Does Shelby Miller Have a Case for the NL Rookie of the Year Award?

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

This is Jose Fernandez‘s reaction to that question, so let me save you some time.

No, Shelby Miller has no case for rookie of the year.

Miller notched his 14th win on Sunday but had an underwhelming line, over five innings he allowed three hits, two walks, one earned run and just one strikeout, and was just another addition to his recent list of average starts. He has a 3.60 ERA since the beginning of August, raising his ERA to its high water mark of 3.19 on September 4.

This impressive rookie year is just another in a long list of Cardinals seasons that will go without an end-of-season award. Let’s pretend for a second that I, as a Cardinals fan, am not bitter about Barry Bonds‘ extended career denying Albert Pujols a few MVP awards, and let’s act like I wasn’t mad about Tim Lincecum getting the Cy Young Award in 2009 even though Adam Wainwright had more first place votes, and if that is true, then I defenitely didn’t mind when Joey Votto won the MVP in 2010 even though Pujols won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards at first base while hitting more home runs, having more RBIs and even drawing more walks than the Reds’ walk machine. HHHHNNNNNGGGGGGRRRAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

Sorry, I blacked out for a second, where was I? Oh yeah, there’s no way Miller is going to win Rookie of the Year. I may be bitter, and a little bit dizzy after all of that shouting, but I am not crazy

His stats, as far as rookie pitchers go, are pretty good, good enough to win the award in some weaker rookie classes, but not this year. An ERA of 3.01 with 162 K’s and a 14-9 record in 29 starts are all good numbers, but they are nowhere near those of Jose Fernandez (2.19/187 K’s/12-6 W-L), and nowhere near the insane visibility (both media and high-vis wristbands), scrutnity or popularity surrounding Yasiel Puig. Miller did have the highlight moment necessary to win a seasonal award with his one-hitter where he set down 27 straight after a lead-off base hit, but that was four months ago, and it did not feature him hitting a 400 foot bomb, a tossing of his bat or getting into a home plate hold-me-back fight with a trash talking strikeout victim (all things I consider positives for Fernandez’s ROY campaign, by the way).

Although he will have a few more starts this season, while Fernandez has been shut down for the season, he is simply not on the same level as the Marlins’ ace, at least not this year. Both pitchers will surely grow together and will hopefuly have an arms race for years to come, but Fernandez has the lead right now.