the year at the No. 3 spot, he has climbed up to the top despite missing two games with a left knee contusion after crashing into the Coors Field wall on April 30.
We’ll be keeping an eye on Carroll, who suffered a leg injury in Saturday’s game, but so far he’s been exactly as expected. He hit his way onto prospect radars in the Minor Leagues. He hit upon arriving in the Majors last year. And what do you know? He’s kept hitting this season. Carroll’s chances of bringing home NL hardware also increased quite a bit — unfortunately, it should be noted — due to Jordan Walker being optioned to the Minors. Walker was No. 2, a hair ahead of Carroll, in the preseason rankings.
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Don’t fret too much, though, D-backs fans, as Carroll returned to the lineup on Wednesday with a pinch-hit base knock and run scored over two at-bats in a 12-7 win over the Texas Rangers.
Prior to the injury scare — and when these rankings came out — the 22-year-old lefty had a slash line of .309/.374/.910 in addition to four home runs, nine RBI, 10 stolen bases and 19 runs scored in 28 games played (97 at-bats).
In the NL, Carroll finished ahead of the likes of New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty (No. 4), Mets right-handed pitcher Kodai Senga (No. 7) and Los Angeles Dodgers OF James Outman (No. 8) in the rankings.
And while the D-backs outfielder won’t be competing directly against his American League counterparts, he still was ranked above Baltimore Orioles 3B Gunnar Henderson (No. 2), Houston Astros RHP Hunter Brown (No. 3), Rangers 3B Josh Jung (No. 5), Boston Red Sox OF Masataka Yoshida (No. 6), Orioles RHP Grayson Rodriguez (No. 9) and New York Yankees SS Anthony Volpe (No. 10).
At this rate, Arizona’s decision in March to sign Carroll to an eight-year, $111 million extension with a 2031 club option for a total of $134 million looks to be a home run.
