Max Kepler, outfielder, Minnesota Twins; Tim Anderson, shortstop, Chicago White Sox; Nomar Mazara, outfielder, Texas Rangers.
These three are first, third and fourth in plate appearances among AL rookies, but none of them stand out as ROY front-runners. None has more than 2.0 fWAR and none has a wRC+ higher than 105.
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Kepler struggled through the season’s first month but was productive during June and July. He had an OPS higher than .770 in both months and hit 11 home runs, including eight in July, in which he had an .898 OPS. Unfortunately, August looked a lot like April: he’s slashed .207/.272/.279 since August 5.
Mazara was scalding the ball early. He homered in his first major league game and had an .861 OPS through June 11. He’s had a .650 OPS since then.
Anderson’s season is a roller coaster. He slashed .308/.314/.519 through July 4; struggled to a .216/.224/.268 slash line from July 5 to August 3; now he’s white hot again, slashing .330/.362/.495 since August 4.
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Interestingly, Anderson stands out defensively among these three. While he was in the minors there were doubts he would be able to play a big league shortstop, but according to FanGraphs’ Defensive Runs Saved, he has saved the White Sox five runs, fourth among AL shortstops who have played at least 50 innings. Kepler has saved two runs for the Twins while Mazara has cost the Rangers seven runs.