Awards Season: The Rookies

We've reached awards season in MLB, the week when the debate over who "should" win and who "will" win finally ends!  Although, let's face it, the people who think someone else "should" win an award over the player who does win it won't shut up even after the results are announced (yes, I'm talking to you, the "Ohtani also pitches" crew).  Hell, we've even got those who are upset about the finalists (who are just the top three vote-getters).

As usual, we get started with the Rookie of the Year, which is unique among the awards.  You can obviously only win Rookie of the Year once in your career, but that's not the only reason.  It's also the only award where you don't need to be in the Majors the entire year.  It certainly helps, but it's not a requirement.  In fact, sometimes the rookies who are called up mid-year are the ones who have the biggest impact.

Take Kris Bryant, perhaps the best example of the terrible practice where teams keep their best young players in the Minors for a few weeks in order to delay their free agency.  As a result, Bryant wasn't called up until the end of April.  That didn't stop him from winning Rookie of the Year.  Then there's Randy Arozarena, who had his breakout in the 2020 postseason, but still had rookie eligibility last year, when he ended up winning the award in the AL!

Fortunately, teams can't get away with doing that anymore.  As a part of the new CBA, the top two finishers automatically get a full year of service time regardless of when they're called up.  So, hopefully in the future, that means we'll see Rookie of the Year finalists with 130 games played or 30 starts.  Which doesn't mean we still won't have the impactful midseason call-ups who are finalists.

This year, we've got Adley Rutschman.  Everybody knew the former No. 1 overall pick was ready for the Majors, but the Orioles didn't call him up until May.  And when they did, they took off!  Rutschman was their best player, and there's no way Baltimore finishes 83-79 without him!

Rutschman's biggest competition in the AL is Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez.  Rodriguez was the clear favorite at midseason, when he made the All*Star Team and reached the finals of the Home Run Derby.  And what I said about Rutschman applies to Rodriguez, as well.  Seattle made the playoffs for the first time in 21 years!  Their impressive rookie center fielder was a big reason why.

Another AL playoff team with a starting outfielder who's a Rookie of the Year finalist is the Cleveland Guardians.  They had the youngest roster in the Majors and used something like 15 rookies this season, so the fact that they have a finalist shouldn't be too big of a surprise.  That finalist is Steven Kwan, who made the Opening Day roster and became a fixture both in left field and atop the Cleveland lineup.

It's a little surprising that Jeremy Pena didn't finish in the top three, but, seeing as he was both ALCS and World Series MVP, I think he'll get over it.  Likewise, I thought we might see Bobby Witt, Jr.'s name among the top three.  He played 150 games and had 57 extra base hits.  But Kansas City wasn't any good, so that may have factored in.

Over in the National League, Atlanta was the team that used a lot of rookies.  So many, in fact, that two Braves are finalists--Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II.  Strider began the season in the bullpen before moving into the rotation because of injuries to others in late May.  And he pitched so well that they couldn't take him out!  He finished with 200 strikeouts in just 130 innings!  That's nuts.

Strider's first start was on May 30.  That's two days after Harris made his debut.  Despite spending two months in the Minors, he quickly became the Braves' starting center fielder.  And he stayed there even after Atlanta's other outfielders came back!  The Braves didn't look much like the defending World Series champions on Memorial Day.  Almost as soon as Harris arrived, they went on a 14-game winning streak.  They ended up winning 101 games and the division.

There were also a bunch of significant rookies on the Cardinals (which is somewhat ironic since they also counted two retiring future Hall of Famers among their regulars).  Perhaps the most significant was Brendan Donovan, who they could literally put anywhere on the field.  He won a Gold Glove as a utility player, in fact!

While that top three is pretty clear, Seiya Suzuki did have a solid first year with the Cubs after coming over from Japan.  Ditto for Reds pitcher Alexis Diaz.  He pitched for a team that was not very good, but went 7-3 and had a sub-2.00 ERA.  Diaz eventually became Cincinnati's closer and finished with 10 saves.  Still, they're a distant fourth and fifth behind Donovan and the two Braves.

And, frankly, Donovan is a distant third behind the two Braves.  The last time teammates went 1-2 in Rookie of the Year voting was 2011, when another set of Braves--Craig Kimbrel (the unanimous winner) and Freddie Freeman--did it.  And, just like 11 years ago, I think the pitcher finishes atop that Braves 1-2.  I've got Strider, Harris, Donovan in that order.

In the American League, I think it comes down to Rodriguez vs. Rutschman.  As great as Adley Rutschman's season was, though, how can you give it to him over Jose Rodriguez?  Rodriguez was the only rookie at the All*Star Game, and his numbers in the second half were just as impressive.  And, sorry Steven Kwan, but you're not in my top three.  My AL Rookie of the Year ballot is: 1. Rodriguez, 2. Rutschman, 3. Witt.