Ranking the top 6 NL Rookie of the Year candidates

As usual, the MLB is bursting with new talent. Many young players are getting the feel for the big leagues and adjusting to make a sizable difference. However, there are some names in this year’s NL rookie class that truly stand out.

These six players have flashed star potential and polish well beyond the years, carving out key roles for their teams in the first season.

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6. Jackson Chourio, Milwaukee Brewers

After starting the year on the Brewers’ big-league club, corner outfielder Jackson Chourio has made an indelible first impression in Milwaukee. He entered the year as the Brewers’ top prospect and one of the top prospects in baseball. Chourio got off to a very slow start, posting very low numbers in April and June. Since then, he’s posted .315 and .317 batting averages over the past two months, respectively.

Chourio is now slashing .266/.310/.420 with 12 HR and is playing plus defense in the outfield. This comes with 13 stolen bases in 17 attempts. Chourio isn’t seen as a close favorite for ROY as of now, but his current trajectory might put him in the discussion.

5. Masyn Winn

Unlike Chourio, Masyn Winn got called up last year. Posting a .172 average and two home runs, the St Louis shortstop didn’t make a good first impression. But this year has been different. Winn came flying out of the gate posting an over .300 average for the first two months. However, since then, Winn has cooled off.

Winn is currently slashing .279/.325/.414 with 9 HR and is one of the top defenders in the NL. While he was once lauded for his speed, Winn’s nine stolen bases in 13 attempts aren’t ideal for a stolen base threat, but he has time to remedy that. While he may be falling out of the ROY race this season, he looks like he’ll be a much-needed difference-maker for the Cardinals in the long run. Plus, if he can hit like he did the first couple of months, he can get back in the race rather easily.

4. Michael Busch

Cubs’ first baseman Michael Busch, got the call last year and posted a .167 AVG with two home runs to start his career, quite similar to Winn. This year, Busch returned and set off on a mission to prove he can mash. Since hitting six home runs in April, Busch has slowed down. However, he still leads all qualified NL rookies in HR, doubles, BB, OBP, SLG, and OPS. Likewise, he also leads all MLB rookies in K’s.

This season, Busch is hitting .260/.346/.460 with 15 HR. Busch has had up and down months hampering his batting average. If he can hit more consistently and rediscover the power he seems to have lost, he might catapult himself past the others on the list.

3. Shota Imanaga

America first got a taste of Shota Imanaga in last year’s WBC where he started the finale against the USA and led Team Japan to the championship title. Over the offseason, the Chicago Cubs brought him from Japan to the Windy City and were quickly rewarded.

Halfway through June, Imanaga maintained an ERA below 2.00. After that, it quickly ballooned in one start against the Mets. Since then, his starts have been spotty. Nonetheless, his ERA this season stands at 3.09. He has accumulated 118 Ks and has only walked 17 batters through 116.1 innings. His 1.32 BB/9 rate is the third lowest in baseball and the lowest in the NL. If he can perform again like he did in April, he would undoubtedly have a shot a Cy Young.

2. Jackson Merrill

Jackson Merrill made the team from the start of the season and is one of the reasons San Diego is contending this year. Thus far, the Padres rookie outfielder has shown he can hit. But his excellent numbers in June are a sample size that may be skewing the numbers in his favor.

On the season, Merrill is slashing .283/.314/.448 with 13 HR. He currently leads all qualified MLB rookies in average and leads NL rookies in RBI. But in the month of June, Merril hit .320 with nine home runs. It is fair to say that his spectacular June may be greatly boosting our perception of his normal performance (like all hot streaks do), but we know Merrill can achieve a very high ceiling. If he goes on another hot streak, he could make a compelling case to be the Rookie of the Year.

1. Paul Skenes

No Rookie of the Year discussion is complete without Paul Skenes. Since debuting for the Pirates in the first half, Skenes has done nothing but impress. After making only 11 starts, Skenes was announced as the ASG starter, though this was after Chris Sale was made unavailable. This came just after he threw seven no-hit innings against the Brewers before being pulled.

Skenes is undoubtably the ROY favorite. At this point, it seems Skenes can pitch very poorly for the rest of the season and still be named Rookie of the Year. So far, Skenes maintains an ERA of 1.99 through 86 IP. He has racked up a staggering107 strikeouts over that that time while holding hitters to a .202 AVG. If another ROY contender is going to pass him, they will need to do a lot of work.