Michael Harris II Wins National League Rookie Of The Year Award
Braves center fielder Michael Harris II has won the National League Rookie of the Year award, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced. He was followed by teammate Spencer Strider and Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan in second and third place, respectively.
This has long been viewed as a two-horse race, with the pair of Atlanta players separating themselves from the pack. Harris, a third-round pick in 2019, emerged as one of the game’s more interesting prospects with a breakout 2021 showing in High-A. He began this year in Double-A but quickly proved too advanced for the level, tearing apart opposing pitchers through 43 games. The Braves made the bold decision to skip him over Triple-A entirely, installing him as the everyday center fielder upon calling him to the big leagues in late May.
Harris stepped in excellently for the defending World Series winners. The left-handed hitter posted a .297/.339/.514 line through his first 441 big league plate appearances. He didn’t draw many walks, but Harris hit nearly .300 while connecting on 19 home runs and swiping 20 bases. He also played excellent center field defense, with Defensive Runs Saved pegging him as eight runs above average with the glove. Statcast estimated he was six runs above par, and the 21-year-old now looks like one of the most promising two-way position players in the game.
Strider, meanwhile, looks like one of the sport’s top young arms. A fourth-round draftee in 2020, he immediately outperformed that fairly modest selection. The right-hander earned a brief big league audition late last season and began this year in the MLB bullpen. By mid-May, he’d been moved to the rotation, and his excellent fastball-slider combination continued to befuddle big league hitters. The 24-year-old combined for 131 2/3 innings of 2.67 ERA ball between the bullpen and the starting staff, striking out an incredible 38.3% of opponents along the way.
A top-two finish in Rookie of the Year balloting takes on significance beyond its mere prestige value now, thanks to provisions in the new collective bargaining agreement. The CBA contained measures designed to counteract service time manipulation through the so-called “prospect promotion incentive.” Top-two Rookie of the Year finishers who were Top 100 prospects on at least two preseason lists at Baseball America, ESPN and MLB Pipeline are automatically credited with a full service year.
Harris meets all three criteria and will thus earn a full service year, although he inked an eight-year contract extension midseason that negates any chance he’ll ever proceed through arbitration and pushed back his path to free agency. The full service year will have a small move in Harris’ eventual push for 10 years in the majors and its associated pension and possible no-trade benefits. Strider earned a full service year by playing 172-plus days on the MLB roster regardless, although he also later signed an extension.
The second element of the PPI won’t come into play in the National League. A player who meets the aforementioned prospect criteria, entered the year with less than 60 days of service and spent enough time on the MLB roster to earn a full service year independent of the awards finish would net their team a bonus draft choice with a top-two finish. Harris qualified for the prospect criteria but was not on the MLB roster long enough for a full service year without the award bonus. Strider did accrue the service time element but did not appear on a preseason Top 100 at any of MLB Pipeline, BA or ESPN. Unlike the Mariners, who received an extra selection based on Julio Rodríguez’s AL ROY win, the Braves will not accrue a bonus pick.
Harris picked up 22 of 30 first-place nods, with Strider collecting the other eight votes. Harris and Strider were 1-2 in some order on 29 of 30 ballots, with Reds closer Alexis Díaz earning the other second-place vote. Donovan earned a third-place finish with a .281/.394/.379 showing over 468 plate appearances in a utility capacity for St. Louis; he grabbed 22 third-place votes. Arizona outfielder Jake McCarthy, Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo and Pittsburgh shortstop Oneil Cruz joined Díaz in picking up stray support.
Full vote breakdown available here.
MLB Announces 2022 Gold Glove Winners
Major League Baseball announced the 2022 Gold Glove award winners this evening. This season was the first in which the league added a “utility” award to honor multi-positional players, in addition to the standard nine positions in each league. There are 20 winners overall, 14 of whom received a Gold Glove for the first time. Only two players who won last year claimed the award yet again.
Five teams had multiple winners, with the AL Central-winning Guardians leading the pack with four honorees. Cleveland ranked fourth in the majors (third in the American League) in turning balls in play into outs, with opponents managing a .274 batting average on balls in play against them. That excellent defensive group was an underrated part of the quality run prevention unit that helped Cleveland to a surprising playoff berth.
Here are the full list of winners:
American League
Pitcher: Shane Bieber (Guardians), 1st career selection
Other finalists: José Berríos (Blue Jays), Jameson Taillon (Yankees)
Catcher: Jose Trevino (Yankees), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Sean Murphy (Athletics), Cal Raleigh (Mariners)
First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Luis Arraez (Twins), Anthony Rizzo (Yankees)
Second Base: Andrés Giménez (Guardians), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Jonathan Schoop (Tigers), Marcus Semien (Rangers)
Third Base: Ramón Urías (Orioles), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Matt Chapman (Blue Jays), José Ramírez (Guardians)
Shortstop: Jeremy Peña (Astros), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox), Carlos Correa (Twins)
Left Field: Steven Kwan (Guardians), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Andrew Benintendi (Royals/Yankees), Brandon Marsh (Angels/Phillies)
Center Field: Myles Straw (Guardians), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Cedric Mullins (Orioles), Michael A. Taylor (Royals)
Right Field: Kyle Tucker (Astros), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Jackie Bradley Jr. (Red Sox/Blue Jays), Max Kepler (Twins)
Utility: DJ LeMahieu (Yankees), 4th career selection
Other finalists: Whit Merrifield (Royals/Blue Jays), Luis Rengifo (Angels)
National League
Pitcher: Max Fried (Braves), 3rd career selection/3rd consecutive win
Other finalists: Tyler Anderson (Dodgers), Corbin Burnes (Brewers)
Catcher: J.T. Realmuto (Phillies), 2nd career selection
Other finalists: Travis d’Arnaud (Braves), Tomás Nido (Mets)
First Base: Christian Walker (Diamondbacks), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals), Matt Olson (Braves)
Second Base: Brendan Rodgers (Rockies), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Jake Cronenworth (Padres), Tommy Edman (Cardinals)
Third Base: Nolan Arenado (Cardinals), 10th career selection/10th consecutive win
Other finalists: Ke’Bryan Hayes (Pirates), Ryan McMahon (Rockies)
Shortstop: Dansby Swanson (Braves), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Ha-Seong Kim (Padres), Miguel Rojas (Marlins)
Left Field: Ian Happ (Cubs), 1st career selection
Other finalists: David Peralta (Diamondbacks/Rays), Christian Yelich (Brewers)
Center Field: Trent Grisham (Padres), 2nd career selection
Other finalists: Víctor Robles (Nationals), Alek Thomas (Diamondbacks)
Right Field: Mookie Betts (Dodgers), 6th career selection
Other finalists: Juan Soto (Nationals/Padres), Daulton Varsho (Diamondbacks)
Utility: Brendan Donovan (Cardinals), 1st career selection
Other finalists: Tommy Edman (Cardinals), Daulton Varsho (Diamondbacks)
Cardinals Option Nolan Gorman
The Cardinals announced late last night that infielder Nolan Gorman has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis. Fellow infielder Juan Yepez was recalled from Memphis in his place.
It’s the first trip back to the minors for Gorman, who entered the season ranked among the sport’s top 50 prospects heading into the 2022 season. Gorman captivated Cards fans with a Herculean run through Triple-A prior to his initial promotion, raking at a .308/.367/.677 clip and belting 15 home runs in just 147 plate appearances. Upon his initial promotion, he delivered on the considerable hype surrounding his bat, slugging three homers in his first 11 games and carrying an OPS north of 1.100 in that time. Gorman cooled but was solid through the All-Star break.
It’s been a struggle for the 22-year-old as the season has worn on, however. He’s hit just .207/.273/.388 in the second half — including a grisly .150/.227/.250 with a 39.4% strikeout rate over the past month. Gorman has long been considered a bat-first prospect, and it’s worth noting that he moved from third base to second base once the Cardinals acquired Nolan Arenado, so Gorman’s current position is still relatively new to him. That said, both Defensive Runs Saved (-5) and Outs Above Average (-11) are quite down on his glovework through the first 549 innings of his career there.
Some early struggles in the career of a 22-year-old isn’t any great surprise, and Gorman still figures to be a key part of the Cardinals’ future moving forward. For now, he’ll be in Triple-A for at least 10 days, as he can only return sooner than that if he’s replacing an injured player. From a service time vantage point, Gorman won’t finish the current season with a full year (nor would he have even if he’d remained on the roster through season’s end). He’ll still be controllable for at least the 2028 season, though with 122 days of service under his belt, he could wind up reaching arbitration a year early as a Super Two player, if he accrues full years of service time in 2023-24. The more pressing short-term question is simply one of whether he’ll return this season and whether he’ll be a part of the team’s postseason roster.
With Gorman optioned out, second base seems likely to belong to Brendan Donovan for the time being. A rookie himself, the 25-year-old Donovan never generated the same prospect fanfare as Gorman but has nonetheless turned in a strong .282/.391/.373 batting line through 418 plate appearances to begin his big league career. Donovan has nowhere near the same level of power (or much power at all), but he’s walked at a hearty 12.4% clip while showing good bat-to-ball skills and proving to be a tough strikeout (15.6%).
In the long-term outlook, Donovan profiles best as a Swiss army knife who can play nearly any position at a capable level. He’s already logged time at all four infield spots and in both outfield corners this year, drawing particularly strong marks in small samples at the hot corner. Like Gorman, he’s controllable another six seasons, as he’ll finish the 2022 campaign about a week shy of a full year of service time. That’ll make him a slam-dunk Super Two player, barring future optional assignments, placing him on pace for arbitration following the 2024 season.
Cardinals Notes: O’Neill, Dickerson, Hicks, Thompson
Tyler O’Neill is back on the injured list, as the club put him on the 10-day IL before this evening’s contest with the Brewers due to a left hamstring strain. Lars Nootbaar was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to take his place on the active roster, while utilityman Brendan Donovan kicked out to left field for tonight’s game.
The team didn’t provide a timetable for O’Neill’s recovery. It’s the latest in what has been a very disappointing season for the slugging outfielder. He lost a couple weeks in May battling a right shoulder impingement, and he’s not been as productive as anticipated even when healthy. Through 185 plate appearances on the season, the 26-year-old (27 on Wednesday) owns a .241/.292/.361 slash with only four home runs. That’s on the heels of a 34-homer campaign, and O’Neill’s had a rather startling dip in batted ball quality (barrel rate, hard contact rate, etc.) to go along with the lesser results.
Donovan figures to step in fairly regularly in left in O’Neill’s absence. The lefty-hitting rookie has a .315/.424/.434 mark through 170 plate appearances. That relatively quiet excellence has earned him a spot in the regular batting order, although manager Oli Marmol has had to shuffle Donovan around the diamond with Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman, Tommy Edman and Nolan Arenado serving as the primary infield.
Nootbaar and the righty-hitting Juan Yepez will likely also cycle through the corner outfield and designated hitter. Veteran Corey Dickerson was signed to a one-year deal over the offseason to play a similar role, but he’s been out for a couple weeks with a calf strain. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Dickerson felt continued discomfort after a rehab appearance in Memphis last Thursday, causing him to transition to non-game activities for a few days. The hope is he could resume the rehab stint as soon as tomorrow.
Dickerson would be joined by Jordan Hicks, who is set to start a rehab assignment of his own there tomorrow (relayed by Katie Woo of the Athletic). Hicks has missed the past three weeks with a forearm strain in his throwing arm, the latest issue for a pitcher who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 and missed two months with elbow inflammation last season. It’s a welcome development that Hicks is set to return to the mound in relatively short order this time around.
Woo adds that the club is planning to deploy Hicks out of the bullpen. The flamethrowing righty worked exclusively in relief for the first few seasons of his major league career, spending a chunk of the 2018-19 seasons as the club’s closer. He surprisingly lengthened out into a starter this year and cracked the season-opening rotation, making his first seven big league starts (in nine outings) before landing on the IL.
Hicks had a rough showing in that role, though, posting a 5.02 ERA through 28 2/3 innings. He’s struck out a decent 23% of opponents while racking up grounders on more than half the batted balls against him, but he’s also struggled significantly to throw strikes. Hicks walked almost 16% of batters faced, and the club seems set to transition him back to his more familiar relief role.
That could suggest Andre Pallante is ticketed for a longer look in the rotation. The rookie right-hander opened the season in the bullpen, but he’s started three of his four most recent appearances. Pallante, who started in college and in the minor leagues, reached 5 2/3 innings yesterday against the Red Sox — suggesting the Cards are comfortable with him turning lineups over at least twice in an outing.
The rest of the starting staff is established, with Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Dakota Hudson and Adam Wainwright making a strong top four. Offseason signee Steven Matz is on the IL with a shoulder injury, but Pallante seems to be settling into the #5 role. Former first-round pick Zack Thompson is also on the active roster and has worked as a starter this season with Memphis, but it appears the club views him as a primary relief option at the major league level for now. Marmol indicated this afternoon that Thompson could see more higher-leverage work moving forward (via John Denton of MLB.com).
Cardinals Select Three Players
The Cardinals announced this afternoon they’ve added three players — right-handers Jake Walsh and Freddy Pacheco and utilityman Brendan Donovan — to the 40-man roster. The moves keep all three players from being taken in the Rule 5 draft. The club’s 40-man roster now sits at 36.
Walsh was the Cardinals’ 16th-round pick in 2017 out of a Florida junior college. The 26-year-old spent some time as a starter early in his pro career but worked exclusively out of the bullpen in 2021. Injuries limited Walsh to 17 appearances between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis this year, but he combined for a 2.86 ERA across 22 frames at the minors’ top two levels. Walsh, whom Baseball America credits with a 95-97 MPH fastball, punched out a whopping 38.6% of batters faced. He could be a big league bullpen option in 2022.
Pacheco, 23, is also strictly a reliever. A former amateur signee out of Venezuela, Pacheco traversed three levels of the minors this past season, topping out in Triple-A. Overall, he combined for a 3.67 ERA and struck out an incredible 44% of opponents. Pacheco’s 13.4% walk percentage is alarming, but that swing-and-miss capability makes him an intriguing bullpen flier. BA ranked the 5’11” righty the #29 prospect in the organization midseason, lauding his fastball’s ability to get whiffs at the top of the strike zone.
Donovan was a 7th-rounder in 2018 out of South Alabama. The left-handed hitter has posted above-average numbers all the way up the minor league ladder while playing all over the diamond (with the bulk of that time at second and third base). Donovan hasn’t hit for a ton of power, but he’s drawn plenty of walks while rarely striking out over the course of his career. Like Pacheco, he rose from High-A to Triple-A this year, posting a cumulative .304/.399/.455 line over 459 plate appearances. BA ranked Donovan fifteenth in the St. Louis system midseason. He could be a bat-first utility option for the big league club as soon as next season.