AL Rookie of the Year Candidates for 2015

Aug 12, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher

Eduardo Rodriguez

(52) takes the field during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

With the regular season in the home stretch, individual player awards will begin to take center stage in conversations around the league. In this, “The Year of the Prospect,” there will be a tremendous amount of players that garner consideration for the Rookie of the Year award in both the AL and NL, so we’re going to take a look at some of the top contenders.

In the American League, the real question is which shortstop the award will go to: Houston’s Carlos Correa or Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor. While that debate may be settled in the final days of the season, there are some other candidates that deserve some notoriety as well.

We make a case for each of these players, a bruising basher and a number of other players that have stood out this season.

Next: Correa of Crush City

Sep 22, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros shortstop

Carlos Correa

(1) takes the field prior to the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Carlos Correa-SS, Houston Astros

The Houston farm system is stacked with talent, but their most prized possession since he was drafted in 2012 was Correa. With the Astros playing competitive baseball ahead of schedule, the 21-year-old shortstop was put on the fast track to the Majors, making his debut on June 8 in Chicago. It took him a whole eight at-bats to record his first Major League home run, and he hasn’t slowed down since, currently sitting on 19 jacks with 58 RBI in 90 games.

That home run total is third among rookies behind Kris Bryant (26) and Joc Pederson (25), and tops in the American League with Miguel Sano‘s 17 long-balls as his closest competition. What makes Correa stand out is that he can hit for power and average, especially at such a young age. His .276 average is behind a few notable candidates, but many of them reside in the National League–Bryant’s .278, Randal Grichuk‘s .279 and the recently injured Jung Ho Kang was batting .287 before he suffered his injury last week.

There are two players that are at least even with Correa in the Rookie of the Year conversation, and they take up the next two slides.

Next: Correa's Biggest Competition

Sep 14, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians shortstop

Francisco Lindor

(12) smiles during the ninth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Francisco Lindor-SS, Cleveland Indians

Debuting less than a week after Correa and totaling just two fewer games than the Astros shortstop, Lindor has been extremely impressive at short for Cleveland, while his offensive statistics keep him hanging around Correa. In 87 games, Lindor is batting .317 with 10 homers and 44 RBI. While this is below Correa’s stat line, Lindor has trumped Correa defensively, and holds a higher WAR (wins above replacement) at 3.6 compared to 3.4 according to ESPN.

Lindor has been receiving a lot of hype in the race due to his defensive performance, which has equated a 1.0 dWAR according to Baseball Reference. Correa on the other hand has a 0.2 from the same authority, which is a large gap. Is it large enough to compensate for nine homers and 14 RBI? This will be a major issue for voters to consider.

While Lindor may hold an edge with his on-the-field play, Correa may receive more first-place votes simply because his team has been in first place for much of the season, which means more attention. In a race that could come down to these two players it may be the exposure that Correa has received that plays the biggest role in the outcome.

Next: Who Wants to See Some Dingers?

Aug 18, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Minnesota Twins designated hitter

Miguel Sano

(22) rounds the bases on his two run home run during the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Miguel Sano-DH/3B-Minnesota Twins

At the time of this writing Sano has crushed some balls that have yet to land–17 of them in fact–averaging 403.3 feet per round-tripper according to ESPN’s Home Run Tracker. If you were given one guess prior to this season as to which Twins rookie would receive votes after debuting this season, many would have taken Byron Buxton, but the injury bug has caught up with Buxton again this season and he’s struggled when he has been in the Minnesota lineup batting just .197 in 117 at-bats.

As for Sano, the power is impressive and he can hit for average (.282 entering Thursday) but like many feared power hitters he strikes out a lot. Through 238 at-bats Sano has struck out a whopping 106 times, or in 44.5% of his plate appearances. Even Chris Carter who’s third on the all-time list for strikeouts in a single season with 212 only struck out in 41.89% of his at-bats that year. With that said, Sano has hit for a higher average than Carter’s career-best by 43 points, so perhaps he’s a rare breed.

Sano will get votes in the Rookie of the Year race, but there likely won’t be many first place votes with Correa and Lindor hogging all of those.

Next: Under the Radar Candidates

Jun 25, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics center fielder

Billy Burns

(1) celebrates after scoring in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Every week in fantasy football there are sleeper picks, and in this race there are a few sleeper picks to choose from. We’ll start in Tampa where Steven Souza roams the outfield and has hit 16 out of the park, but his .222 average will certainly hinder him. Souza does play for the Rays however, and their track record of churning out talent may garner some votes outside of the top three.

Out in Oakland there are a couple of candidates that may catch the attention of the voters in center fielder Billy Burns and first baseman/left fielder Mark Canha. Burns was acquired from the Nationals before the 2014 season for left-handed reliever Jerry Blevins while Canha was acquired in a deal during the Rule 5 draft last December. With the A’s facing numerous injuries to their starting outfield at the beginning of the season, both were thrust into starting roles early on. Burns has made a living swinging at the first pitch and is batting .297 overall this season, tied for the top mark among qualified rookies with San Francisco’s Matt Duffy. When Burns swings at the first pitch and puts it in play, he’s batting an astounding .472 and has hit three of his four home runs on the first offering. Maybe next year pitchers will learn to bury the first pitch to Burns in the dirt.

Canha, as one can expect from a Rule 5 pick, started off slowly and has been a streaky hitter, but since the calendar flipped to August he’s batting .292 with 7 homers and 33 driven in, accounting for roughly half of his power stats for the entire season. Burns has stolen 26 bases, good for 9th in baseball and has nine triples which is tied for 5th with Evan Gattis, among others.