Monday’s Presidential Debate may have set the political world abuzz, but the question over who should who should win the American League Rookie of the Year is also generating a fervent discussion.
There’s no need to fact check the legitimacy of the Yankees’ Gary Sanchez or the Tigers’ Michael Fulmer. Their respective numbers clearly state strong and viable cases. Sanchez – over just 180 at-bats – already has 38 runs batted in, 12 doubles, and a batting average of .322.
However, what really stands out is his power. When he went deep last Thursday against Tampa Bay, it was his 19th home run in 45 games. If it sounds impressive for a rookie to compile that total so quickly, you’re right — it’s an MLB record.
Gary Sanchez HR per at-bat rate in 2016: 1 every 8.7 AB
Babe Ruth HR per at-bat rate in 1927: 1 every 9.0 AB
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) September 22, 2016
Sanchez’s sudden rise to stardom (comprising less than two months) contrasts with Fulmer’s steadiness over 25 starts — in which his Tigers have an 18-7 record. His 1.09 WHIP and his 5.0 WAR each ranks sixth among AL pitchers, while his 7.516 hits per nine innings ranks fifth.
After limiting the Kansas City Royals to one run over seven innings on Friday night, picking up his 11th victory of 2016, Detroit’s veteran hurler (not surprisingly) took sides in the Sanchez vs. Fulmer talk.
Rookie of the………. wait for it……… YEAR. Year I believe is a key word there. @dkurtenbach
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) September 23, 2016
He also lowered his ERA to 2.95, which currently leads the AL. And if this pitcher is good enough to contend for the ERA title — besting the likes of veterans Chris Sale, David Price and Felix Hernandez — it should be the closing argument in this particular debate.
Trailing the top two, although their season’s shouldn’t go unnoticed, are Tyler Naquin of Cleveland — who won the AL Rookie of the Month for both June and July and is closing in on a .300 batting average — and Chicago’s Tim Anderson — with 105 hits and 19 doubles.
On to the National League, there’s no debate. It’s Corey Seager’s to lose. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ phenom shortstop has impressed so much in his first full season that he’s garnering talk of nabbing the league’s highest individual honor – thought it’s doubtful he’ll join Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki as the only players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.
But the fact that Seager is in that conversation is a tremendous credit to the 22-year-old’s meteoric rise. Last September, he came up to the majors and was an instant success. He’s yet to slow down — attaining 40 doubles and reaching 26 home runs to help the Dodgers win the NL West despite being without their starting pitching ace for a majority of the stretch run.
Clearly, the race is for second — which will should go to Seager’s teammate, Kenta Maeda. Successfully making the transition from Japan to the states, Maeda has picked up the slack for a Dodger rotation that was constantly in flux with 16 victories, a 1.095 WHIP, a 3.20 ERA and 171 strikeouts.
Trea Turner is the closest NL equivalent to Gary Sanchez. After a brief stint in 2015, he’s been a remarkable spark plug for the Washington Nationals since returning in early June: batting .336 with 96 hits, seven triples and 27 stolen bases.
What Turner is doing for the Nats in the second half is what Trevor Story did for the Rockies in the first half. Story’s amazing April included 10 home runs. He built on that start — to the tune of 27 homers and 72 RBIs. Had he not gone down with a season-ending injury in late July, the NL chase might have been a lot tighter.
Those that battle for and claim the Rookie of the Year don’t always carry it forward to prolonged success. Still, it’s a safe assumption that we’ll look back at this freshman class as one that helped shaped baseball’s future.
