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MLB Awards Watch: The wasteland of American League rookies

By Brad Rowland

Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. (20) hits a solo home run off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez (50) (not pictured) during the second inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. (20) hits a solo home run off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez (50) (not pictured) during the second inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson (31) in the dugout during the seventh inning of the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson (31) in the dugout during the seventh inning of the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

NL Rookie of the Year

  1. Joc Pederson, OF Los Angeles Dodgers – Pederson has been a revelation in Los Angeles. Coming into the season, expectations were sky-high for the big-time prospect, but he has soundly outperformed any rational projection with 17 home runs and a .566 slugging percentage through 58 games. If there is a knock on his early performance, it is a 30% strikeout rate, but provided that stabilizes a bit (while the power inevitably slows), his star-level talent will continue to resonate.
  2. Kris Bryant, 3B Chicago Cubs – In a normal season (or even in the American League), Bryant would be the clear front-runner. Chicago’s wunderkind faced higher expectations than Pederson, and he has also lived up to them, with 7 home runs and 5 stolen bases in his first 47 MLB games. If anything, the pure home run power should probably increase as the season goes along, but even if he is simply this player all season, Bryant will be worth an ROY look.
  3. Alex Guerrero, 3B/OF Los Angeles Dodgers – There is a chasm between the Pederson/Bryant tier and everyone else, but we’ll go with the power-hitting Guerrero this week. Pederson’s teammate has 10 home runs in his own right, and it has taken the 28-year-old just 118 plate appearances to post that number. Of course, there are plenty of drawbacks to his game, with ugly defense and just a 4.2% walk rate, but the power is legitimate and the Dodgers are overflowing with young talent.

Next: AL Rookie of the Year

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