2 phenoms pulling away in ROY poll

Julio Rodríguez stole the show on the national stage at the Home Run Derby, and he might run away in the Rookie of the Year race.

J-Rod is the overwhelming favorite for American League Rookie of the Year in the latest MLB.com poll, the second straight time he's been a runaway No. 1. In the National League, Spencer Strider also continued to dominate the voting.

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 rest of the 2022 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 50 voters participating.

Here are the results. (All stats are through Tuesday.)

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1. Julio Rodríguez, Mariners (48 first-place votes)

The only rookie selected for the 2022 All-Star Game and the first Mariners rookie position player in the All-Star Game since Ichiro, Rodríguez made history as the first player with multiple 30-homer rounds in a Home Run Derby. Then, his first at-bat out of the All-Star break, he homered again. He has 17 home runs and 21 stolen bases on the season.

2. Jeremy Peña, Astros (2 first-place votes)

Peña remains in the runner-up position for a third straight Rookie of the Year poll. The shortstop for the AL West leaders is batting .265 with 15 homers and 37 RBIs. Peña is on an eight-game hitting streak out of the All-Star break and homered in back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday.

3. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals

Witt has been dealing with hamstring tightness, but the preseason top prospect is up to 14 home runs and 20 stolen bases on the season, putting him in reach of a 20-20 rookie campaign along with Rodríguez. Witt is batting .369 with three homers, eight steals and a .942 OPS since the Fourth of July. He remains in the No. 3 spot from the last poll.

4. Joe Ryan, Twins

The only pitcher in the AL top five, Ryan continues to be the Twins' most effective starter as they try to hold onto first place. He's leads the team in wins (seven), ERA (2.89) and strikeouts (73), and he has a 2.05 ERA in July.

5. Adley Rutschman, Orioles

With Rutschman coming in at No. 5, the entire top five in the AL is actually exactly the same as in the last MLB.com poll. The Orioles catcher is up to a 117 OPS+ on the season and is batting .320 with a 1.042 OPS since Independence Day.

Others receiving votes: Steven Kwan, Brock Burke, Riley Greene, Jhoan Duran, Jose Miranda, George Kirby, MJ Melendez, Felix Bautista, Penn Murfee, Reid Detmers

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1. Spencer Strider, Braves (33 first-place votes)

Like J-Rod in the AL, Strider remains locked in as the Rookie of the Year front runner in the NL. The 23-year-old right-hander has a 2.70 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings in July, giving him a 2.91 ERA on the season with 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

2. Michael Harris II, Braves (11 first-place votes)

The Braves actually have the top two NL Rookie of the Year candidates in the eyes of our voters, one in the rotation and one in the lineup. The center fielder Harris is batting .292 with nine home runs and 11 stolen bases in 53 games this season, with four of those homers and seven of those steals coming in July. He moves up from No. 3 in the last poll.

3. Christopher Morel, Cubs (5 first-place votes)

The Braves have the 1-2 NL rookies; the Cubs have 3-4. Morel moves into third place after finishing just outside the top five in the last poll (but with a pair of first-place votes). The 23-year-old is batting .277 with nine home runs, nine stolen bases and an .835 OPS this season and opened the second half with three straight multi-hit games.

4. Seiya Suzuki, Cubs

The 27-year-old outfielder from Japan returns to the top five in the NL voting after missing out in the last poll. Suzuki has a 128 OPS+ on the season and is batting .328 with four home runs and a .904 OPS in July.

5. Brendan Donovan, Cardinals

The Cardinals utilityman rounds out the NL top five but drops one spot from the last poll. Donovan has slumped in July but still has a 123 OPS+ in his rookie season.

Others receiving votes: Oneil Cruz, MacKenzie Gore, Alek Thomas, Hunter Greene (1 first-place vote), Juan Yepez, Luis González, Alexis Díaz, Andre Pallante, Nolan Gorman, Jack Suwinski, Scott Effross, Braxton Garrett, Roansy Contreras