Monday afternoon, at 2 p.m. ET, the winner of the 2010 National League Rookie of the Year Award will be announced. And this is an award with no easy answer, as the N.L. had a bumper crop of fine young talent.
2010 N.L. Rookie Of The Year: Jason Heyward, Buster Posey In Tight Race
The two frontrunners are going to be Atlanta's Jason Heyward and San Francisco's Buster Posey. And the likelihood is that Heyward probably has a small edge. The 21-year-old outfielder was up all season long, save for a stint on the disabled list, and batted .277 with 18 home runs and a .393 OBP. His 83 runs, 72 RBI, and 91 walks are all terrific marks for such a young player, and Heyward was able to make an immediate impact.
Posey, of course, was no slouch, batting .305 with 18 home runs of his own. He also had a .505 slugging percentage while spending the bulk of his time behind the plate. With an excellent bat and surprisingly great defense for a 23-year-old rookie backstop, Posey would in most years be the clear favorite for the award. However, the deciding factor here may be that Heyward played in 34 more games, as Posey didn’t come up until the end of May. Playing time is a big deal to the voters, and it can help break an otherwise even race.
Beyond Heyward and Posey, there were plenty of other standout rookies in the NL who should end up on some ballots. St. Louis' Jaime Garcia posted a 2.70 ERA over 28 starts. Florida's Gaby Sanchez batted .273 with 19 home runs as a first baseman. Florida's Mike Stanton had a .507 slugging percentage over 100 games. Chicago's Starlin Castro batted .300 as a 20-year-old shortstop. These guys, along with a handful of others, breathed a lot of new life into the league, making for one of the best overall rookie classes in recent history.
Though he won't place due to a lack of playing time, one can't forget Washington's Stephen Strasburg, who allowed 25 runs in 12 starts.
We'll find out who wins at 2pm. The last Braves player to win the Rookie of the Year was Rafael Furcal in 2000. The last Giants player to win it was John Montefusco in 1975.
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