J-Rod, Strider cemented at the top of the Rookie of the Year poll

The young stars in Seattle and Atlanta are not slowing down: with a month to play in the regular season, Dominican Julio Rodríguez and Spencer Strider are the big favorites to win the Rookie of the Year award in their respective leagues.

J-Rod and Strider have a solid lead in the MLB.com Rookie of the Year poll for the fourth straight time. Rodriguez took nearly all the first-place votes in the American League and Strider took the majority in the National League.

The Mariners and Braves are also the only teams with a pair of rookies in the top five on each circuit. Rodriguez’s teammate in Seattle, George Kirby, appears at No. 5 in the AL, while Michael Harris II joins Striker in second place in the NL Top 5

A panel of MLB.com voters was asked to choose their top five candidates for Rookie of the Year in each league, based on what has happened so far this year and what they expect to happen in the last few months of the year. the bell. First-year players received points on a scale of 5-4-3-2-1 – five for first place, four for second, and so on, for a total of 42 voters.

These are the results. (Stats through Wednesday games)

1. Julio Rodríguez, Mariners (40 first-place votes)

Rodriguez already has 23 home runs and 24 stolen bases this season, one of five players to go 20-20 this year, along with Kyle Tucker, Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia and fellow rookie Bobby Witt Jr.

2. Adley Rutschman, Orioles (2 first-place votes)

Rutschman continues to lead the way for the surprise Orioles, with an OPS above .900 since turning on in mid-June. He has also emerged as one of the best defensive catchers in the majors and ranks second at the position with 4.0 WAR since his debut.

3. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals

Witt’s 20 home runs and 27 stolen bases make him a power and speed threat just like Rodriguez. Those 27 swindles are fourth-most in the Major Leagues, and the 20 home runs have him tied with Salvador Perez for the Royals’ lead.

4. Steven Kwan, Guardians

Kwan moved up one spot since our last Rookie of the Year poll. He is batting .289 and is one of just six qualified hitters with more walks (50) than strikeouts (51), along with Juan José Soto, Alex Bregman, Luis Arraez, Yandy Diaz and Alejandro Kirk.

5. George Kirby, Mariners

Kirby broke into the top five to give the Mariners two Rookie of the Year contenders down the stretch. The 24-year-old right-hander is 6-3 with a 3.15 ERA and 109 strikeouts in his 20 starts and is coming off the AL Rookie of the Month for August

Others who received votes: José Miranda (MIN), Jeremy Peña (HOU), Felix Bautista (BAL), Joe Ryan (MIN), Jhoan Durán (MIN), Reid Detmers (LAA), Brock Burke (TEX)

1. Spencer Strider, Braves (31 first-place votes)

In his first start of September, the right-hander made the biggest Rookie of the Year argument of his campaign — he struck out 16 in eight shutout innings against the Rockies, the most in a game by any pitcher this season. and it was a Braves record in a nine-inning game. The 23-year-old right-hander is now 10-4 with a 2.69 ERA and 183 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings this season.

2. Michael Harris II, Braves (11 first-place votes)

For his part, Harris is the reigning Rookie of the Month in the Old Circuit. The center fielder hit .337 with a .990 OPS, four home runs and five steals in August. That takes Harris to a .310 batting average, .884 OPS, 15 home runs and 16 steals in his first year in the majors.

3. Brendan Donovan, Cardinals

He moved into the top three after finishing fourth in last year’s Rookie of the Year poll. After a bit of a bump in July, the utility man is hitting .312 in 26 games since the beginning of August.

4. Jake McCarthy, D-backs

McCarthy is a new figure among the top five rookies in the NL. The outfielder is hitting .323 with an .877 OPS in his 51 games over the past three months. He has a 124 OPS+ so far this season, hitting .288 with seven homers and 15 stolen bases.

5. Seiya Suzuki, Puppies

Over the past month, Suzuki is hitting .301 with an .823 OPS, moving him back up into the top five in the Rookie of the Year poll. The Japanese outfielder has a 111 OPS+ and 11 homers so far in 2022.

Others who received votes: Dominican Christopher Morel (CHC), Dominican Oneil Cruz (PIT), Puerto Rican Alexis Díaz (CIN), Dominican Edward Cabrera (MIA), Nolan Gorman (SL), Bryson Stott (FIL), Nick Lodolo (CIN), Alek Thomas (ARI), Andre Pallante (SL), Vaughn Grissom (ATL), Joey Bart (SF), Graham Ashcraft (CIN), Puerto Rican Emmanuel Rivera (ARI).