SB Nation does a poll of the bloggers to give out our version of the major awards. I just filled out my ballot, but the really tough one was Rookie of the Year. Just like the BBWAA we are to give our top three choices in order.
There are a lot of pretty decent AL rookies, but no one that really stands out. Ignoring Brett Lawrie (43 games really isn't enough to get a vote from me) the choices come down too:
Dustin Ackley: He played 86 games at 2B and got into a few more games. He is tied for the top among AL rookie batters in WAR at 2.7 (with Lawrie). He had a .273/.348/.417 line, helped out a bunch by a .339 BABIP. Plays good defense.
Mark Trumbo: Led AL Rookies with 29 home runs, drove in 87. Had a .254/.291/.477. Didn't walk much at all. 4.4% of the time. Really not great number for a first baseman.
Eric Hosmer: 19 home runs and 78 RBI for the Royals. Pretty nice batting line: .293/.334/.465. First baseman without much defense.
Michael Pineda: He went 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA for the Mariners. Only walked 2.89/9 while striking out 9.11/9. If he had a better offensive team behind him he'd have a much better won/loss record.
Ivan Nova: Went 16-4, with a 3.70 ERA. Walked 3.1/9 and struck out 5.3/9, not really numbers that make you think that he'll go on to have a great career, but when you have an offense that scores as much as the Yankees, it is good enough. He gets lots of ground balls.
Jordan Walden: If you like saves, he led rookies with 32 of them. Struck out 10/9 while walking 3.9. 2.98 ERA. But then he did have 10 blown saves.
Jeremy Hellickson: 13-10 and 2.95 for the Rays. Didn't strikeout many, 5.6/9 and walked a few more than I'd like, 3.43. Had a very low BABIP at .223, I'm doubtful he can do that again.
There are others that had a pretty good rookie year too, including our J.P. Arencibia and Eric Thames.
So what 3 AL Rookies would you put on your ballot?