Baltimore Orioles' Trey Mancini Finishes Third in Rookie of the Year Voting

Baltimore Orioles’ rookie Trey Mancini finished third in this year’s AL Rookie of the Year voting. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge won the award.

Baltimore Orioles rookie Trey Mancini finished third in this year’s AL Rookie of the Year voting, and unsurprisingly, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge won the award, with Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi finishing second.

The Rookie of the Year voting is done each year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Judge, Benintendi, and Mancini were named as the top-three finalists, and each player was voted on using a 5-3-1 points system. Whichever player had the most points won the award.

Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel and Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson also each received votes, both getting five points.

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While coming in third means Mancini came in last, the fact that a member of the Baltimore Orioles was named a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award is, in and of itself, impressive.

And impressive was exactly the kind of year Trey Mancini had. He finished the year slashing .293/.338/.488 with 24 home runs, 65 runs, and 78 RBIs.

It didn’t matter who Mancini was facing, he hit well. He hit .293 against both lefties and righties and didn’t really have any major first- or second-half slumps, hitting .312 in the first half and .276 in the second.

Benintendi had a similarly impressive year, slashing .271/.352/.424 with 20 home runs, 84 runs, 90 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. The speed was the big difference between Mancini and Benintendi. While Mancini may have had the better slash line, Benintendi had the better all-around year, thanks to his speed (Mancini had just one stolen base all year).

As for Judge, there was really no doubt that he would win Rookie of the Year this year, and he’ll likely receive some MVP votes as well.

Judge finished the year slashing .284/.422/.627 with 52 home runs, 128 runs, 114 RBIs, and nine stolen bases. There are a couple knocks against Judge, which I think will keep him from winning the MVP award (that and, how can you possibly beat Jose Altuve after this season?).

First, there’s the stark first- and second-half splits Judge had this year. In the first half of the year, Judge slashed .329/.448/.691, but in the second half, he slashed just .228/.391/.548. There’s also Judge’s 30.7% strikeout rate, which is absurdly high. While he walked well (he had a walk rate of 18.7%) he also struck out a ton.

He’s a three-true-outcome hitter, but you might look at his .284 average and say, “No, he’s not. TTO hitters don’t hit for average.” Well, Judge’s batting average is more mirage than reality.

That .329 average he had in the first half of the year came along with an absurdly-high .426 BABIP, and his BABIP on the season was .357. That’s due for some major regression, as guys like Judge who hit a lot of home runs and strikeout a lot don’t maintain BABIPs that high.

Next: 5 Left-Handed Relievers the Orioles Could Pursue

Regardless, the Rookie of the Year voting really underscores the excellent year that Trey Mancini had, and it’s good to see a member of the Baltimore Orioles gaining some national notoriety, especially Mancini, as we expect him to keep contributing for many years to come.

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Baltimore Orioles’ Trey Mancini Finishes Third in Rookie of the Year Voting

By Ben Palmer | Nov 13, 2017

Baltimore Orioles’ rookie Trey Mancini finished third in this year’s AL Rookie of the Year voting. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge won the award.