The first Rookie of the Year poll is in: Who are the early faves?

Who will be the 2024 Rookie of the Year?

It's pretty early to be asking such a question, sure. Some of the top contenders aren't even in The Show yet. But with a bunch of newcomers already proving they can handle life in the Majors, a panel of MLB.com voters was asked to rank their top five Rookie of the Year candidates in each league based on what's happened so far and what they expect will happen over the course of this season.

Rookies received vote points on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale -- five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote and so on, with 43 voters participating. Here are the results.

All stats updated through Sunday.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1. Wyatt Langford, Rangers (24 first-place votes)
Langford won the AL vote by a wide margin after advancing from college ball to playing in the big leagues in just 280 days. It helps that he put up huge numbers at every stop along the way. The No. 4 pick in the 2023 Draft picked up a hit in his first five games with the Rangers. We're still waiting for him to tap into his 70-grade power; he has two extra-base hits and no home runs in 38 at-bats. But his 111.4 mph max exit velocity hints at his strength, and he's coupled that with a near-elite 29.6 ft/sec sprint speed.

2. Evan Carter, Rangers (7 first-place votes)
No American League team has more runs or a higher OPS than the Rangers even though their historic rookie duo of Langford and Carter have yet to really get going. The latter finally snapped his season-opening 0-for-15 skid over the weekend against the Astros and is batting .192 with a .308 slugging percentage. On the bright side, a 22.9% walk rate has boosted Carter's on-base percentage to a healthy .400. And anyone who followed the Rangers during their road to the 2023 World Series title knows the high level of talent he brings to the diamond.

3. Jackson Holliday, Orioles (9 first-place votes)
Despite a fabulous spring in which he hit .311 with a .954 OPS, Holliday didn't make the Orioles' Opening Day roster. So, his 2024 began with Triple-A Norfolk, and he crushed a home run in his first at-bat of the season. A few days later, he called his shot. He owns a .342/.490/.605 slash line and a 58.1% hard-hit rate in 51 plate appearances for the Tides. We're not sure when the game's No. 1 prospect will don an Orioles jersey this season, but that day can't be too far away.

4. Colt Keith, Tigers
The Tigers signed Keith to a six-year contract in January that guaranteed his spot as the club's second baseman of the future. In the present, he has six hits in 28 at-bats and a .563 OPS. However, MLB's No. 21 prospect has shown good strike zone awareness (12.5% K rate) and has quickly accrued two outs above average at the keystone position. His lone extra-base hit was an 11th-inning RBI double that lifted the Tigers past the Mets on Thursday.

5. Colton Cowser, Orioles (1 first-place vote)
Considering that the O's have the best farm system in MLB, it's no surprise they had multiple players finish among the top five in the voting. Cowser was a monster in Spring Training, belting six dingers and recording a 1.137 OPS. He's been a reserve outfielder for the regular season's first couple of weeks, but he is 5-for-11 with a couple of doubles.

Others receiving votes: Ceddanne Rafaela, BOS; Brayan Rocchio, CLE (1 first-place vote); Junior Caminero, TB; Nolan Schanuel, LAA; Mason Miller, OAK (1 first-place vote); Curtis Mead, TB; Cade Smith, CLE; Ricky Tiedemann, TOR; Justin Slaten, BOS; Coby Mayo, BAL; Hunter Gaddis, CLE

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1. Jackson Chourio, Brewers (17 first-place votes)
At 20 years and 28 days old, Chourio has racked up nine hits in 32 at-bats, two homers, a stolen base and two outs above average. When he launched his first career home run Wednesday, he became the youngest Brewer to go deep since Gary Sheffield in 1988. In short, the youngest player in the Majors already looks legit.

2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers (15 first-place votes)
Yamamoto could have hardly been worse in his Major League debut versus the Padres on March 21: one inning, 43 pitches, five runs allowed on four hits, a walk, a wild pitch and a hit-by-pitch. Since then, he could have hardly been better: 10 scoreless innings over his past two starts with five hits, two walks and 13 strikeouts. His most recent outing on Saturday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field was his strongest effort yet. Four of his eight K's in that victory came via his yo-yo curveball.

3. Shota Imanaga, Cubs (7 first-place votes)
While Yamamoto's curve has batters wrapped around his finger, the other ballyhooed Japanese rookie pitcher is dominating with his splitter and four-seamer. Imanaga has five strikeouts in the nine at-bats ending on his split and an outstanding 68.4% swing-and-miss rate on that pitch through his first two starts. Meanwhile, batters are just 1-for-24 against the lefty's fastball. The result is a spotless ERA through 10 innings for Imanaga with no walks and 12 strikeouts.

4. Jung Hoo Lee, Giants (3 first-place votes)
A .340 lifetime hitter in Korea, Lee is slashing .205/.267/.282 through 39 at-bats. But he is striking the ball with authority (54.1% hard-hit rate) and living up to his reputation as a fantastic contact hitter with whiff and K rates that are among the lowest in baseball. The key for Lee will be finding a way to lift the ball more often -- like he did on March 30, when he registered his first Major League homer and did so in front of his father.

5. Paul Skenes, Pirates (1 first-place vote)
The top pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and the game's No. 3 prospect is blowing away Triple-A hitters. Skenes, leading with a fastball that's averaging 100 mph, has struck out 11 through six scoreless innings in the Minors. His stat line includes one hit, one walk and a 43.8% whiff rate. With fellow rookie Jared Jones already impressing at the highest level, the long-term outlook for the Pirates' rotation is bright.

Others receiving votes: Jackson Merrill, SD; Jared Jones, PIT; Michael Busch, CHC; Blaze Alexander, AZ; Masyn Winn, STL; Oliver Dunn, MIL; Max Meyer, MIA; Kyle Harrison, SF; Trey Lipscomb, WSH; Victor Scott II, STL