I want to try something new this year and endorse candidates for the awards. I promise to look at all the defining factors for each candidate, including stats and how valuable they were to the team. This year's rookie race is pretty exciting in both leagues because they both have some great players. Without further ado, here are the nominees: American LeagueGary Sanchez (Yankees) Tyler Naquin (Indians) Michael Fulmer (Tigers) The endorsement is... Michael Fulmer!Why I chose him: He's a pitcher! Also, he's a starting pitcher! Need I say more?! I'm kidding because I actually do need to explain more about why he earned my endorsement. Fulmer did well this year to be considered for this award and they could have found another rookie hitter but they went for a pitcher who deserves this award more than anyone else. He means a lot to his team because he was the second best pitcher behind Verlander on the Tigers. A great ace like Verlander needs support and this guy gave it to him by having 11 wins, 1 complete game, 132 strikeouts, and an ERA of 3.06. For the team's pitching staff, he usually ranks in the top 3 which shows how important he is to the team. The case for the others: Naquin is a good player and will be apart of the Cleveland team that will dominate in the near future. He had 95 hits in 321 at-bats, which is a good sign. I hope to see him help his team out in the future because their youth is what got them where they are now. Sanchez killed it this year with 20 home runs only 201 at-bats in 53 games, a rare feat. He also had 60 hits and 34 were runs. August gave birth to the new hero when he won BOTH AL Rookie of the Month and AL Player of the Month. He could have easily won my endorsment but since he played so few games and Fulmer worked very hard to get where he is in his team's rotation, I have to go with Fulmer for sure. National LeagueKenta Maeda (Dodgers) Corey Seager (Dodgers) Trea Turner (Nationals) The endorsement is... Corey Seager!Why I chose him: I know that this pick was obvious since everyone else is picking him, BUT there's a reason why most pick him to win. Good players always have some who think they shouldn't win, but great players have those who can't see why they shouldn't win! If majority agrees that he should win, why mess with it? He clearly deserves to win (this is the part where I bring in statistics) and here's why.
The case for the others: I campaigned hard in why I chose my endorsement, but I can find positives for the other two. I'm going to use the pitcher excuse again because Kenta Maeda has a tough job. You can also argue that his job was tougher than other pitchers. He had to make the transition from playing in Japan to the highly competitive MLB. He did pretty well for his first year because he ended up finishing with a 3.48 ERA and 179 strikeouts. Also, he had to carry the burden for when Kershaw was gone and that is the reason why he leads the team in pitching stats (all except Saves and Complete Games). His first hit was also a home run, so yay for pitchers who rake! Trea Turner was amazing this year and did so well with the little amount of games he had (73). He brought in the right burst of youth to the Nationals by showing off his great speed with team leading 33 stolen bases and 8 triples. Both of those are important to a team and few are able to provide those because it requires the right amount of speed. Turner was exciting to watch and really made the Nationals fun again (sorry, Bryce). He also was converted into a center fielder in a short amount of time (6 games in the minors!!) so he could play in the Majors. Talk about taking one for the team and excelling at everything you try. Closing StatementI hope that my endorsements were justified and of course I want to see them win the award! If any of the other candidates win, I will be happy for them too. Thanks for listening to my opinions! Make sure to watch the announcements on MLB Network at 6 pm ET tomorrow!
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