MLB Awards Watch: Top 5 AL ROY candidates through June

5. Hyun Soo Kim – BAL

.338/.423/.477, 3 HR, 11 RBI , 145 wRC+, 0.9 WAR

Looking at Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim‘s batting line, it feels crazy to put him 5th on the list. Yeah, the home runs and RBI might not look great, but his .423 OBP leads American League rookies by almost 50 points, and ranks 5th in all of baseball. His overall offensive production, measured by wRC+, ranks 2nd among rookies and 16th in all of baseball.

The problem is, however, that he hasn’t played all that much. He has just 149 plate appearances in 40 games, and that has to be considered. I don’t find it fair to essentially penalize others who have had more time to struggle and slump. It’s doubtful that Kim maintains this production all year.

Beyond that, speaking in regard to what voters might believe, the fact that he comes from another professional league could be a point of contention. He is 28, and enjoyed nine years of success in the Korean Baseball Organization before coming here. He is still technically a rookie, but there are some who view him differently than other rookies who came up through the minor leagues.

It will be interesting to see how Kim performs going forward. I would be surprised if he maintained anything near this kind of production, but if his time in Korea is any indication, he has the ability to get on base at a high clip (.406 in his KBO career), and add a bit of power as well (averaged ~25 doubles and 15 home runs per year in the KBO). There’s also the chance that playing more consistently will expose him and cause his production to falter.

Next: Number 4