NL Rookie of the Year

He's smiling because he's probably bringing home some hardware.

Considering Evan Longoria has all-but-cemented his spot as the AL Rookie of the Year (sorry Armando Galarraga fans), let's take a last look at the NL side of things (I'll probably make comments about the awards after they've been publicized, but honestly, can we all agree that whoever they pick deserves the award? It's not the player's fault they were chosen, and all the debates really do is hurt their feelings. Wow, how sentimental of me. Now, back to the statistics). I've narrowed the candidates down to three.

Geovany Soto (CHC) -> .286/.364/.505, 23 HR, 35 2B, 86 RBI, 66 R
The negative: 121 K

Joey Votto (CIN) -> .288/.361/.486, 22 HR, 30 2B, 79 RBI, 59 R
The negative: Soto did better in fewer at-bats.

Jair Jurrjens (ATL) -> 13-10, 3.68 ERA, 188.1 IP, 1.37 WHIP, 139 K, 70 BB
The negative: August (5.73 ERA) and September (4.30).

So who wins? Between Soto and Votto, Soto has to win considering his stats are better than Votto's in fewer AB's. Votto's been great, but Soto's just been a smidge better (I do mean a smidge). Plus, he plays a more important position on a World Series-caliber team. As for Jurrjens vs. Soto, the debate is tougher. Comparing pitchers and hitters is like comparing apples and oranges. How do you really compare them? First (and maybe the best) is to look at how their teams have played. The Cubs are a winning team, whereas the Braves aren't so much. However, I don't like the "winning team" argument for other awards, so even though it might be the best way to compare across positions, it really isn't all that helpful. Second, how do they compare overall with veteran players. Soto is one of the top 3 offensive catchers (10%) in baseball, and I would even say possibly a top 50 (6.67% considering 25 x 30 = 750 players) position player (especially given his position). Jurrjens is probably a top 30 pitcher (20% considering 5 x 30 = 150 pitchers). The edge seems to go to Soto, but that may not be very helpful because you really have to combine them to choose the award. However, considering those things already seem to favor Soto and he's had a lot more press, I think Soto's a shoe-in as well.