Can it actually be true? The fantasy baseball season has come to an end. The fantasy playoffs begin now. Congratulations to all that made the postseason! It is truly an accomplishment. Since the season is now complete, we can take a look back at the players that truly made a difference, not only to their teams, but to fantasy rosters as well. The subject to begin our review will be first year players. Who were the fantasy baseball top rookies in 2023? Let’s not wait another second and get started!

As has always been the case throughout this fantasy season, debate and discussion are strongly encouraged. Of course, there are plenty more players that could be included. Which deserving players left off the list would you nominate? Was the wrong player selected as top rookie? Let me hear from you!

The Candidates:

Spencer Steer, 1B,2B, 3B, OF, Cincinnati Reds

Leading off this fantasy baseball top rookies edition is Spencer Steer. Without question, Elly De La Cruz is flashier, but Steer has been the much more complete player. As of this writing, Steer ranks high among rookies in the following categories: hits (2nd), doubles (1st), RBIs (1st), runs (8th), HR (8th) and WAR (6th). Further, he has appeared in 134 games this year, second among rookies.

Steer has been in the lineup every day for Cincinnati and has been a solid, steady contributor through the entire season. Without doubt, his positional availability only adds to his value, as a manager can place Steer in just about any place in his daily lineup.

Even more importantly, Steer continues his quality play right to the present day. In his last five games, Steer has hits in four of them, including a pair of two-hit games. Cincinnati wouldn’t be in the wild card hunt if not for Steer. Likewise, fantasy managers are much better off having him on the roster. One can certainly argue that Steer is the waiver pickup of the year. Clearly, Steer has earned his inclusion here.

Corbin Carroll, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

Of course, no discussion of top rookies would be complete without Corbin Carroll. He was probably the most hyped of all first-year players coming into the season and he lived up to every expectation. Name a stat and Carroll is at the top among rookies. He is first in triples, first in home runs, third in hits, first in runs and first in WAR. Further, he is second in stolen bases and fourth in doubles.

Carroll started the season blistering, with two hits in his second game and three hits in his fifth. Coming into the month of September, he remains hot with two hit games in three of his last five. Additionally, he has two homers in that span. Managers that selected him have been able to keep him in their lineups the entire season.

In a surprise to no one, Carroll tops all rookie players in fantasy points with 400, just one point behind Juan Soto. The next closest was Senga (see below). The closest hitter was Steer with 319. Often, rookies receive all kinds of publicity before they even play a major league game. Almost as often, they don’t measure up. Certainly, that is not the case with Carroll. He has been everything that a manager, both in real life and in fantasy, could possibly ask for.

Kodai Senga, SP, New York Mets

Truly, it has been amazing to see just how many first year pitchers have thrived in baseball this season. True, Kodai Senga had the advantage over all the other newbies having pitched in Japan, but he still qualifies as a rookie. As such, Senga is all over the leaderboard for rookies. He is tied for first in wins, first in strikeouts, starts and innings pitched, Further, he is second in ERA for pitchers with 20+ starts.

For those that value WAR as a statistic, Senga really shines as he is first among rookies in that category. In points leagues, Senga was especially valuable, as his 338 points were tied with George Kirby. Even more eye opening, he is just behind Max Scherzer for points on the season. Of course, the point total was the highest for all rookie pitchers.

Best of all, despite the complete collapse of the Mets, Senga hasn’t slowed down. In his last five starts, he has pitched into the sixth inning in each and into the seventh three times. He keeps New York in games, as he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of those starts and he did that only once. In the other games, he gave up six earned runs total.

While many clubs are monitoring and curtailing the innings their rookie pitchers are providing, there are no such concerns with Senga. No question, Senga belongs on this fantasy baseball top rookies edition.

And The Winner Is:

Corbin Carroll

It should surprise absolutely no one that Carroll is the top rookie in the 2023 fantasy regular season. He was drafted in the tenth round or even later on many occasions. Carroll delivered like few others taken in that range. He has been valuable from the beginning all the way to the present. Those that were fortunate enough to have him on their rosters should celebrate their good fortune.

The Final Word

Thank you for joining me for this fantasy baseball top rookies edition! As always, I welcome any and all suggestions, comments and input from my readers. Let’s discuss!

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