Remember last year’s National League Rookie of the Year race? Let’s jog your memory, because it got pretty wild! The finalists—Paul Skenes, Jackson Merrill, and Jackson Chourio were finalists. And by the end, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ ace was crowned for his flame-throwing pitching. However, Shota Imanaga couldn’t even crack a finalist despite playing like an All-Star as a rookie. This year, the rookie of the year race is shaping up to be a lot more interesting, especially after Jacob Misiorowski took the lead in the latest ballot update.
Based on five career starts and one All-Star game appearance, the Milwaukee Brewers’ star Jacob Misiorowski has clinched the top spot as the latest Rookie of the Year chosen by a panel of MLB.com experts. However, Misiorowski’s selection at the All-Star game drew heavy scrutiny, especially from the Phillies’ clubhouse. According to the Phillies, left-handers Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez were more deserving than Miserowski.
Now look, there’s no debate about Miserowski being one of the most excellent rookies this season. Across five starts, he has held a 2.81 ERA, striking out 33 batters in over 25 innings. Against his dominant pitching, the hitters have somewhere around a .138 batting average. The only key area that has been concerning at times is his command. But then again, there is something about him that, in a mere three and a half months, he has grabbed the Rookie of the Year lead. However, there are roadblocks.
Miserowski just had one rough outing earlier this month against the New York Mets. In that game, he gave up five runs in under four innings. Except for that, he has overall put up good numbers. Going 4-0, he has recorded an incredible 1.23 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, striking out 31 of the total 79 batters he pitched against. Moreover, the voters probably considered his outing against the Pirates, where he outdueled the league’s generational arm, Paul Skenes. Miserowski pitched five innings and gave up just two hits. He ended the night allowing no runs and striking out eight batters.
Still, MLB fans remain discontent with the poll results.
Fans are displeased with Misiorowski leading the Rookie of the Year votes.
It was almost inconceivable for the fans that Misiorowski required only a handful of five-star performances to make the NL All-Star team, and now he has also hijacked the Rookie of the Year race. “Baldwin clears Miz; I have eggs in the fridge older than Miz’s major league career (and they’re still good).” The hilarious jabs couldn’t have been stopped. Now, the thing is, Drake Baldwin, who is arguably one of the key players for the Atlanta Braves, didn’t cut the top spot. He trailed behind Misiorowski at the second spot in the poll, and that’s something that didn’t sit well with many.
Another fan echoed the same stance: “Baldwin has been the better player for longer and is a catcher.”
Baldwin happens to be one of the top performers in the National League Rookies. He has been tied in second place in overall hitting effectiveness (with a 133 wRC+), and he’s also leading all NL rookies in overall value to his team, with an impressive 1.9 WAR. So, when fans didn’t see him at the top, it was a bit frustrating for them.
According to some, Misiorowski should have never been in Rookie of the Year talks. “Can Miz win it? Absolutely. Should be even better in the conversation rn? Not.” No doubt that it’s early. However, after watching what Paul Skenes did last year, the MLB experts who voted were probably even more inclined to quickly buy into how Misiorowski is performing lately.
The calls for Baldwin over Misiorowski kept growing. “Drake Baldwin deserves it, not Miz.” Baldwin’s bat speed has truly been impressive. He has delivered well behind the plate; however, he slowed down during June as he hit only .200 with a .741 OPS. That could’ve possibly influenced the voters.
Some blamed the MLB experts. “The way the MLB is pushing the kid on to us is disturbing.” First, when he earned an NL All-Star game spot and then led the ballot votes, it simply made fans believe that MLB is intentionally pushing Misiorowski forward.
Fans clearly couldn’t wrap their heads around the results. What do you think, is it Misiorowski who deserves it for Baldwin, who was overlooked?
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