6/04/2023

Rookie of the year award will go to?


It’s been more than 2 months since the 2023 regular season began. By far this season, there are several rookie players who have been playing very well. And, it’s worth watching whether some of these players will be selected to the All-Star game. Additionally, will some of these players eventually win the 2023 Rookie of the Year award?

On-base Plus Slugging (Qualified Rookies, ~2023.06.03)

Player

OPS

Masataka Yoshida

.899

Corbin Carroll

.871

Spencer Steer

.862

Josh Jung

.847

Ryan Noda

.840

Francisco Alvarez

.802

James Outman

.778


Masataka Yoshida had a great start in the 2023 season. In March, he and the samurai Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship. Yoshida signed a 5-year deal with the Red Sox last December and it seems like a good decision for the Red Sox. By far, Yoshida slashes .314/.394/.505 with 7 home runs and 32 RBI. Meanwhile, it’s worth mentioning that he already drew 23 walks, but was struck out only 22 times.

Corbin Carroll made his MLB debut last season. In total, he played 32 games for the Diamondbacks, hitting .260/.330/.500 with 4 home runs and 14 RBI in 2022. In March 2023, he and the Diamondbacks agreed to a contract extension. And, it seems that the contract extension is a wonderful decision for the D-backs. By far, Carroll slashes .282/.368/.503 with 9 home runs, 24 RBI and 16 stolen bases.

At the same time, Spencer Steer had an OPS of .632 over 28 games in 2022. To date, he slashes .292/.364/.498 with 8 home runs and 30 RBI across 55 games. He’s now an important player in the Reds lineup. Moreover, Josh Jung made it into the big leagues last year. He played 26 games for the Rangers, batting .204/.235/.418 with 5 home runs and 14 RBI. This season, he already played 54 games for the Rangers. He now hits .285/.333/.514 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI.

Furthermore, 2 other qualified rookies each currently have an OPS over .800.

Earned Run Average (Qualified Rookies, ~2023.06.03)

Player

ERA

Yennier Cano

0.90

Xzavion Curry

2.45

Tyler Holton

2.54

Logan Allen

2.76

Bryce Miller

3.00

Tanner Bibee

3.20

Kodai Senga

3.44

Louie Varland

3.51


In the meantime, it's also important to look at rookie pitchers. Yennier Cano posted an 11.50 ERA last season and his WHIP was over 2. However, this season, he’s been a very reliable arm in the Orioles bullpen. Cano made 24 relief appearances so far, posting a great 0.90 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP through 30 innings.

Furthermore, Xzavion Curry has an ERA of 2.45 thus far. Curry made 13 relief appearances for the Guardians and tossed 29.1 innings. At the same time, Tyler Holton made 15 relief appearances for the Tigers, posting a 2.54 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP over 28.1 innings.

Meanwhile, Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen are two reliable starters for the Guardians. Allen made 8 starts so far and Bibee made 7 starts. Bibee has a 3.20 ERA and Allen’s ERA is below 3.

Finally, Bryce Miller just made his MLB debut on May 2. He already made 6 starts for the Seattle Mariners and 5 of those 6 starts were quality starts. He has a 3.00 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP through 36 innings and opponents only hit .185 against him. He has become a reliable option in the Mariners rotation.

As we can see, Masataka Yoshida and Corbin Carroll enjoy a good start of the 2023 season. And Spencer Steer now has an OPS over .850. It will be worth watching whether Yoshida will be another Japanese player to win the Rookie of the Year award. However, no players from the Diamondbacks won the Rookie of the Year award previously. If Carroll stays healthy, it will be surely interesting to see whether he will be the first D-backs player to win the NL Rookie of the Year award. At the same time, Yennier Cano has been pitching well in the Orioles bullpen. And, Xzavion Curry, Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee have been pitching well for the Guardians. Let’s see whether they can keep performing well on the mound.

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