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MLB Awards Watch: Rolling with Mike Trout

By Brad Rowland

Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) runs after hitting a single in the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) runs after hitting a single in the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson (31) makes a running catch in the ninth inning of the game against the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium. The Rangers won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson (31) makes a running catch in the ninth inning of the game against the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium. The Rangers won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

NL Rookie of the Year

  1. Joc Pederson, OF Los Angeles Dodgers – Pederson continues to run away and hide as the front-runner here. The 23-year-old has 20 home runs before the end of June, and in addition to that, Pederson boasts a 17% walk rate that lifts his on-base percentage to an excellent .380 on the campaign. I continue to think that striking out at nearly a 30% clip isn’t something that he wants to sustain, but Pederson has been nearly perfect in every other area.
  2. Kris Bryant, 3B Chicago Cubs – Like Pederson, Bryant is striking out 30% of the time, and that will almost certainly decline as he matures. The world-beating power hasn’t quite arrived yet, as Bryant has only 10 home runs, but a .465 slugging percentage is plenty impressive given his age. In the American League, he would be a strong front-runner, and no one in Chicago is disappointed with Bryant’s early returns.
  3. Matt Duffy, 3B San Francisco Giants – The 24-year-old Duffy wasn’t supposed to factor deeply into the plans for the Giants in 2015, but he has emerged quite nicely. In 64 games and 237 plate appearances, Duffy boasts a .303/.349/.491 slash line with 8 home runs, and with above-average defense at the hot corner, that is extremely valuable. Because of his relative lack of pedigree when compared with the top two on this list, expectations are all over the board, but Duffy has been quite solid thus far.

Next: AL Rookie of the Year

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