Means a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year award

Means a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year award
Orioles left-hander John Means keeps building on his list of accomplishments, a pitcher given little to no chance of making the opening day roster still raising his level of recognition. Means is a finalist for the American League's Rookie of the Year Award, with voting conducted by qualifying members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The finalists' names were announced tonight on MLB Network. The Astros' Yordan Álvarez and the Rays' Brandon Lowe join Means as finalists....

The Soto-Acuña rivalry is just getting started

The Soto-Acuña rivalry is just getting started
Ronald Acuña Jr. had the higher batting average (barely) and slugging percentage (by a lot). Juan Soto had the higher on-base percentage (by a lot) and OPS (barely). Soto was the more consistent hitter throughout his rookie season, never posting an OPS lower than .800 in any single month. Acuña was the more explosive hitter during stretches of his rookie season, producing a brilliant August in which he hit .336 with 11 homers and a 1.103 OPS. Acuña was the better defensive outfielder...

Soto finishes runner-up to Acuña for NL Rookie of Year

Soto finishes runner-up to Acuña for NL Rookie of Year
Juan Soto's remarkable season, though historic for a teenager, wasn't quite good enough to merit Rookie of the Year honors. Soto finished runner-up to the Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr., who tonight was revealed the winner of the 2018 National League Rookie of the Year Award in a race that was awfully close on paper but wound up more lopsided in actual balloting. Acuña received 27 of 30 first-place votes and 144 total points, with Soto receiving two first-place votes and 89 total points to...

Soto, Scherzer are finalists for Rookie of Year, Cy Young awards

Soto, Scherzer are finalists for Rookie of Year, Cy Young awards
We won't know for another week if either won, but now we do know both Max Scherzer and Juan Soto were among the top three vote-getters for the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards. Finalists for the four major Baseball Writers' Association of America awards (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year) were revealed this evening, setting the stage for the announcements of all the winners next week. Voting among active BBWAA members (two from each National League...

Busy day ahead as offseason gets going

Busy day ahead as offseason gets going
October was relatively quiet, at least for teams like the Nationals that didn't make the postseason and didn't make any managerial or coaching changes. The calendar shift to November, though, has already brought a few bits of news, and things will continue to ramp up this week. Today promises to be a newsy day in itself for the Nats, with at least three items on the agenda. First up, Trevor Rosenthal will be holding a conference call with reporters at 10 a.m. to discuss his signing with the...

Mancini places third in AL Rookie of the Year voting

Mancini places third in AL Rookie of the Year voting
Never in the true running to win this year's American League Rookie of the Year Award due to the historic bashing in the Bronx, the Orioles' Trey Mancini settled for a third-place finish tonight in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. It's an honor just to be nominated. And to be a finalist, which was confirmed last week. The Yankees' Aaron Judge was a unanimous winner, of course, garnering all 30 first-place votes for 150 points. The Red Sox's Andrew Benintendi was...

Trey Mancini a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year (updated)

Trey Mancini a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year (updated)
With Aaron Judge a lock to be named American League Rookie of the Year, cracking the top three finalists can be viewed as a nice consolation prize. Trey Mancini will take it. Mancini, Judge and Red Sox's outfielder Andrew Benintendi were revealed as finalists tonight on MLB Network. The winner will be announced on Nov. 13. Judge, the Yankees' baseball-crushing right fielder, should gather all of the first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Benintendi...