MLB Awards Watch: Top 5 AL ROY candidates thru April

Despite his dazzling rookie campaign last season, Houston’s Carlos Correa did not win the AL Rookie of the Year award in a landslide decision. 2015’s MLB awards watch was a close one in the AL ROY race, with Correa receiving 17.0 first place votes and fellow shortstop Francisco Lindor of the Indians nabbing 13.0 of them. Lindor actually finished with a higher WAR of 4.6 to Correa’s 4.1, even though they both appeared in exactly 99 games. In the end, it was probably Correa’s power numbers that won over voters.

This year, the AL ROY race might be a close one as well, though it probably won’t be filled with young players already being billed as superstars in the league. The Astros again have a few players worthy of making a run at the trophy entering May, though there are more popular candidates elsewhere — possibly still in the minors or yet to make their MLB debut.

With not quite as much headline grabbers as over in the NL ROY race, there’s still five months to go and it’s highly likely the American League will see this awards race heat up along with the temperatures in June, July and August. All stats are current through May 1st games.

Honorable Mentions: Chris Devenski (HOU) and Dylan Bundy (BAL)

Next: Number 5

4. Jose Berrios – MIN

4 IP, 0-1, 11.25 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, .353 BAA, 5 K, -0.2 WAR

With Ervin Santana and Kyle Gibson currently out of action on the disabled list, top prospect Jose Berrios has a chance to stick around on the Twins’ rotation with a proper approach.

Minnesota’s top pitching prospect had a rough first outing against the Cleveland Indians, surrendering five earned runs over four innings pitched. The pros are, he walked only two and struck out five and his fastball touched as high as 96 mph on the radar gun.

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There was likely a lot of nerves and adrenaline running through his system amidst a big league debut. Once Berrios settles in, expect something closer to the effectiveness of a No. 3 starter in a rotation.

Between 15 starts in Triple-A from 2015-16, the 21-year-old Puerto Rican fashioned an 8-2 record with an ERA of 2.33. Before getting called up last month, his K/9 with Rochester was at 10.6 and it shouldn’t dip too far below that while pitching with the Twins.

Next: Number 3

3. Byung-ho Park – MIN

.232/.299/.551, 9 R, 6 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB, 0.6 WAR

29-years-old might not be the optimal age to qualify for a Rookie of the Year award, but for Byung-ho Park who had never faced lived pitching on American soil until this year’s spring training, the South Korean has handled the learning curve pretty well.

He leads all AL rookies and his club with six home runs on the season. His 23 strikeouts are worrisome, but not nearly as much as last year’s AL ROY contender and teammate Miguel Sano, who already has 36 through just 25 games.

Park could go deep 30-plus times this season. Playing time will play a heavy role in that, as he’s set to share starts at first base with Joe Mauer and platoon with he and Sano at designated hitter as well. So far, he’s been getting the lions share of starts at designated hitter in manager Paul Molitor‘s lineups. In that spot, he’s hitting .244/.319/.537 with three home runs and six RBI, compared to .214/.241/.571 with three home runs and three RBI when he plays at first base.

For a struggling Twins team, it’s nice to have talented youngsters like Sano around to pair with ROY candidates in Park and Berrios.

Next: Number 2

2. Blake Snell – TBR

5 IP, 0-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.600 WHIP, .111 BAA, 6 K, 0.2 WAR

On a deep pitching staff, the Tampa Bay Rays still have more talent waiting on the farm. They had a lot of off days in April and because of it, were able to roll with a four-man rotation for much of the month. Don’t expect more of the same for May.

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Manager Kevin Cash has said he feels pitcher Erasmo Ramirez best impacts the team pitching out of the bullpen, so there’s reason to believe Blake Snell could become a mainstay in the rotation until Alex Cobb is set to return from TJ surgery later this summer.

Snell, a southpaw, is Tampa’s top rated prospect and a former first round draft pick by the Rays back in 2011. He was called up for a spot start on April 23 against the Yankees and performed considerably well, limiting New York to two hits and one earned run over five innings and 90 pitches in the Bronx. He struck out six and only gave a free pass to one batter.

The Rays are spoiled with an above-average pitching staff and some of the deepest arms in the AL East. To think that if everyone remains healthy and effective upon Cobb’s return could mean him being relegated to a bullpen role is clearly indicative of their impressive talent levels. MLB.com currently ranks Snell the No. 12 prospect in all of baseball.

Next: Number 1

1. Nomar Mazara – TEX

.324/.380/.441, 10 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, 0.5 WAR

Injuries to outfielder’s Josh Hamilton and Shin-Soo Choo have opened the door of opportunity to a player like Nomar Mazara in the Texas Rangers’ lineup. With Ian Desmond in left field, Mazara is the everyday right fielder for the time being.

The 21-year-old Dominican has the nickname the “Big Chill” because of his calm and collected demeanor during ball games. But it could be a double entendre as well for his ability to cool opposing pitchers down when he steps into the batter’s box. So far in 2016, the opposition has had issues getting Mazara out. In 68 at-bats he’s struck out only 14 times and garnered seven walks.

Next: Top 5 NL ROY candidates thru April

A career .270 hitter in the minors who racked up 263 RBI, Mazara isn’t far behind Snell on MLB.com’s prospect rankings, coming in at No. 15 overall on the list. He is one of three outfield prospects Texas has in the top 15 of baseball, so for him to be seeing significant time right now over fellow top prospects Joey Gallo (7th) and Lewis Brinson (13th), that’s saying something about how high this kid’s ceiling is.