2020 Rookies of the Year

Voting for Major League Baseball's four major awards probably wasn't easy this year.  This season was so unique and numbers were so skewed that it's tough to make any sort of historical comparison.  The writers really had no context.  They only had two months to work with, making those decisions that much harder.  But, a season was played.  And, as such, the players deserve to have award winners named.

And, as we begin MLB Awards Week with the Rookies of the Year, it's worth noting the discussion that they had on MLB Network during the nomination show.  These are regular season awards.  Voting is conducted before the playoffs begin, as it should be.  Every team plays the regular season.  Only a handful make the playoffs.  And there are separate awards for playoff performances.

I say this because of the reason they had that discussion in the first place.  Randy Arozarena.  He was the story of October, setting records let and right (as Joe Buck reminded us every half inning of every game) and winning ALCS MVP honors.  Had the postseason counted, he'd be the runaway winner of AL Rookie of the Year.  But since it doesn't, he isn't even a finalist.  Which he shouldn't be.  Because he only played 23 regular season games and his numbers, while good, weren't spectacular by any means (.281/7 HR/11 RBI).

Instead it should come down to a pair of center fielders--the Mariners' Kyle Lewis and Luis Robert of the White Sox.  And, frankly, I have no idea which way the voters went with this one.  The 60-game season wasn't a huge sample size, but they both found a way to make an impact over those two months.  Such an impact, in fact, that I think they easily would've been in the conversation had we had a full 162 games to base it on.

Big things were expected from Robert, who signed a six-year, $50 million extension before ever playing a Major League game.  It sure looks like that investment was worth it, though.  Because he lived up to the hype and then some.  He played a Gold Glove center field and was one of the most important figures of the first White Sox playoff team in 15 years.  Robert ended up with 11 homers, 31 RBIs and nine stolen bases to go along with his aforementioned spectacular defense.

As much as I love Luis Robert, though, my vote would go to Kyle Lewis.  He was my midseason Rookie of the Year pick, and I see no reason to change it.  Lewis became the first rookie since Mark McGwire in 1987 to lead his team in batting average, homers, runs and walks.  And, while not Gold-Glove caliber, he still played above-average defense.  The Mariners obviously extended their streak to 19 consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs, which could be what tips the race in Robert's favor.  I look at it the other way, though.  Robert was one of many pieces on a good team.  Seattle had Lewis and not much else.

The third finalist is Astros pitcher Cristian Javier, who I'll admit I've never heard of before!  I don't even remember seeing him pitch in the playoffs.  Which tells you all you need to know about what I think of Javier's chances.  He almost certainly finished third.

Over in the National League, the race is much tighter.  A case could be made for all three finalists, who definitely stood out above the rest of the pack.  They're three very different candidates, too.  There's the power-hitting, middle-of-the-order corner infielder; the out-of-nowhere defensive whiz who hit his way into the everyday lineup; and a lights out reliever who was nearly impossible to hit!

Let's start with the power hitter--Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm.  On a team that included the likes of Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Rhys Hoskins, it was Bohm who proved to be Mr. Clutch.  He got all of the big hits, posting a ridiculous .452 average with runners in scoring position.  Overall, his .338 batting average was the best of any NL rookie.  Yet, despite all that, I've only got him ranked third.

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise in baseball this season was the young, exciting and talented San Diego Padres.  Entering the season, the only position where they had any sort of question mark was second base.  Enter Jake Cronenworth.  He was supposed to be the extra infielder, but they simply couldn't take him out of the lineup.  San Diego would have Cronenworth bat eighth or ninth most of the time, which was the perfect spot, since he kept getting on base for Machado and Tatis to knock him in.

However, the historic season turned in by the Brewers' Devin Williams cannot be overlooked.  Williams gave up one earned run in 27 innings.  One!  That's a 0.33 ERA!  Of course, that likely wouldn't hold up over a full season.  But we're not talking about a full season here.  What we are talking about is a season in which Williams struck out more than half of the batters he faced.  And he wasn't even the closer!  He was Josh Hader's set-up man!

My midseason pick was Cronenworth, but I switched to Williams for a very simple reason.  And it's similar to my thinking about the AL award.  San Diego was a good team and would've been good without Jake Cronenworth.  The Brewers, meanwhile, made the playoffs with a 29-31 record and a historically bad offense.  In other words, they don't get there without Devin Williams.

Either way, I think we see two close races.  This isn't like last season, when Pete Alonso and Yordan Alvarez were the obvious choices.  In the AL, I can see Robert winning just as easily as I can see Lewis winning.  And the NL race really comes down to whether the writers think Williams' sheer dominance was enough to warrant giving him the award over an everyday player.

If I had a vote, I'd go 1. Lewis, 2. Robert, 3. Javier in the AL and 1. Williams, 2. Cronenworth, 3. Bohm in the NL.  Should he win, Lewis would be the first Mariner to be named Rookie of the Year since Ichiro in 2001, while Williams would be the first reliever to win it since Craig Kimbrel in 2011 (and the first non-closer reliever since the Reds' Scott Williamson in 1999).