The Los Angeles Dodgers began the season with Corey Seager both as their starting shortstop and as the team’s top prospect. As we enter the latter part of the season, Seager is beginning to reach some pretty impressive milestones.
After belting his 19th home run of the season on Thursday night, Seager tied the Los Angeles Dodgers record for most home runs by a shortstop, a mark that was previously set by Hanley Ramirez in 2013. He is still just a few off the franchise record of 22, set by Glenn Wright in 1930 in his second season with Brooklyn, seventh in the big leagues, at the age of 29.
If Seager were to belt his 20th home run this season he would join some exclusive company, joining recent Hall of Fame inductee Mike Piazza (35, 1993), Joc Pederson (26, 2015), Del Bissonette (25, 1929), Rookie of the Year award winner and four-time All-Star Frank Howard (23, 1960), Greg Brock (20,1983) and Eric Karros (20, 1992) as the only rookies in the 132 years of franchise history to smash twenty home runs.
On top of being on the precipice of joining some solid names throughout Dodger history, he has also already tied Karros for the Los Angeles record for most doubles by a rookie at 30. The franchise record of 52 is likely a bit out of reach, set by Johnny Frederick in 1929.
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With the pace that he’s on, Seager could definitely approach some other milestones, as he has hit safely in 33 of the 38 games in which he has recorded an at-bat (dating back to June 16). Over that stretch, he has raised his batting average 29 points, from .274 to .303, by going 57-for-164 (.348) with 18 doubles, four dingers and 15 RBI.
Seager’s 30 doubles are tops among rookies this season, while his 19 home runs rank second behind Colorado’s Trevor Story who has belted 27. The Dodger shortstop’s RBI total ranks third among rookies this season with 51, behind Story (72) and Aledmys Diaz (57), but Seager’s 422 at-bats are also the most among first year players, which puts a slight damper on the total. For instance, Minnesota’s Max Kepler has driven in 48 in almost half of the at-bats.
Everyone’s favorite pick to win the National League ROY at the beginning of the season has not disappointed, and according to FanGraphs, leads all position player rookies in either league in WAR by a wide margin, holding a 4.9 to 2.7 lead over Story, who is set to miss the remainder of the season with torn ligaments in his thumb. Seager’s rookie teammate Kenta Maeda leads the way among rookie pitchers with a 2.6 WAR. Seager’s WAR total ranks sixth in baseball among all players, in between Mookie Betts and Manny Machado.
For my money, the one person that could take away Rookie of the Year honors away from Seager is Colorado’s Jon Gray. While offensive stats are typically discounted for those that call Coors Field home, that same logic, only reversed, should also apply, no?
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Here is what Gray has working in his favor: The Rockies have been fairly competitive this season, he holds a 2.3 WAR at the moment through just 19 starts, and if current rates hold, he could approach a 4.0 WAR by season’s end. He strikes out more than a batter an inning and holds a 3.77 ERA, which, considering his home ballpark, is pretty good. At 54-55, the Rockies find themselves four games back of the second wild card, but if Gray is exceptional down the stretch and is able to keep Colorado in the hunt, the park that typically works against pitchers in games, and hitters when awards are handed out, could end up playing a role in deciding the NL Rookie of the Year. It’s a long shot, but it’s the only way that Seager’s fantastic rookie season doesn’t end in him getting some accolades in 2016.