As we’ve reached the All-Star Break, I polled every one of the 12 writers here at the Outside Corner to determine who the staff picks for the major award winners are. We did the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP awards for each league. The Rookie of the Year voting will be unveiled today, while the Cy Young will be done on Tuesday, and the MVP on Wednesday. For the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards, I asked for three candidates, while I got five for the MVP. Points were accrued on a 3-2-1 basis, with a 5-4-3-2-1 basis for the MVP award. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest single vote was ranked higher. Let’s take a look at the OC staff picks for the NL Rookie of the Year award.
NL Rookie of the Year
1) Danny Espinosa (30 points, seven first place votes)
2) Craig Kimbrel (26 points, four first place votes)
3) Freddie Freeman (9 points, one first place vote)
4) Brandon Beachy (4 points, one first place vote)
5) Cory Luebke (3 points)
6) Dillon Gee (3 points)
7) Darwin Barney (2 points)
8) Wilson Ramos (1 point)
I just wrote last week about how the three Braves were the favorite for the award…and of course, none of them end up winning. Much to my chagrin, and the chagrin of the Braves fanbase that I associate myself with no closely, Danny Espinosa of the Nationals was the staff’s pick for the award. Let’s talk about Espinosa for a little bit, as he’s not getting a lot of media attention and is playing in near-obscurity for the Nationals. He’s second among NL second basemen in fWAR, behind only Rickie Weeks of the Brewers. He’s played in every game for the surprising Nats, and leads the team with 16 homers, which is tied for second among all NL 2Bs with Kelly Johnson, just one behind Weeks. Adding to Espinosa’s value is his great defense at second, and his ability to play short as well in case Ian Desmond ever gets injured (or never starts hitting). Espinosa is a worthy selection, because he’s not just been one of the best rookies in the league: he’s been one of the best players.
Craig Kimbrel is thought of as the favorite to win the award, with the win last season from Neftali Feliz of the Rangers in the AL. Kimbrel has far and away been the best reliever in baseball, worth 2.0 fWAR and saving a league high 28 games. That’s a rookie high for before the All-Star Break. He’s been downright dominant this season, striking out 13.70 hitters per nine innings and only walking 3.52. He’s also allowed just one home run. Kimbrel is a worthy choice in any year, and it will be a neck and neck race with him and Espinosa down the stretch.
Freddie Freeman of the Braves struggled for a good bit of the season, posting numbers inferior to Espinosa’s as a more offensively-minded position. But since the calendar turned to July, Freeman has four homers and a 1.331 OPS, and is really making a push for the award for an offensively-challenged Braves team. If he can keep killing the ball, he’s got a great chance to make a move up the list due to his team’s pitching staff and standing as one of the best teams in baseball. A continued strong offensive performance from Freeman could make his name a little more prominent in the minds of the voters.
Brandon Beachy of the Braves is undergoing a great rookie season after a very revealing 2010 in the minor leagues that saw him go from an afterthought to a good looking pitching prospect. He’s only made 12 starts and thrown in 67 1/3 innings, but in those 12 starts, he’s struck out 78 and walked only 15. Beachy’s 10.43 strikeout rate is third among all starting pitchers with at least 60 innings, behind only Zack Greinke and Brandon Morrow. A strong second half with about 13-14 starts from Beachy could solidify his spot as a fantastic young starter worthy of praise, assuming he continues to perform at the level he has this season.
Cory Luebke of the Padres started out as a dominant hand in the bullpen, but shifted to the rotation at the end of June, and has made three starts this season already. Early returns are promising, as Luebke has only allowed two earned runs in those three starts, pitching 17 innings, walking three, and striking out 21. He’s become more of a strikeout pitcher since joining the rotation, and out of everyone on this last, has the most chance to improve his stock in the second half of the year. Playing for a horrible Padres team will only hurt his chances, though.
As for the rest…Dillon Gee of the Mets is also holding his own in a terrible rotation, and seems entrenched as the third starter at this point in the year. His command still isn’t great, but he’s a serviceable hand. Darwin Barney is holding his own at the bottom of the Cubs order with a .709 OPS. The 25 year old has been on a nice hot streak really, with a 9/15 run this weekend helping his cause for more playing time on a bad Cubs team.
Finally, we have Wilson Ramos of the Nationals. Ramos is having a sneaky good year, especially for a rookie catcher. He’s done a good job taking over the torch from Ivan Rodriguez, and looks to be the catcher of the future in DC.
Next up…the AL Rookie of the Year race. Look for that this afternoon.
