Third baseman Kris Bryant was one of the key components to a 97-win Chicago Cubs team that made their first postseason berth in seven years and made it to the National League Championship Series. On Monday, he was recognized as the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America, winning the award unanimously.
Cubs 3B Kris Bryant wins NL Rookie of the Year unanimously
Bryant is the first Cubs player to win Rookie of the Year since 2008.
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Bryant received all 30 first-place votes, outpacing San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Duffy and Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jung-ho Kang for the honor.
This is the sixth Cubs Rookie of the Year, with Bryant joining the likes of Billy Williams (1961), Ken Hubbs (1962), Jerome Walton (1989), Kerry Wood (1998) and Geovany Soto (2008).
Bryant was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2013 draft, and paid almost immediate dividends with a fine first season in 2015. He hit .275/.369/.488 with 26 home runs, 99 RBI and 87 runs scored, leading all National League rookies in home runs, RBI, runs and on-base percentage.
Bryant mostly played third base in his rookie campaign, starting 136 games at the hot corner, but he also made 10 outfield starts, including at least one start at all three outfield positions. He also started one game at first base.
San Francisco needed a third baseman after veteran Casey McGehee faltered, so they turned to Duffy and didn’t skip a beat. Duffy was a key cog in the Giants’ underrated lineup, hitting second or third for the bulk of the year, and hit .295/.334/.428 with 28 doubles and 12 home runs in 149 games. He even stole 12 bases without getting caught.
Kang, 28, was signed out of the Korean Baseball Organization, with the Pirates getting a relative steal. They paid a $5 million posting fee to the Nexen Heroes for his rights, then signed the infielder to a four-year, $11 million contract. Kang was magnificent in his first year in MLB, hitting .287/.355/.461 with 15 home runs and 24 doubles in 126 games, splitting time between shortstop and third base as needed before a fractured tibia ended his season in mid-September.
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