Wil Myers became Tampa Bay’s third AL Rookie of the Year in the past six seasons Monday after receiving 23 of 30 first-place votes from the BBWAA.
Myers, who was acquired from Kansas City last winter in the James Shields deal, joins Evan Longoria (2008) and Jeremy Hellickson (2010) as Rays to win the award after hitting .293/.354/.478 with 13 homers and 53 RBI in 88 games. He didn’t debut until June 18 as the Rays sought to delay his free agency and arbitration eligibility.
The runner up was Jose Iglesias, who could have been the first ever Rookie of the Year to be traded at midseason. Iglesias, who was shipped from the Red Sox to the Tigers in a three-team deal that sent Jake Peavy to the White Sox, hit a surprising .303/.349/.386 in 350 at-bats on the season. He’s better known for his defense at shortstop, but the voters decided his glove wasn’t sufficient to make up for the slugging gap between him and Myers.
Iglesias got five first place votes. Another Ray, starting pitcher Chris Archer, finished third and got one first-place vote. A’s starter Dan Straily came in fourth, getting the remaining first-place vote.
For the AL overall, it was quite a downer of a rookie class after last year’s triumphant Mike Trout-Yu Darvish-Yoenis Cespedes triumvirate. Minnesota’s Aaron Hicks was the only rookie in the league penciled in as a regular from day one. He went on to hit .192/.259/.338 in 281 at-bats, and he finished the season in the minors. Likewise, Seattle’s Brandon Maurer was the only rookie starter to open the season in an AL rotation. He ended up 5-8 with a 6.30 ERA.
