2019 MLB Season: the top five rookies in baseball
The 2019 MLB season will be known for the elite power hitters that debuted. This rookie class was stacked with young sluggers and top prospects that made an immediate impression in the league.
The 2019 MLB season has included a rookie class that will be remembered by the sons of superstars that debuted this year. Cavan Biggio, son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, debuted for the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as Bo Bichette, son of four-time All-Star outfielder Dante Bichette. Rounding out the generational trinity was Vlad Guerrero Jr., son of Hall of Fame outfielder Vlad Guererro. The Toronto Blue Jays have a bright future ahead with these three powering their lineup.
2019 was the year the rookies clashed for the home run derby. Vlad Guerrero Jr. put on an epic performance and battled to the end against New York Mets’ rookie sensation Pete Alonso.
Pitchers like San Diego Padres Chris Paddack, St. Louis Cardinals Dakota Hudson, and Atlanta Braves Mike Soroka were the impressive rookie starting pitchers of 2019. These young starters have bright futures ahead of them, as they already were dominating lineups this early in their career.
In a beyond competitive and impressive year for rookies, here are the rookies that are honorable mentions for top five rookies of the 2019 class.
2019 MLB Season: Top Five Rookies
Dakota Hudson, SP, STL
The St. Louis Cardinals clinched a playoff berth and are most likely going to win the National League Central Division, and Dakota Hudson is a big reason why.
Hudson started 31 games for the Cardinals, 17 of them being quality starts. He is currently third in the National League in wins with 16. He has tossed 169.2 innings, posting a 3.45 ERA. Hudson was a valuable part of St. Louis’ rotation.
The 24-year-old had an impressive, first full season. He is looking to continue his improvement and have an even better campaign in 2020.
Vlad Guerrero Jr., 3B, TOR
Vlad Guerrero Jr., one of the players following in their father’s footsteps, had an impressive campaign. The 20-year-old busted onto the scene when he debuted at the end of April.
Through 119 games, he has 123 hits, 15 home runs, and 68 RBI, while batting .276. These stats are beyond impressive for somebody this young.
It was highly speculated that Guerrero Jr. would win the Rookie of the Year, but that is unlikely at this point. Even though there are sky-high expectations for Jr. that he might not have necessarily met already, he is going to continue developing more power as he settles into the league.
The young third baseman was the most impressive rookie on the Toronto Blue jays, a team that seemed to be nothing but rookies. 2020 will be his first full season and everybody is looking forward to seeing what he can do at the age of 21.
Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, SDP
Another example of a son following in his father’s footsteps. Fernando Tatis Jr., son of former utility man Fernando Tatis, is one of the young shortstops with the brightest future ahead of them. He was the top prospected for a stacked San Diego Padres farm system.
Tatis Jr., who has not played since the beginning of August with back issues, was putting up crazy numbers for a rookie, let alone a 20-year-old. Through 84 games, the shortstop has 106 hits, 22 home runs, 53 RBI, and 16 stolen bases, while batting .317 with an OPS of .969.
He is 20.
These numbers are crazy for being just over half a season. If he did not get hurt, he would have been heavily in the conversation for the NL ROY.
Tatis Jr. was not even supposed to be on the opening day roster, but fellow Padres Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado said they wanted Tatis Jr. to be their starting shortstop because they wanted to be competitive.
As the Padres search for a new manager to coach their 2020 squad, they look forward to the return of Tatis Jr.
Guys like Chris Paddack and Kevin Newman were impressive this year too. Paddack would have had a better chance to win Rookie of the Year if the Padres did not limit his innings. Here are the top five rookies of the 2019 class.
2019 MLB Season: Top Five Rookies
Eloy Jimenez, OF, Chicago White Sox
Coming in as the fifth most impressive rookie of 2019 is former top international free agent Eloy Jimenez. The young Dominican-native displayed a plethora of power, smashing 30 home runs and 79 RBI through 118 games.
The slugger is a goal-oriented competitor. He challenged himself to hit 30 home runs in his first season. He made sure that happened. He is the third rookie in White Sox history to hit 30 or more home runs in their rookie season.
Ever since he returned from the Injured List in July, he has been on fire. With 23 RBI since September 1st, he is leading the league since then.
The 22-year-old is one of the highest-paid rookies there ever were. Prior to making his major league debut, Jimenez signed a six-year, $43 million contract extension with the White Sox.
Jimenez says he has high expectations for himself because he knows others truly believe that he is going to be a star. He wants to hit 50 home runs next season and break the White Sox home run record, set by Albert Belle with 49 home runs in 1998.
Jimenez’s main improvement needs to be striking out less. That is something he did too often this season if he wants to take the next step as a player.
The White Sox acquired Jimenez in 2017 from the Chicago Cubs in a trade for starting pitcher Jose Quintana.
Next year will be his first full season and his power will most certainly be on display.
2019 MLB Season: Top Five Rookies
Bryan Reynolds, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Bryan Reynolds, and an additional prospect, prior to the 2018 season when they traded former Andrew McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants.
Since then, the former Vanderbilt University standout raced his way through Pittsburgh’s farm system. Starting 2019 in Triple-A, Reynold debuted at the end of April.
His versatility has also been shown, starting over 20 games at each position of the outfield.
Through 132 games, the outfielder has 154 hits, 16 home runs, 37 doubles, 67 RBI and a batting average of .318. The 24-year-old has shown he can hit for both average and power. He is fourth in the National League in batting average.
He leads Pittsburgh in both batting average and on-base percentage
Reynolds is the type of player you want at the top of your lineup. Even though the Pirates had a disappointing 2019 MLB season, they showed glimpses of a winning ball club. They were competitive in the first half, but then crashed and burned in August and September.
He is going to be a building block for the Pirates moving forward. Pittsburgh sees him primarily as a left fielder, but his versatility will come in handy. His first full season is going to be very interesting because he had an opportunity to display more power and hit more than 20 home runs.
2019 MLB Season: Top Five Rookies
Mike Soroka, SP, Atlanta Braves
In 2018, Mike Soroka started five games and had are ERA of 3.51 and missed most of the season due to inflammation in his right shoulder.
During the 2019 MLB season, Soroka showed he is not only an NL Rookie of the Year candidate but an NL Cy Young candidate. Through 28 starts, he is 13-4, holds an ERA of 2.60, and has struck out 135 batters over 169.2 innings.
The 22-year-old is sixth in the National League in wins, third in ERA, ninth in WHIP and first in W%.
He has helped the Atlanta Braves win their second consecutive NL East title. The All-Star leads the Braves in quality starts, ERA, and WHIP.
Even though Julio Tehran is still considered the Braves’ ace, he is going to be their most valuable starter during their chase for the National League pennant and World Series.
The Atlanta Braves were the first team to send two players younger than 22 to the All-Star Game, both Soroka and Ronald Acuna Jr. were invited to the mid-summer classic this season.
Soroka is going to be a huge part of the Braves’ dynasty. With an already established lineup, they looking to build a dominant rotation and it will be centered around their 22-year-old. His first full season could be dominant, and he is going to be a Cy Young candidate for seasons to come.
2019 MLB Season: Top Five Rookies
Yordan Alvarez, DH/LF, Houston Astros
Sometimes, not playing enough games can be held against a player when it comes to Rookie of the Year voting. However, in this case, Yordan Alvarez might win the award because of his ridiculous statistics through basically half a season.
Through 82 games, the 22-year-old slugger has 27 home runs, 77 RBI, is batting .326 with an OPS of 1.103. If Alvarez had enough at-bats to qualify, he would lead the league in OPS. and be in the top five for batting average.
The amount he has produced for playing that little games is remarkable. He is averaging almost an RBI per game.
When Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa won the honors in 2015, his numbers were not nearly as impressive as the rookie outfielders. Alvarez already has more home runs and RBI through fewer games.
Houston acquired Alvarez from the Los angles Dodgers in August 2016. He has made an immediate impact ever since he was called up in June. His bat behind George Springer, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley in a lineup is going to be dangerous in October.
Alvarez is going to be a vital part of the Astros’ postseason run and their franchise moving forward.
2019 MLB Season: Top Five Rookies
Pete Alonso, 1B, New York Mets
When the New York Mets announced that Pete Alonso would be on the opening day roster, fans set expectations high. 25 home runs seemed fair. Maybe 30.
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Nobody expected 50. Through 154 games, he has hit 50 home runs, 115 RBI, and is batting .264 with an OPS. of .952. He leads the majors in home runs and is sixth in the NL in RBI, slugging percentage, and seventh in OPS.
He has been the most consistent and dominant bat in the Mets’ lineup this year. He is on pace to play over 160 games and score over 100 runs this season, a feature that most rookies do not reach. He is the first rookie to hit 50 home runs and 30 doubles in the same season.
He has already set the National League rookie records, Mets’ rookie records, Mets’ franchise records, and is now on the hunt for three more home runs to break Aaron Judge’s rookie home run record set in 2017.
Alonso is the Mets’ franchise first baseman of the future. He has shown that he is one of the best power hitters in the majors and has made improvements throughout the season. The 2019 Home Run Derby Champion was one of the main reasons why the Mets have remained in the postseason conversation.
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He is going to be the face of the Mets for a while, already being a fan favorite. Alonso is very likely to win the NL Rookie of the Year, and he will be on many ballots for the NL MVP.