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MLB Rookie of the Year: Is it a solid success predictor?

By Rick Soisson

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 31: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim runs to first base after hitting an RBI single during the second inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 31, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 31: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim runs to first base after hitting an RBI single during the second inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 31, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

Into the New Decade

2011 – This year the AL picked yet again a pitcher as ROY, Jeremy Hellickson, and the NL added their first pitcher to the list, Craig Kimbrel. Hellickson retired last month. At the moment Kimbrel is the career MLB leader in saves with 346.

2012 – The surprising thing here is that Mike Trout, the AL ROY, has only seven silver slugger awards. The only full season he didn’t win one is 2017 when he batted a pathetic .306. In the NL Bryce Harper planted himself on the MLB Rookie of the Year list at 19 with 144 hits in 139 games, 57 of which went for extra bases.

2013 – Call this the ROY award’s unfortunate year. The NL winner was Jose Fernandez, who died young in a boating accident; in the AL Tampa Bay’s Wil Myers won but has gone on to San Diego.

2014 – In the NL Jacob deGrom took the prize. deGrom has gone on to win two Cy Young awards – one with a 10-9 won-lost record – for his original team, the Mets. The AL winner was Jose Abreu of the White Sox, an enormous, powerful Cuban player who hit .317 as a 27-year-old rookie.

2015 – The awards this season went to Houston’s Carlos Correa, a shortstop with home run power, and to Chicago’s Kris Bryant, a third baseman with even more home run power. Both players are still early in their careers but are considered either stars or superstars, depending on whose opinion you’re getting.

2016 – Michael Fulmer of the Tigers is the last pitcher on this list after winning the AL ROY in ’16. The Dodgers’ Corey Seager took the NL prize. Seager has already accumulated his ROY and two Silver Slugger awards at shortstop.

2017 – The final two MLB Rookie of the Year selections considered here, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger, are already anointed superstars. The Yankees’ Judge has already hit 52 home runs in a season, his second. In Los Angeles, Bellinger has already taken home Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and MVP awards in addition to his first big prize. It is early days, however, for both players.

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