Awards season is upon us this MLB offseason. Just last week, we saw the Washington Nationals be crowned World Series champions, but now it’s time for the individual awards. All finalists for Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards for both the American and National League have been announced and will be revealed beginning November 11th. Now it’s time for the End of the Bench’s predictions for each award. Here, we are going to look at the rookie of the year award.
AL Rookie of the Year:
Yordan Alvarez, HOU
Brandon Lowe, TB
John Means, BAL
I think many are surprised that neither Vlad Guerrero Jr nor Eloy Jimenez are among the finalists as they were expected to be the frontrunners for the award this year. Instead, we have three guys who were basically unknown until this year. Alvarez is the clear favorite among the three. In just 87 games with the Astros, Alvarez hit .313 with 27 home runs, .655 SLG, OPS of 1.067 and a WAR of 3.8, helping Houston secure the AL pennant. Lowe was another surprise for the Rays. After appearing in just 43 games for Tampa Bay in 2018, the Rays signed Lowe to a six-year contract extension prior to the 2019 season. It seems like GM Erik Neander knew what he was doing as Lowe had a career year, batting .270 with 17 home runs with an .850 OPS. However, he suffered a left quad strain in August and missed a month of the season. As far as John Means goes, you can argue he was the lone star and bright spot of the dreadful Baltimore Orioles in 2019. In 27 games started, Means led the Baltimore staff with a 3.60 ERA, WHIP of 1.135 and finished second in strikeouts with 121; not bad for a guy who strongly considered quitting the game, going so far as to creating a LinkedIn profile to begin looking for a new career.
All three had wonderful first years, each one proving themselves worth to their respective franchises. With that being said, it still seems like a no brainer here on who’s going to take home this hardware.
Winner: Yordan Alvarez, HOU
