Data Missing

Top rookies receive an “incomplete” because of the 60-game season

- J.J. Cooper

If Baseball America had chosen its Rookie of the Year on Sept. 1, it would have been a three-player race. White Sox outfielder Luis Robert and Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis seemed locked in a back-and-forth battle for rookie supremacy.

Robert was ranging far and wide to make catches all over the outfield and also was one of the best hitters in the game. At the end of August, Robert was hitting .298/.348/.612 with 10 home runs in 33 games.

Lewis was hitting just as well. While not as rangy as Robert, Lewis was robbing home runs and holding down center field. He was hitting .328/.418/.527 with eight home runs in 36 games.

And if either of them slipped, Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth was also lighting up box scores. He was hitting well and showing the versatility to play anywhere on the infield. On Aug. 31, Cronenworth was hitting .356/.411/.624.

So how did we end up not picking any of that trio as our Rookie of the Year? September offered a reminder of why we like to have the totality of a season to pick a winner.