We’ve returned to the Rookie of the Year race this week. For last week’s Cy Young review, click here. For the most recent MVP rankings, click here. Next week we’ll return to the MVP race. All stats are as of June 28th. The number in brackets represents a player’s ranking on the last list.
With Masahiro Tanaka dominating every start and Jose Abreu crushing mammoth home runs, the American League Rookie of the Year race couldn’t possibly be more exciting.
The National League, however, remains uninspiring. I’ve once again opted for just a four player list, as the candidates for fifth are barely replacement-level. To put things in perspective, Pirates top prospect Gregory Polanco, who will likely make this list in three weeks time, sits third in the NL in Fangraphs WAR, despite playing just 17 games.
American League
1. (1.) Masahiro Tanaka, P, NYY: 11-1, 2.11 ERA, 119 K, 106.2 IP, 0.96 WHIP
Not enough can be said for how dominant Tanaka has been in his first major league season. He has pitched a quality start in every appearance he’s made, leads the AL in wins, ERA, ERA+ (190), is second in WHIP, has a 10.0 K/9 ratio and strikes out seven batters for every walk. He could very become the first player in American League history to win the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season.
2. (2.) Jose Abreu, 1B, CWS: .280/.330/.633, 25 HR, 63 RBI, 43 R
After clocking two home runs in last night’s game against the Blue Jays, his fourth multi-homer game this season, Abreu is now tied with Edwin Encarnacion for the major league lead in home runs. While he was certainly no slouch before an ankle injury forced him to the DL in mid-May, he has been an absolute monster since his June 2nd return, hitting .319/.664/.703 with 10 homers and 21 RBI. He strikes out too much and doesn’t draw many walks, but his power has been unmatched this season.
3. (5.) George Springer, RF, HOU: .242/.344/.470, 15 HR, 40 RBI, 35 R
Coming off a year in which he hit .303/.411/.600 with 37 homers and 45 steals across two minor league levels, expectations were high for the 24-year-old outfielder. Thus far, Springer has largely lived up to the hype, at least at the plate. The power is there and his walk rate is more than adequate, but he is leading the AL in strikeouts with 90, no surprise given his 161 Ks in the aforementioned minor league season. His running game also has yet to translate, as Springer has just one steal in three attempts thus far. Still, he has been a very good player and should be a centrepiece of a rebuilding Astros team.
4. (-) Yordano Ventura, P, KC: 5-6, 3.20 ERA, 73 K, 84.1 IP, 1.25 WHIP
A 23-year-old fireballer, Ventura has failed to disappoint after winning a spot in the Royals’ rotation out of spring training. He is striking out close to three batters for every walk and has only had two bad starts all season. His efficiency has been stellar, especially for a rookie, as he has thrown 100 pitches in just seven of his 14 starts, yet is averaging 6.0 innings each turn.
5. (-) Roenis Elias, P, SEA: 7-5, 3.74 ERA, 85 K, 98.2 IP, 1.19 WHIP
Overshadowed by top prospects Taijuan Walker and James Paxton, it has been Elias who has made the largest impact in the majors thus far. He has been consistent all season, flashing occasional brilliance, the highlight of which was a 3-hit, 8-K shutout against the Tigers on June 1st. While he never made a major prospect list, Elias put up a very good season last year in AA, posting a 3.18 ERA with 121 Ks in 130 innings. He won’t ever be Felix Hernandez, but he is a good young pitcher for a surprising Mariners team.
Off the list –
(3.) Xander Bogaerts
(4.) Yangervis Solarte
NL Rookie Race
1. (2.) Billy Hamilton, CF, CIN: .277/.310/.397, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 40 R, 33 SB
Hamilton has finally claimed the spot many predicted he would run away with before the season. On April 27th, Hamilton was hitting a brutal .221/.253/.279 and appeared on the cusp of a demotion. The next day he went 3-for-4 with a home run and has since put up a .304/.337/.453 line with 24 steals, cementing his place as the National League’s top rookie. His blinding speed and solid centrefield defense help make up for offensive flaws, though he remains unpolished as a base stealer, having been caught a league-leading 10 times.
2. (1.) Chris Owings, SS, ARI: .277/.313/.458, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 26 R, 7 SB
Owings has lost his spot to Hamilton through no fault of his own, as he has hit .317/.335/.635 this month himself. He has one more double, one more triple and two more homers than Hamilton. His adversary, however, has eight more hits and 26 more stolen bases. Thus, with their batting averages, on-base percentages and defense being essentially a wash, Hamilton gets the nod. Both players sit comfortably ahead of the next two players on the list.
3. (-) Jacob DeGrom, P, NYM: 1-4, 3.62 ERA, 45 K, 54.2 IP, 1.39 WHIP
He is no Masahiro Tanaka, but DeGrom has nonetheless been acceptable since his call-up on May 15th. He has show occasional brilliance, pitching seven shutout innings against the Marlins on June 21st and striking out 11 against the Phillies on May 31st, but otherwise he has hovered around league average. League average, however, is enough to for DeGrom to be the third best NL rookie so far this season.
4. (-) Neil Ramirez, P, CHC: 1-1, 1.33 ERA, 29 K, 20.1 IP, 0.84 WHIP, 3 SV
Ramirez, now the de facto closer for the Cubs, has been the lone bright spot in an otherwise revolting bullpen. It is hard to say what is more impressive, his 12.8 K/9 ratio, or the fact that he has allowed just nine hits all year. Closers tend to do quite well in the Rookie of the Year voting, with Andrew Bailey, Neftali Feliz, and Craig Kimbrel all having won in the last five years, thus if Ramirez remains in the closers role for the season’s second half, he should challenge for this award.
Off the list –
(2.) David Hale
(4.) Kolten Wong
For more on sports injuries, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
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