Way-too-early best bets: NL Rookie of the Year (December 2025)

Futures markets have opened up for the 2026 season, and getting in early has historically led to the best values - at least among the long shots - in previous MLB seasons.

Last year's National League winner was Braves catcher Drake Baldwin, getting 21 of the 30 first place votes after batting .274 with an .810 OPS and a 125 wRC+.

Drake Baldwin opened up last season with +5000 odds to win the award.

Let's see if we can piece out who the best bets for NL Rookie of the Year are at their current odds ranges to get you ahead of the curve.

All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, as of December 5th, 2025.

Nolan McLean, SP, New York Mets (+300)

The NL rookie class is deep heading into 2026, but leading the pack is Nolan McLean, the #11 overall prospect on MLB Pipeline and the top prospect in the Mets organization.

After a mid-August callup last season, Nolan McLean casually went 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, striking out 57 batters in 48 innings. His 3.56 xERA and a 28% whiff rate don't show any cause for alarm. Oh - and the teams he faced? They included:

• The AL-West winning Seattle Mariners

• Twice against the NL-East winning Philadelphia Phillies

• The Detroit Tigers, who were a wild card team

• The Chicago Cubs, who were a wild card team

Innings shouldn't be a concern, either - he threw over 160 innings between the minors and majors last season.

If it weren't for the other players behind him with great opportunities, too, he might have run away with this award, health notwithstanding.

Bubba Chandler, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates (+700)

Many people, myself included, were surprised that Bubba Chandler was not called up early in the 2025 season. He was the number one pitching prospect heading into the season, according to MLB Pipeline, and the Pirates needed pitching help desperately to stay competitive.

Alas, Bubba Chandler (Pirates' #2, #14 overall per MLB Pipeline) wasn't called up until late August, and while he never went deep into games, he did perform well, with his xERA sitting at 3.61 and striking out a batter per inning.

He'll now have a mid-rotation spot locked down for the entire season, and having thrown over 130 innings last season, there's minimal risk for him to be capped.

He'll be hampered by the Pirates' inability to win games, but if he outperforms Nolan McLean, which he was expected to do last season, then he's got a real shot to win the award.

Bryce Eldridge, 1B, San Francisco Giants (+1300)

Bryce Eldridge can mash.

The Giants top prospect and #12 overall on MLB Pipeline averaged a casual .872 OPS through his three-year career in the minors. He did not look good during a brief call up in September (.107 BA with a sub .500 OPS and no home runs), but he did show a good eye at the plate, taking seven walks in 13 games. Notably, in a small sample size, Baseball Savant shows the high power potential that was lurking underneath it all:

• .363 xWOBA

• 95.6 MPH average exit velocity

• 25% barrel rate

• 68.8% hard hit rate

The problem, other than not making enough contact? He's a natural DH, splitting time at 1B with another DH candidate in Rafael Devers. The team likely will prefer Devers in the lineup more often than Eldridge, should they be forced to choose one, which could hamper his opportunities to put up the counting stats to win the award.

That being said, there have been rumors that they may deal Eldridge to get pitching help as a contending team, knowing that 1B is a covered position for them, so if he ends up on a team like, say, the Brewers, these odds probably jump closer to Bubba Chandler's.

This is a bet-on-archetype, bet-on-talent value selection where we hope the opportunity improves. I told you the NL was deep!

Konnor Griffin, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates (+5000)

You want to get really wild? Insert Konnor Griffin, MLB Pipeline's #1 overall prospect. He's only played one year in the minors, peaking at AA, but batted an insane .333/.415/.527/.942 line with 21 homers and 65 (!) stolen bases in 122 games.

Most people believe that the Pirates will try to keep him in the minors for another year of control - hence the odds - but if the pitching staff ends up looking really solid and they need offense to try and compete, neither Nick Gonzales nor Nick Yorke will keep him from everyday at bats. He's also logged time in the outfield, so he could be put literally anywhere on this team and instantly improve it.

There's no reason not to make a long-shot bet on a potential 30/30 player with opportunity in front of him so long as the organization gives it to him.

The 2026 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide from Basement Brewed Fantasy Football is coming soon!

Last season, BBFF subscribers took down numerous leagues and made the finals in various Best Ball tournaments across sites such as DraftKings & Underdog. I've already begun drafting Best Ball teams over on Underdog, where their Way-Too-Early slate is underway.

The guide is exclusive to Basement Brewed Fantasy Football subscribers as part of their subscription plan, so sign up today and you'll be among the first to draft using these custom rankings - and, of course, you'll have all of the tools to dominate in fantasy football at your fingertips, too!

Naturally, you're also getting all the great tools for fantasy football when you sign up

Two sports with one subscription. Check out what Basement Brewed Fantasy Football has to offer and sign up to start dominating your fantasy leagues.