Last year, this was more of a procession than a contest. It was basically over by the start of April, due to Eugenio Suarez swatting four home-runs in one game on April 26. Everything thereafter was window-dressing, though Brandon Pfaadt’s September outing, tossing nine innings of one-hit ball, at least made the category something of a contest. This year promises to be a little more competitive – though it still might be over by the end of April. Typically, we will have five nominees, and these usually
include one relief pitcher, two starting pitchers, and two position players. But I am prepared to hear arguments to the contrary, because there are two very credible relief outings this year, I think.
Here’s how this will work.
- Go to the comments section.
- If your choice is already mentioned there, give it a “rec”.
- If your choice is NOT mentioned, put in a brief summary of the performance in question and leave that as a new comment.
- The MLB Video Search tool might be very helpful in bolstering your case.
- Duplicate nominations will get deleted.
- On Wednesday, I’ll tally up the recs, and use those as a guide towards a list of five or so nominees.
Position player
- 3/31, Jose Fernandez: 3-for-4 with two home-runs in his debut
- 4/26, Ildemaro Vargas: a single short of the cycle
- 5/24, Corbin Carroll: 4-for-4, two triples, two RBI
- 8/15, Nolan Arenado: two HR, three R, four RBI, BB
- 9/14, Corbin Carroll: 2-for-5, three RBI, R, +70.7 WP
Starting pitching
- 3/30, Michael Soroka: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 SO, in AZ debut, with immaculate inning
- 5/11, Michael Soroka: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, in 1-0 win
- 5/15, Merrill Kelly: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, in Coors
- 7/29, Eduardo Rodriguez: 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB. 2 SO, +46.4% WP
- 8/5, Mitch Bratt: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 SO
- 8/14, Brandon Pfaadt: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, +50.7% WP
Relief pitching
- 4/19, Brandon Pfaadt: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 SO
- 5/31, Juan Morillo: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO
- 7/28, Gerardo Carrillo: 2 IP in extras, 0 H, stranded both Manfred Men, +76.7% WP
- 8/10, Zack Littell: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO
- 9/11, Justin Martinez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, immaculate inning
See you all in the comments!
