NL MVP ballot suggests Paul Skenes might’ve gotten lucky in ROY race

To the surprise of nobody, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes was named NL Rookie of the Year this week. He received 23 of 30 total votes, with the other seven allocated to San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill.

It was a hot subject of debate between both fanbases, but it's hardly a shock that Skenes emerged victorious. The NL's All-Star Game starter, Skenes was a genuine sensation out of the gate. Not many players have captured the nation's attention quite like Skenes; especially not on a sub-.500 Pirates team hurdling toward the bottom of the NL Central standings.

That said, Merrill did have a compelling case — 156 games played, 162 hits, and an impressive .292/.326/.500 slash line in the heart of the NL's most underrated lineup. Skenes was limited in his workload and didn't appear at the MLB level until May. While Skenes undoubtedly peaked higher, Merrill put together a more complete season.

While Rookie of the Year voting skewed rather heavily in Skenes' favor, there are clearly dissenting opinions about his value relative to Merrill. Want proof? Just take a gander at the National League MVP voting.

Merrill received 19 total votes for 57 points. Skenes received just one vote — in eighth place — for three total points. So, in a different voting body, Merrill was judged as a significantly more valuable player.

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Paul Skenes beat Jackson Merrill in Rookie of the Year voting, but not MVP voting

What does this mean, exactly? Not that much. Only that Skenes and Merrill both had incredible seasons and deserved serious consideration for baseball's highest rookie honor. These are different voting bodies, voting on different awards. So, it's hard to read too much into one result compared to the other. We should probably celebrate both players and move on.

That's not how fandom tends to work, though, and Padres fans are understandably dumbfounded by the lack of respect shown to Merrill in the awards race he actually had a chance to win. Position players tend to outperform pitchers in MVP voting, but Skenes did put together a historically dominant campaign. We can quibble with 23 starts and just 133.0 innings pitched, but a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP is nothing to scoff at. Skenes K'd 170, finished with an 11-3 record on a last-place team, and ended the season with a higher WAR (5.9) than Merrill (4.4).

There was no wrong answer here. The MVP voters aren't wrong for favoring Merrill's live bat and plus defense. Rookie of the Year voters aren't wrong for rewarding arguably the best pound-for-pound pitcher in the National League. So, again, celebrate both.

Rookie of the Year is a nice accolade for one's resume — Skenes is off to a historic start and it will be remembered as such — but let's not blow it out or proportion. Merrill's career should amount to far more than a secondary trophy when all is said and done. Same for Skenes.

So yeah, Skenes might be a little lucky. Perhaps his fame influenced voting a wee bit. But, in the end, who cares? Both players deserved it, and the Skenes pick should age well as he continues to dominate the league.