Now that we’re into the middle of August, playoff races are starting to heat up. Some teams are gearing up for a run into October, while others are looking at being done once the regular season schedule is up. Also coming with this time of year is the discussion on who wins the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) end of season awards, which include Most Valuable Player, Cy Young award, Rookie of the Year, and Manager of the Year. This article will focus specifically on the Rookie of the Year.
First off, we will start by discussing the top performing rookies from the 2018 season from each league. Next, I’ll give my opinion on which of these rookies will be most deserving of the coveted rookie of the year award based on production through this point.
Note: all stats information is current as of August 12th and is taken from MLB.com unless noted otherwise
American League:
Miguel Andujar (3B, NYY) – .296/.329/.511, 118 H, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 57 R
Gleyber Torres (2B, NYY) – .269/.338/.513, 74 H, 18 HR, 52 RBI, 36 R
Jaime Barria (P, LAA) – 7-7, 3.59 ERA, 87.2 IP, 64K, .244 BAA
Joey Wendle (2B, TB) – .293/.344/.417, 97 H, 6 HR, 38 RBI, 37 R
Brad Keller (P, KC) – 4-5, 3.57 ERA, 88.1 IP, 58K, .255 BAA
Shohei Ohtani (P/DH, LAA) – 4-1, 3.10 ERA, 49.1 IP, 61 K, .202 BAA, .272/.350/.530, 55 H, 12 HR, 32 RBI, 31 R
The AL rookie position player crown here consists of infielders all playing in the AL East. Andujar was a strong prospect coming through the Yankees system who has been a strong contributor all season to a contending Yankees team, leading all MLB rookies in RBI and doubles (31) while leading AL rookies in runs scored and hits. Gleyber Torres hasn’t spent the whole season in the bigs, but he too has helped greatly to the Yankees big season, tying with David Palka on the White Sox for the AL Lead in home runs by a rookie, while coming in second behind Andujar in RBI. As for Wendle, he has put up solid numbers for the Rays while playing 5 different positions for them this year (2B, SS, 3B, LF, RF). Wendle also leads all AL rookie position players in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), being worth 2 WAR (according to FanGraphs). Ohtani had plenty of hype coming into the year for his ability as a two-way player, and has not disappointed for the Angels as a hitter, leading all AL rookies in slugging percentage.
As for AL rookie pitchers, the notables include Brad Keller, who has the best ERA out of AL rookies that have thrown more than 70 innings. Jaime Barria is right behind Keller on that ERA list. Barrio’s teammate, Ohtani, was dominant at times early in the season before a UCL sprain in early June put him on the DL for a month, then relegated him to being a DH only once he came off the DL.
National League:
Brian Anderson (3B, MIA) – .282/.361/.412, 128 H, 9 HR, 53 RBI, 64 R
Christian Villanueva (3B, SD) – .230/.294/.455, 76 H, 20 HR, 45 RBI, 41 R
Juan Soto (OF, WSH) – .303/.421/.542, 76 H, 14 HR, 41 RBI, 50 R
Ronald Acuna Jr. (OF, ATL) – .270/.326/.512, 67 H, 14 HR, 32 RBI, 41 R
Dereck Rodriguez (P, SF) – 5-1, 2.34 ERA, 73.0 IP, 61 K, .218 BAA
Jack Flaherty (P, STL) – 6-6, 3.22 ERA, 103.1 IP, 127 K, .204 BAA
The NL position player crowd is pretty loaded as well. Brian Anderson has gotten plenty of playing time with a young Marlins club, and has made the most of it, leading all MLB rookies in hits, at bats, and runs scored. Christian Villanueva has had a strong start to his career with his power production, leading all MLB rookies in home runs. Washington’s Juan Soto has torn the over off the ball in his MLB stint, despite not making his debut until May 15th. He leads all rookies in batting average (200+ at bats), slugging percentage, on base percentage, and walks (51). He also leads all MLB rookies in WAR with 2.5 (according to Fangraphs), despite the late start. Braves phenom Ronald Acuna Jr. had plenty of hype going into the season, and he has not disappointed, being a key contributor to a contending Braves ballclub. Acuna has also been on fire lately, slugging .603 in his last 15 games.
For the pitchers, Jack Flaherty has been rock solid for a St Louis club that is still in the playoff race, leading all MLB rookie pitchers in strikeouts, by a fairly wide margin I might add (he is 22 ahead of the second most, as of today). Dereck Rodriguez on the Giants has done a sparkling job as well since his debut on May 29th, having the best ERA out of all MLB rookies with more than 70 innings by almost a full earned run per game (Flaherty is second).
Who wins the awards
American League: Miguel Andujar
Andujar’s has been a solid power producer for the contending Yankees all season, so as of now he is most deserving of the award. If Ohtani had not been injured and unable to pitch, he likely would’ve been able to pile up enough quality outings on the mound to cement his case, but it’s pretty tough to do that solely as a DH. Torres is another interesting case, though he hasn’t had nearly as many at bats as Andujar.
National League: Juan Soto
Soto is the leader in all the percentage categories, and still has a month and a half to pile up the counting stats, so he is looking like the most deserving candidate at this point. Acuna is a dark horse candidate, due to how hot he has been recently. If he keeps that up, he could catch Soto.
BaseballNerd 