AL Rookie of the Year Betting

Evan Longoria took last year's AL Rookie of the Year honors. (AP Images)"]

The final week of May was quite a week when it came to rookies in the American League, as the two first-year players who were most hyped heading into the season, Tampa Bay pitcher David Price and Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters, made their season debuts.

And now, thanks to Bodog, you can place your bets on who you think the AL Rookie of the Year will be.

Price, the top-rated pitching prospect in baseball, was called up late last season by Tampa Bay and made his presence felt as a reliever in the playoffs, including closing out the Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS – but he maintained official rookie status. On Saturday in his first big-league start, Price, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, struck out 11 Twins in just 5 2/3 innings for his first victory.

Wieters, meanwhile, is the top-rated position prospect in MLB. Most believe the Orioles waited this long to bring him up because it delays his arbitration eligibility and free agency by another year; if Wieters had been on the Opening Day roster, he would have been eligible for free agency after the 2014 season, but now that's pushed back to 2015.

The No. 5 overall pick in the 2007 draft has started his career a quiet 3-for-18 with no homers or RBIs entering Wednesday, but it looks like he's in the lineup to stay, as Baltimore had him at designated hitter on Sunday after catching Friday (his big-league debut) and Saturday.

Now, you might be thinking that it's too late for Price and Wieters to be a factor in the AL Rookie of the Year race. But last year's winner, Evan Longoria of the Rays, played in just 122 games. He was called up a few weeks into the season and then suffered a broken wrist that cost him about a month late in the year.

Price and Wieters each have about 110 games to make a splash, and there's not really one guy who is running away as the AL's top rookie. The two front-runners right now would probably be Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus and Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello.

Andrus' hitting numbers -- .277, 3 HRs, 11 RBIs entering Wednesday -- are nothing great, although his defense has been excellent for the AL West-leading Rangers. But will voters reward defense? Porcello would be my leader in the clubhouse, as the 20-year-old starter is 6-4 with a 3.70 ERA for the AL Central-leading Tigers. Porcello went 5-0 in May before losing to the Red Sox on Tuesday. He is the current Bodog favorite as well.

For what it's worth, the past three AL Rookies of the Year came from playoff teams, while the last top AL rookie from a losing team was Eric Hinske on the 2002 Blue Jays. Those trends don't bode well for Wieters since the Orioles figure to stay below .500.

Get your Bodog AL Rookie of the Year odds at the Bodog Sportsbook.