Too Steep A Gil For Cowser To Climb
Congratulations to Luis Gil, winner of this year’s AL Rookie of the Year award. Gil beat out Colton Cowser, who did receive 13 first place votes in a close 106-101 vote. A distant 3rd was a catcher, Austin Wells, with 17 votes and in 4th place was a closer, none other than your Mason Miller (16 votes).
Was Gil deserving? That depends on how you view starting pitchers, who amass the most value with the fewest appearances but also only impact the game every 5th day. In Gil’s case he made 29 starts, logging 151.2 IP.
What makes Gil’s case even more complex is that his season was a Jekyll & Hyde of 1st and 2nd halves. In the first half Gil was excellent, posting a 3.17 ERA in 102.1 IP with 49 BB and 118 K. Sure the walks were a bit high but Gil was, overall, pitching great.
Then came the second half where Gil stumbled quite a bit. In 49.1 IP he logged a 4.20 ERA with 28 BB and 53 K. That’s a BB rate of 5.11/9 IP, resulting in Gil leading the league in walks by season’s end.
So in anointing Gil the league’s best rookie, voters had to conclude that he was the best based on a small sample that shrinks yet another 25% when you consider he wasn’t really all that good after the All-Star break.
Meanwhile, Cowser did what he did (.242/.321/.447, 24 HR,4.0 WAR, ) over 153 games and 561 PAs. In a word: Moo.
The “Jackson 2” Fall Short
It’s similar in the National League where 4 outstanding rookies vied for honors: Paul Skenes (136 votes), Jackson Merrill (104) , Jackson Chourio (26), and Shota Imanaga (4). 2 starting pitchers and 2 outfielders.
Merrill made a strong case, putting up solid numbers that are only more impressive if you consider his uncanny penchant for the dramatic hit. Merrill batted .292/.326/.500 with 24 HR, and added 16 SB in 19 tries. And he played a solid CF (+8.0 UZR/150, a neutral 0 DRS.) All of that added up to 5.3 WAR.
But he couldn’t beat out Skenes, the wunderkid the Pirates made the #1 overall selection when the A’s were denied the chance because lottery. No doubt Skenes was terrific (11-3, 1.96 ERA, 170 K in 133 IP), and it’s hard to criticize anyone who offered him a 1st place vote.
Except that one number stands out and it’s not the ERA or the strikeouts. It’s the 133 innings. Skenes didn’t even make his big league debut until May 11th, and as a result made only 23 starts — meaning he also averaged less than 6 IP per start as the Pirates carefully managed his workload to protect this franchise arm.
Should anyone win a year long award based on 23 starts and 133 innings? Enough voters said “yes,” but Padres fans can be forgiven for pointing to Merrill’s stats — compiled over 156 games and 593 PAs — and feeling a tad gypped.
Even the Brewers fans might be a touch testy over their Jackson, Chourio, not meriting more consideration as he came in a distant 3rd. Chourio batted .292/.326/.500 with 21 HRs and 22 SB and also played a terrific OF, compiling +12 DRS and an UZR/150 of +9.4 while splitting time between CF and LF.
And again, 148 games, 573 PAs for Chourio. Perhaps he warranted more votes despite not even being the best Jackson.
All of this begs the age old question of how pitchers should be compared to position players. Who wins the awards if you are voting and why? This was a bumper crop of outstanding rookies in both leagues, with several players deserving, in a vacuum, recognition. But outside a vacuum (which nature abhors and so does my dog), who was the most deserving in each league?
