Nl roty

[Hammer]

I am going with Brandon Beachy.



What ya got?

[willthethrill]

Beachy is nice, but he's up against two better-worthy Braves, imo: Freddie Freeman and Craig Kimbrel

[Hammer]

Kimbrel I will give you but not Freeman.

[Stephen]

Agreed with willthethrill, Beachy isn't even the 2nd best rookie on his team.

Craig Kimbrell
64 IP 1.67 ERA, .99 WHIP, 105 Ks, 25 BBs, 39 Hits Allowed, 5 Blown Saves (all before the All Star Break) The kid hasn't given up a run since June 11.

Freddie Freeman
.291/.353/.463 18 HR, 64 RBI, .995 Fielding Percentage

Brandon Beachy
114 IP 3.31 ERA, 1.15 WHIP 128 Ks

Beachy's numbers are strong, but as of right now I have a hard time finding an argument against Kimbrel.

[Hammer]

Freemans season numbers are solid but very pedestrian when compared to other first basemen. I am okay with Kimbrel though.

[revo]

Kimbrel should win unanimously.

[Stephen]

Freemans season numbers are solid but very pedestrian when compared to other first basemen. I am okay with Kimbrel though.

Agreed, though I think his defense might help him out.

Ultimately, I think it'll go to Kimbrell.

I'm not sure if it's completely fair to say that Freeman's numbers are pedestrian compared to other 1B though considering how top heavy the 1B position is with four elite players (Pujols, Votto, Howard, Fielder) in the mix. That said he does rank firmly in the middle of the pack in every category.

NL Rank
AB 6th (Votto, Howard, Sanchez, Fielder, Huff)
AVG 6th (Votto, Murphy, Morse, Helton, Fielder)
HR 7th (Pujols, Fielder, Howard, Votto, Pena, Morse)
RBI 9th (Fielder, Howard, Votto, Pujols, Morse, Helton, Pena, Sanchez)
OPS 7th (Votto, Fielder, Morse, Pujols, Helton, Howard)
DEF 6th (Helton, Sanchez, Votto, Huff, Loney)

I get what you're saying though. After looking a little bit more closely at where Freeman ranks against some of the other guys he could be a coin flip with Beachy for 2nd place.

It did motivate me to look at the last 5 ROY to get a feel where those players ranked among others at their position.

Every year is different, but here are the last 5 ROY and their numbers:

NL Rank at Position
* Player didn't qualify for Batting Title So he was ranked against all players with 400+ ABs

2010 Buster Posey - Catcher
.305 AVG (1)*
18 HR (2)
67 RBI (2)
.862 OPS (1)*
Runner's Up: Jason Heward (OF), Jaime Garcia (P), Gaby Sanchez (1B)

2009 Chris Coghlan - Outfield with 1 game at 2B
.321 AVG (1)
9 HR (49)
47 (38)
8 SB (T-31)
.850 OPS (9)
Runner's up: JA Happ (P), Tommy Hanson (P), Andrew McCutchen (OF), Casey McGahee (3B)

2008 Geovany Soto - Catcher
.285 AVG (3)
23 HR (T-1)
86 RBI (2)
.868 OPS (2)
Runner's Up: Joey Votto (1B), Jair Jurrjens (P)

2007 Ryan Braun - Outfield
.324 AVG (2)*
34 HR (3)
97 RBI (8)
15 SB (17)
.1.004 OPS (2)*
Runner's Up: Troy Tulowitzki (SS), Hunter Pence (OF), Chris Young (OF)

2006 Hanley Ramirez - Shortstop
.292 (6)
17 HR (3)
58 RBI (T-5)
51 SB (2)
.833 OPS (2)
Runner's Up: Ryan Zimmerman (3B), Dan Uggla (2B), Josh Johnson (P)

What does all of this show? That Chris Coghlan's nickname should be "Mr. Right Place, Right Time."

[Hammer]

lol on Coghlan


Braves have done the best job in the majors at developing young talent.

[Phineas to Ferb]

Agreed, though I think his defense might help him out.

Ultimately, I think it'll go to Kimbrell.

I'm not sure if it's completely fair to say that Freeman's numbers are pedestrian compared to other 1B though considering how top heavy the 1B position is with four elite players (Pujols, Votto, Howard, Fielder) in the mix. That said he does rank firmly in the middle of the pack in every category.

NL Rank
AB 6th (Votto, Howard, Sanchez, Fielder, Huff)
AVG 6th (Votto, Murphy, Morse, Helton, Fielder)
HR 7th (Pujols, Fielder, Howard, Votto, Pena, Morse)
RBI 9th (Fielder, Howard, Votto, Pujols, Morse, Helton, Pena, Sanchez)
OPS 7th (Votto, Fielder, Morse, Pujols, Helton, Howard)
DEF 6th (Helton, Sanchez, Votto, Huff, Loney)

I get what you're saying though. After looking a little bit more closely at where Freeman ranks against some of the other guys he could be a coin flip with Beachy for 2nd place.

It did motivate me to look at the last 5 ROY to get a feel where those players ranked among others at their position.

Every year is different, but here are the last 5 ROY and their numbers:

NL Rank at Position
* Player didn't qualify for Batting Title So he was ranked against all players with 400+ ABs

2010 Buster Posey - Catcher
.305 AVG (1)*
18 HR (2)
67 RBI (2)
.862 OPS (1)*
Runner's Up: Jason Heward (OF), Jaime Garcia (P), Gaby Sanchez (1B)

2009 Chris Coghlan - Outfield with 1 game at 2B
.321 AVG (1)
9 HR (49)
47 (38)
8 SB (T-31)
.850 OPS (9)
Runner's up: JA Happ (P), Tommy Hanson (P), Andrew McCutchen (OF), Casey McGahee (3B)

2008 Geovany Soto - Catcher
.285 AVG (3)
23 HR (T-1)
86 RBI (2)
.868 OPS (2)
Runner's Up: Joey Votto (1B), Jair Jurrjens (P)

2007 Ryan Braun - Outfield
.324 AVG (2)*
34 HR (3)
97 RBI (8)
15 SB (17)
.1.004 OPS (2)*
Runner's Up: Troy Tulowitzki (SS), Hunter Pence (OF), Chris Young (OF)

2006 Hanley Ramirez - Shortstop
.292 (6)
17 HR (3)
58 RBI (T-5)
51 SB (2)
.833 OPS (2)
Runner's Up: Ryan Zimmerman (3B), Dan Uggla (2B), Josh Johnson (P)

What does all of this show? That Chris Coghlan's nickname should be "Mr. Right Place, Right Time."

I would think their rank against other rookies would be the most helpful indicator of who should be the Rookie of the Year.

I'm not sure where comparing them to the league as a whole, or to the players of their position is relevant unless there is a mediocre everyday rookie (who leads in the usual categories) vs. a starting pitcher (in the usual starting pitcher categories).

[Stephen]

How they compare against other rookies is a huge factor. However, over the last 5 years it seems that all non-Coghlan players who won the Rookie of the Year were also highly competitive against players at their own position.

The analysis was more to show why someone like Freddie Freeman who is having a pretty darn good Rookie season might have a more difficult time winning ROY even if Kimbrel's numbers weren't out of this world and more specifically why it closes the gap between he and Beachy.

[schlesinj]

You can argue that Kimbrell is the best closer in baseball.

[Sharky]

You can argue that Kimbrell is the best closer in baseball.

Kimbrel is pretty good, too. Probably IS the best in baseball.

(EDIT: Sorry, I was being snarky about the spelling. Some of the Braves fans here seem to miss it for their own players...)

[Erik]

I can't imagine it would be anyone other than Kimbrel.

[revo]

Kimbrel unanimously.