One of two players with Wisconsin ties will end up winning NL Rookie of the Year. Right now, the favorite is Milwaukee Brewers emerging ace pitcher Jacob Misiorowski. Despite only have five games under his belt, Misiorowski has already earned his first All-Star nod with a 4-1 record and a 2.81 ERA over 25.2 innings pitched. The other guys is Madison native in Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin.
Even though Misiorowski plays for the best team in the National League, Baldwin has been with the middling Braves all season long. He has had to split to with Sean Murphy behind the plate, but a recent lineup change to having one of them serve as the team's designated hitter every night with Marcell Ozuna very much on the trading block has certainly helped his cause. Baldwin has delivered.
On the season, Baldwin is hitting .290 with 11 home runs and 39 runs batted in over the course of 69 games. In his 229 plate appearances, he is getting on base 35.8 percent of the time and slugging at a .488 rate. For a Braves team that has been largely pitiful at the plate, he has been one of the few consistent bright spots all season long. He just does not have the hype machine around him, though.
It should be Baldwin to win NL Rookie of the Year, but nobody can get enough of The Miz right now...
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Drake Baldwin should be NL Rookie of the Year, but people will not care
As I have grown older, this is one thing we do as a society that drives me absolutely crazy. Can we not put everything bright, shiny and new on a golden pedestal immediately upon arrival? I do believe Misiorowski will have a wonderful MLB career, possibly helping propel the Brewers to their first World Series Championship to date. But when did dancing with the one that brung ya go totally out of style?
For Misiorowski to win NL Rookie of the Year, he needs to put forth another 10 or so quality starts. He has to get to around 100 innings pitched for the stats to back up his level of dominance. I am sure the rest of baseball does not see it this way, but a pitcher has to be outstanding to take Rookie of the Year or MVP honors away from an every-day player, or near enough when it comes to a star like Baldwin.
What I think is going on is the louder and flashier player is getting all the nationwide accolades. Baldwin is quietly going about his business, and still getting results. Before I close out this argument, I just want to say one more thing. I have never been and never will be a fan of MLB prospects. I only care about what you do at the big-league level. There are a few exceptions, and these guys qualify.
This goes back to my time as a lifelong Braves fan. I was told ad nauseam that players like Adam LaRoche, Jeff Francoeur and Jason Heyward were going to change baseball. They were fine, just not that. While I did get a sense that Rafael Furcal and Julio Teheran would be impressive, the last prospect that I felt this way about when it comes to Baldwin is Andruw Jones. We knew it right away...
I have accepted the fact Misiorowski will probably win NL Rookie of the Year, but I wish it was Baldwin.