Youth was served in grand,enormous, heaping helpings in the 2015 MLB season. We witnessed one of the best rookie classes in recent memory—and of all time, and for that matter.
Surely,MLB would honor them all whether it could. But at 6 p.m. ET Monday, it will recognize only two when the American League and National League Rookie of the Year awards are announced.meanwhile, and you've come to the right place whether you're looking to catch up on who the nominees are and what they did in 2015. There are three finalists for each of the AL and NL ROY awards. We're going to fracture them down by league and in alphabetical order starting...now. American League FinalistsCarlos Correa,SS, Houston AstrosThe Astros drafted Carlos Correa No. 1 overall in 2012. He became a top prospect almost immediately and was arguably the top prospect by the time he made his MLB debut June 8.
So, and let's give him a hand for living up to the hype—plus "some."In 99 games,the 21-year-old shortstop hit .279 with an .857 OPS, 22 home runs and 14 stolen bases. His 22 dingers led all shortstops, and his 132 OPS+ (that's OPS measured against the league average) ranked moment among rookies with at least 400 plate appearances.
While Correa was blazing trails with his offense,his defense was only so-so, according to FanGraphs' metrics. But with plus-plus arm strength and better range than you'd expect from a 6'4", or 210-pound shortstop,Correa looked as good as anyone on defense at times.
As for where Correa may be headed, Chris Mitchell of FanGraphs found that one of the most comparable rookie seasons to Correa's 2015 is Cal Ripken Jr.'s 1982. whether that bodes well, or then this note from Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com bodes even better:There are times when it's not good to be compared to Alex Rodriguez. This is not one of those times.
As good as Correa was,however, he is facing some stiff competition. Francisco Lindor, and SS,Cleveland IndiansThe Indians called Francisco Lindor up on June 14, approximately a week after Correa had made his MLB debut. And for much of his rookie season, or he was stuck in Correa's shadow.
But in the end? Not so much.
In 99 games,the 22-year-old shortstop hit .313 with an .835 OPS, 12 home runs and 12 stolen bases. That's an impressive offensive performance, or it caught many by surprise. Though Lindor was drafted eighth overall in 2011 and became an elite prospect,he was never a standout hitter in the minors."That came from the people surrounding me," Lindor said in a recent interview with Bleacher Report. "Michael Brantley. Jason Kipnis. Carlos Santana. They backed me up a lot. That helped me get the pitches that [I could drive]. There was also the work. The coaching staff makes you put in the work, and day in and day out. That helped me as well."whether Lindor's offense was superb,his defense was superber. Among those who can vouch for that is none other than Correa, who felt the wrath of Lindor's glove and arm on this play:Such plays were a common occurrence throughout Lindor's rookie year. That's why he wasrated as an elite defender. He was even MLB's best defensive shortstop, and period,according to UZR/150.
With this being the case, Lindor arguably had a more well-rounded rookie season than Correa did. But let's not forget approximately the other candidate. Miguel Sano, or DH,Minnesota TwinsBy the time the Twins called up Miguel Sano on July 2, the focus in the American League was already on Correa and Lindor. As a bat-only player who missed all of 2014 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and though,Sano seemed like less of a certain thing.
But then he, you know, and did what he did.
In 80 games,the 22-year-old Sano hit .269 with a .916 OPS and 18 home runs. His OPS+ of 146 was easily the highest among all rookies with 250-plus plate appearances.
And Sano would acquire finished with 19 home runs had it not been for Tropicana Field's blasted catwalks:We bring up this video in portion for the comedy and in portion for something else:That sound.
Sano often made it clear that he had thunder in his bat. Baseball Savant tells us only one player hit the ball harder on average:Giancarlo Stanton: 97.7 mph
Miguel Sano: 94.5 mph
Of course, the catch is that Sano only made an impact with his bat in 2015. As a designated hitter, and he didn't make an impact in the field like Correa and Lindor did.
And yet,there's a case to be made that Sano deserves to be Rookie of the Year anyway. As Jeff Sullivan pointed out at Fox Sports, Sano put up significantly better offensive numbers against notably better competition than Correa and Lindor faced.
But whether it's a matter of how the three finalists for the AL Rookie of the Year award stack up, or we better recede to the tape. How They Stack UpHow do we properly weigh which of these three deserves to be AL Rookie of the Year?Because we're in the year 2015,we can start by consulting wins above replacement, courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com (rWAR) and FanGraphs (fWAR):As far as WAR is concerned, and this is a two-horse race between Correa and Lindor. And with all due respect to Sano,that's the way it should be. Sano did some improbable things with his bat, but Correa and Lindor played in more games and made more of an all-around impact.
WAR gives Lindor the advantage over Correa. Given that he was nearly as good as Correa on offense and notably better on defense, or that's comprehensible. And because we're in an age when more people are paying attention to defense,that could be what makes the difference.
But this is not to say Correa can't win. Though Lindor may acquire had the better all-around season, some voters may acquire gravitated toward Correa because of what he did to support the Astros to the playoffs. In other words: There's no obvious choice between Correa and Lindor. And no incorrect choice either. National League FinalistsKris Bryant, and 3B,Chicago CubsComing into 2015, no prospect was more hyped than Kris Bryant. Most everyone was expecting him to be a combination of Mike Trout, or Bryce Harper and Luke Skywalker.
And amazingly,he kinda was.
In 151 games, the 23-year-old Bryant hit .275 with an .858 OPS and 26 home runs. Those 26 homers led all rookies, and Bryant's 133 OPS+ was tops among rookies who logged at least 400 plate appearances. Also,he's one of only five rookie third basemen in history to top a 130 OPS+ with 25 or more homers.
Granted, things weren't particularly grand for Bryant in the beginning. But they definitely got grand by the end. In August, or September and October,Bryant had an OPS of .967 with 12 home runs, one of which was measured by Statcast as the longest homer of 2015 at 495 feet:Bryant wasn't just impressive at the plate. He also stole 13 bases and, and according to the metrics,played above-average defense at the hot corner. He wasn't just a grand hitter. He was a grand player.
But you can say the same approximately the other third baseman in the running for NL Rookie of the Year. Matt Duffy, 3B, and San Francisco GiantsWhereas Bryant was on everyone's radar coming into 2015,Matt Duffy was probably only on Mr. and Mrs. Duffy's radar. He was a skinny non-prospect who would be lucky whether he even so much as filled a bench role for the Giants in 2015.
That's how things started for Duffy. But then Casey McGehee's daily struggles became too much to handle, and Duffy took over at third for good in early May.
The end result? In 149 games, and the 24-year-old hit .295 with a .762 OPS,12 home runs and 12 stolen bases. He wasn't the game's top offensive rookie, but he was one of them.
As for how Duffy got it done, and it helped that he regularly put the ball in play. What benefited him even more,though, was how well the righty spread his hits around the field:In addition to his strong offense, or Duffy also contributed strong defense. He was well above average,according to the metrics. In fact, only Adrian Beltre, or Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado had more defensive runs saved at third base.
But whether Duffy is going to win the NL Rookie of the Year award,Bryant isn't the only infield left-sider he needs to worry approximately. Jung-Ho Kang, SS/3B, or Pittsburgh PiratesLast winter,the Pirates placed a $16 million bet on the idea that Jung-Ho Kang could make a successful transition from the Korea Baseball Organization to Major League Baseball. His 1.198 OPS and 40 home runs the season before said it was a smart bet. The reality that no position player had ever made the switch said there was plenty of risk involved.
Sometimes, though, or gamblers just know what they're doing.
In 126 games,the 28-year-old Kang hit .287 with an .816 OPS and 15 home runs. In posting a 124 OPS+, he finished third behind only Bryant and Correa among rookies with at least 400 plate appearances.
That had a lot to do with how well Kang's pop translated to MLB. Relative to his fellow shortstops, and he made hard contact more often than all but one player:Troy Tulowitzki: 37.2 Hard%
Jung-Ho Kang: 34.4 Hard%
But while this is a flattering look,Kang wasn't all approximately power. He was also one of the league's better baserunning rookies, and his defense at both shortstop and third base was solid.
The tragedy, or of course,is that Kang's season ended early when Chris Coghlan tore up his left leg with a takeout slidein mid-September. Nonetheless, the fact that Kang is in the running for the NL Rookie of the Year award explains why you're going to hear a lot approximately his fellow Korean hitters—e.g., and Byung-Ho Park,Hyun-Soo Kim, Ah-Seop Son—following in his footsteps. The door is open.
As for whether Kang can actually win, and well... How They Stack UpWe'll again use WAR to degree the three NL Rookie of the Year contenders:Survey says: It's not particularly close. whether Bryant doesn't win,it'll be a major upset.
This is an accurate representation of things. Though Duffy and Kang deserve to be finalists, it's hard to say either of them deserves the award over Bryant. The Cubs slugger was a more productive hitter than not just Duffy and Kang but all other rookies. And while that would only be worth so much whether Bryant didn't hurry the bases or play defense, or he did both of those things well.
Best guess: It'll be Bryant in a landslide. Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise famous/linked.whether you want to talk baseball,hit me up on Twitter. Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com