Good News Atlanta Braves Fans ROY & MOY
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NL Rookie of the Year Voting
___________________1st___2nd_3rd_Total
Ronald Acuna Jr., ATL...27...... 3......0.....144
Juan Soto, WSH..............2.... 26......1.......89
Walker Buehler, LAD.......1.......1.....20......28
Brian Anderson, MIA........................4........4
Jack Flaherty, STL ..........................2........2
Harrison Bader, STL........................1........1
Yoshihisa Hirano, ARI......................1........1
Jeff McNeil, NYM.............................1........1
___________________1st___2nd_3rd_Total
Ronald Acuna Jr., ATL...27...... 3......0.....144
Juan Soto, WSH..............2.... 26......1.......89
Walker Buehler, LAD.......1.......1.....20......28
Brian Anderson, MIA........................4........4
Jack Flaherty, STL ..........................2........2
Harrison Bader, STL........................1........1
Yoshihisa Hirano, ARI......................1........1
Jeff McNeil, NYM.............................1........1
Ronald Acuna Jr. has flashed the talent to soon become NL's top player
David SchoenfieldESPN Senior Writer
Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. are the rookies of the year and while you can argue the merits of the other candidates, I think the voters made the right selections. In the end, the votes weren't close, with Ohtani getting 25 of the 30 first-place votes to win the American League award and Acuña receiving 27 first-place votes for the National League award.
Even though Ohtani pitched just 51⅔ innings, he became the first player since Babe Ruth in 1919 to pitch at least 50 innings and hit at least 15 home runs. Unless you're 100-something years old, Ohtani did something none of us have ever seen.
It's not just that he played both ways -- at least until he injured his arm -- but did both with ravenous success. He hit .285/.361/.564 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs in 367 plate appearances, and recorded a slugging percentage that would have ranked fourth in the American League if he'd accumulated enough plate appearances. In his 10 starts, he went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA, 11 strikeouts per nine innings and a .203 average allowed. He combined big power at the plate with electric stuff on the mound. And, yes, he had more experience at a high level than the other candidates, but players from Japan are eligible for the award, so you shouldn't dismiss Ohtani for that reason.
Acuña, meanwhile, entered the season as the consensus top prospect in baseball and, like Ohtani, delivered on the hype, hitting .293/.366/.552 with 26 home runs in 111 games. Even though he didn't get called up until April 25 and then missed a month with a knee injury, he became just the seventh player to hit 25 home runs in a season before turning 21, joining Mel Ott, Frank Robinson, Tony Conigliaro, Al Kaline, Orlando Cepeda and Eddie Mathews. His .552 slugging percentage in his age-20 season was the sixth-best ever. The five in front of him: Ott, Alex Rodriguez, Ted Williams, Mike Trout and Robinson
Ohtani and Acuña also did all this with flair, instantly becoming two of the most exciting players in the league. Two of my favorite moments of the season were Ohtani's first career home run when he received the silent treatment from his teammates and then Acuña's two-homer game to complete a stretch of eight home runs in eight games:
Looking back at what all these guys accomplished is fun, but the most exciting aspect of this group is what they might accomplish in the future. In fact, here's an almost impossible question to answer: How would you rank the six finalists in future value? Here's how I would do it:
1. Ronald Acuna Jr.
You just saw that list of 20-year-old hitters who produced like he did -- we're talking inner circle Hall of Fame potential. While he primarily played left field for the Braves, he has the speed and athleticism to move to center if they didn't already have a three-time Gold Glover there in Ender Inciarte. The scary thing for the rest of the NL East is Acuña got better during the season, hitting .322/.403/.625 in the second half. If he does that over 150 games in 2019, he'll be the best player in the National League at 21 years old.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...llar-ronald-acuna-jr-shine-brightest-long-run
David SchoenfieldESPN Senior Writer
Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. are the rookies of the year and while you can argue the merits of the other candidates, I think the voters made the right selections. In the end, the votes weren't close, with Ohtani getting 25 of the 30 first-place votes to win the American League award and Acuña receiving 27 first-place votes for the National League award.
Even though Ohtani pitched just 51⅔ innings, he became the first player since Babe Ruth in 1919 to pitch at least 50 innings and hit at least 15 home runs. Unless you're 100-something years old, Ohtani did something none of us have ever seen.
It's not just that he played both ways -- at least until he injured his arm -- but did both with ravenous success. He hit .285/.361/.564 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs in 367 plate appearances, and recorded a slugging percentage that would have ranked fourth in the American League if he'd accumulated enough plate appearances. In his 10 starts, he went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA, 11 strikeouts per nine innings and a .203 average allowed. He combined big power at the plate with electric stuff on the mound. And, yes, he had more experience at a high level than the other candidates, but players from Japan are eligible for the award, so you shouldn't dismiss Ohtani for that reason.
Acuña, meanwhile, entered the season as the consensus top prospect in baseball and, like Ohtani, delivered on the hype, hitting .293/.366/.552 with 26 home runs in 111 games. Even though he didn't get called up until April 25 and then missed a month with a knee injury, he became just the seventh player to hit 25 home runs in a season before turning 21, joining Mel Ott, Frank Robinson, Tony Conigliaro, Al Kaline, Orlando Cepeda and Eddie Mathews. His .552 slugging percentage in his age-20 season was the sixth-best ever. The five in front of him: Ott, Alex Rodriguez, Ted Williams, Mike Trout and Robinson
Ohtani and Acuña also did all this with flair, instantly becoming two of the most exciting players in the league. Two of my favorite moments of the season were Ohtani's first career home run when he received the silent treatment from his teammates and then Acuña's two-homer game to complete a stretch of eight home runs in eight games:
Looking back at what all these guys accomplished is fun, but the most exciting aspect of this group is what they might accomplish in the future. In fact, here's an almost impossible question to answer: How would you rank the six finalists in future value? Here's how I would do it:
1. Ronald Acuna Jr.
You just saw that list of 20-year-old hitters who produced like he did -- we're talking inner circle Hall of Fame potential. While he primarily played left field for the Braves, he has the speed and athleticism to move to center if they didn't already have a three-time Gold Glover there in Ender Inciarte. The scary thing for the rest of the NL East is Acuña got better during the season, hitting .322/.403/.625 in the second half. If he does that over 150 games in 2019, he'll be the best player in the National League at 21 years old.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...llar-ronald-acuna-jr-shine-brightest-long-run
A cool thing about baseball to me is that you can excel in your job on a bad team in most roles and everyone can still see it.
