Hype For Reds' Rookie Slugger Elly De La Cruz Reflected By Betting Odds

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The 4th-highest ranked prospect in baseball (per MLB.com) Cincinnati Reds SS Elly De La Cruz, made his much-anticipated MLB debut Tuesday vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers.

DraftKings Sportsbook is getting in front of the De La Cruz buzz by making him the 2nd-favorite to win the 2023 NL Cy Young Rookie of the Year at +300 after just two games. De La Cruz is behind Arizona Diamondbacks OF Corbin Carroll at -130.

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He wasted no time making an impact in The Show. De La Cruz went 1-for-3 in Cincy's 9-8 win Tuesday vs. the Dodgers. Then De La Cruz hit a rocket and a lightning-fast triple Wednesday in the Reds' 8-6 victory over LAD.

There have been locks to win rookie of the year lately but I don't remember anyone shooting up the odds board this quickly. That includes recent winners Yordan Alvarez (2019), Shohei Ohtani (2018), and Aaron Judge (2017).

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While Elly De La Cruz certainly looks like the goods. His 3-to-1 odds to win rookie of the year is an overreaction by the betting market. No MLB player future below 7-to-1 pre-All-Star break is worth betting aside from Ohtani winning AL MVP.

Reds SS Elly De La Cruz rounds the bases after hitting a home run vs. the Dodgers at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Reds SS Elly De La Cruz rounds the bases after hitting a home run vs. the Dodgers at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

This is especially true for the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year. Carroll leads the D'Backs in OPS (.928), total bases (112), stolen bases (18), and runs scored (43). More importantly, Arizona is atop the NL West, 2.0 games ahead of the Dodgers.

A lot needs to go right for Elly De La Cruz to justify a +300 bet here. The Reds would have to be in playoff contention with De La Cruz putting up similar stats to Carroll. Or Carroll would have to get injured and no other NL rookie breakout.

Personally, I'm passing on betting Elly De La Cruz to win 2023 NL Rookie of the Year. If I miss out, so be it. I'd rather bet De La Cruz to win the 2024 NL MVP if he justifies the hype for the rest of this year.