Old Time Family Baseball

Yesterday I submitted my ballot for the Connie Mack Award and today I lay before you my votes for the best rookies. It was a tight field, but difficult decisions are a must. 

American League

(Photo by Keith Allison)

1. Michael Pineda
2. Jeremy Hellickson
3. Eric Hosmer

When the BBWAA awards come out, I’m fairly confident that Hellickson and Pineda will find their positions flipped. After all, Hellickson has the better ERA (2.95 to 3.74), more innings (189 to 171) and has played for a team in the thick of the hunt. Those are flashy items which garner plenty of attention.

Indeed, when I sat down to ponder this quandry, I thought that Hellickson was going to top my list. But after seeing Pineda’s edge in K/9 (9.11 to 5.70), BB/9 (2.89 to 3.30) and xFIP (3.53 to 4.63), I realized that Pineda was actually the better pitcher in every measurable way except for team performance. If I was building a ballclub, and all other things were even, I would choose Pineda.

The AL field was incredibly deep and in other years players like Mark Trumbo, despite his sub .300 OBP, and Dustin Ackley would be worthy of winning the award where now they failed to make it onto my ballot.

National League: 

(Photo by MudFlapDC)

1. Danny Espinosa
2. Freddie Freeman
3. Craig Kimbrel

Two weeks ago, this award is probably Freeman’s. But with the Braves collapse happening at the same time that Freeman has hit a cold patch, Danny Espinosa was given room to surge. Espinsoa and Freeman have both hit 21 home runs, and while Freeman’s average is 45 points higher, their isolated on-base percentage and isolated slugging are nearly identical. At the same time, Espinosa plays a much more difficult defensive position and has stolen 17 bags compared to Freeman’s four. 

Craig Kimbrel earned his mention by not only accepting Fredi Gonzalez’s abuse with nary a peep, but by also striking out an insane 126 batters in only 76.1 innings. Assuming his arm doesn’t fall off before next spring, the Braves should feel pretty happy about who they’ll be handing the ball to in the ninth inning for the next half decade. 

It’s been a magical year for rookies which means that next year will probably feature an Angel Berroa. Since I know nothing about mathematics, I’ll just call that the law of averages.