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MLB Awards Watch: Felix Hernandez leads stacked AL Cy Young race

By Brad Rowland

Apr 29, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez (34) during the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez (34) during the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 11, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (17) celebrates after his home run during the first inning against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
May 11, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (17) celebrates after his home run during the first inning against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports /

NL Rookie of the Year

  1. Joc Pederson, OF Los Angeles Dodgers – Pederson is cooling off (as he inevitably would), but the numbers are still staggering at this point in the season. The young outfielder has 9 home runs (.609 slugging percentage) in 31 games, and given that he is a high-level defender in center, he’s already been worth nearly 2 wins in less than one-fifth of a season. That’s pretty good.
  2. Kris Bryant, 3B Chicago Cubs – The power is here! Bryant has blasted two home runs in the last few days after going homer-less for nearly 100 plate appearances, and his on-base numbers (.408) still stand out as impressive. It will be interesting to see what type of season-long slash line he ends up producing, but Bryant has been very good already.
  3. Chris Heston, SP San Francisco Giants – No one believes that this level of performance is sustainable for Heston given his lack of pure “stuff”, but in six starts, he continues to be solid. Those six starts have translated into 37.1 innings with a 3.38 ERA, and at this moment, he leads all rookie pitchers with 0.8 fWAR. Not bad for an “afterthought”.

Next: AL Rookie of the Year

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