Young excellence thrives in every pro sports league across the globe and we tend to reward those special youths who place themselves above the rest with extraordinary performances. The Rookie of the Year award, in MLB or in any sport, highlights the accomplishments of one or two particular first-year players who had outstanding debut seasons and showed the potential to become future stars.  

Tampa Bay rookie Randy Arozarena proved himself a star during the Rays' 2020 playoff run to the AL Pennant before winning the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2021, which simply confirmed what we already knew about his potential as a future star.

Julio Rodríguez began the year with plenty of hype and was projected to be one of baseball's top rookies. While he got off to a bit of a slow start, he's started to heat up with the weather and has passed Jeremy Peña to become the betting favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Rodríguez caught fire late in the first half and then put together an impressive runner-up showing in the Home Run Derby to further cement his status as an up-and-coming star.

Stepping in as the everyday starter and filling in for the departed Carlos Correa is no easy task, but Peña has risen to the occasion in Houston. After going 0-for-4 on Opening Day, Peña announced his arrival with a 3-for-5 performance, including a double and a homer, in the second game of the season and has continued to hit since.

The top of this odds board is littered with top prospects. Bobby Witt Jr and Adley Rutschman were all among baseball's top prospects entering the 2022 season and they've delivered early in their debut seasons.

Here's a look at some notable names atop the AL Rookie of the Year odds board:
Julio Rodríguez (-400)
Jeremy Peña (+700)
Bobby Witt Jr. (+100)
Adley Rutschman (+3000)
Riley Greene (+4000)