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The 2020 National League Rookie of the Year award, like most NL awards, will be going through the Los Angeles Dodgers and 2B Gavin Lux. Lux is a big favorite entering the year, while centering the infield for the 2020 World Series favorites. Below, we make our best bets and picks to win the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year award.
Players will accrue a pro-rated 2.8 days of service time for every day they spend on the 30-, 28- or 26-man rosters in 2020. Being included in the 30-man taxi squad will not count against MLB service time.
2020 NL Rookie of the Year best bets: Favorite
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Sunday, July 12 at 1:20 p.m. ET.
Los Angeles Dodgers 2B Gavin Lux (+250)
Lux is well worth a hefty bet even as the favorite. He enters the 60-game season as the starter at a premium position for the team expected to win the NL pennant. Lux should have plenty of opportunities to produce runs from the eighth spot in the batting order.
He slashed .240/.305/.400 with two home runs and two stolen bases across 23 games and 82 plate appearances in the majors in 2019. He hit 26 homers across 113 games at Double A and Triple A before being called up. There will be few guarantees with young players in 2020, but Lux is the safest bet.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on Lux to be named the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year would return a profit of $25.
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2020 NL Rookie of the Year best bets: Contender
San Francisco Giants C Joey Bart (+2000)
Bart’s window of opportunity swung wide open when C Buster Posey announced he’ll sit out the 2020 season amid concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Bart is now set to enter the season as the No. 2 option to C Rob Brantly behind the plate.
The 23-year-old Bart hasn’t played above his 22-game sample at Double A last season, where he slashed .316/.368/.544. Brantly has played just one game at any level since 2017 and could quickly be replaced this season.
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2020 NL Rookie of the Year best bets: Long shot
Philadelphia Phillies SP Spencer Howard (+6000)
Howard could have an opportunity to be a big piece of the Phillies’ starting rotation to start the year with SP Aaron Nola in jeopardy for the start of the season after being exposed to COVID-19. Plus, SP Zack Wheeler may miss at least a chunk of the season with his wife expected to give birth later this month. Howard would then enter the mix with Jake Arrieta, Vince Velasquez, Zach Eflin, Nick Pivetta and Francisco Liriano for key starts.
Howard pitched to a 2.35 ERA with 11.15 strikeouts per nine innings against 2.64 walks across 30 2/3 innings at Double A last season. He may be forced into the MLB rotation way earlier than the Phillies originally planned, but has the raw talent to be worth a bet at these long odds given the current circumstances.
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