MLB Awards Watch: Top 5 NL ROY candidates thru April

With one-sixth of the 2016 season in the books, it’s time to start keeping an eye on the top MLB awards candidates. The National League has some exciting story lines unravelling right now before our eyes.

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The Colorado Rockies have a rookie shortstop flirting with leading the league in home runs, while the perpetually competitive St. Louis Cardinals are getting a lot of production from some new names after the offseason departure of veteran Jason Heyward and injuries to Jhonny Peralta and to a lesser extent, Kolten Wong.

While strong starts are not imperative to a Rookie of the Year campaign, it definitely doesn’t hurt. Last season, Joc Pederson was white hot out of the gates for the Dodgers, but faltered mightily in the second half. Slow and steady won the race, as Kris Bryant captured the NL ROY award in 2015 despite not hitting his first home run until his 21st game of the year on May 9.

Without further ado, here are the five front-runners to follow in Bryant’s footsteps this season. All stats current through May 1.

Honorable mentions: OF Jeremy Hazelbaker (STL) and RHP Seung-hwan Oh (STL)

Next: Number 5