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Paul Skenes NL Rookie of the Year Odds Surge as Shota Imanaga Falters

By Reed Wallach

May 23, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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Is a legendary NL Rookie of the Year race brewing?

The Pittsburgh Pirates quickly called up 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes to the big leagues, who has taken baseball by storm after four starts, but was still off the pace from the Cubs outstanding rookie starter, Shota Imanaga, who was putting up not just ROY numbers, but Cy Young numbers through his first 10 starts of the year.

However, after skipping his start last week, Imanaga returned to the mound on Wednesday and was promptly blasted by the Milwaukee Brewers, his first blemish of the season.

This was a massive development as Imanaga had a serious hold on the ROY race despite Skenes fantastic start as he was still a handful of starts behind the Cubs standout, but now, the numbers are coming closer together.

Here's the updated odds.

2024 National League Rookie of the Year Odds

  • Shota Imanaga: +120
  • Paul Skenes: +390
  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto: +550
  • Joey Ortiz: +850
  • Jared Jones: +1500
  • Masyn Wynn: +2500
  • Jackson Merrill: +2500
  • Ben Brown: +3000
  • Andy Pages: +4000
  • Michael Busch: +5000
  • Gavin Stone: +5000
  • James Wood: +6000

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Paul Skenes Gaining Ground in NL ROY Market

Imanaga's first poor start moved him from the odds on favorite closer to the pack in what is shaping up to be a two player race for the award.

The 30-year-old Cubs lefty allowed seven earned runs on eight hits with only one strikeout in just four-and-a-third innings against the Brewers, moving his ERA from 0.84 to 1.86.

Meanwhile, Skens' most recent start was another fantastic outing, striking out nine Tigers' batters in six innings of work, allowing only three hits and two earned runs. `

It's worth noting that Imanaga is still the favorite and has the cushion of a handful more starts, but there we are only a third of the way through the season, so there will be plenty of more plot twists to come.

As for now, Imanaga still has an ERA lead on Skenes, a 1.84 ERA against Skenes 2.45, but the No. 1 overall pick is striking out far more batters, more than 12 per nine in four starts against Imanaga, who is at about nine batters per nine innings in 10 starts.

Keep an eye on this developing awards race that could be a thriller as the calendar flips to June.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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