NL Rookie of the Year Rankings: How Soon Before Bryce Harper Rules Them All?

Until last week, April had been kind of a quiet month for rookies in the National League.

While several first-year players have been putting up solid numbers for their respective teams, there hasn't really been that one guy who makes everyone take notice and think "I have to watch him play tonight."

That is, until the Washington Nationals decided to call up Bryce Harper last Friday. Now the NL rookie class has its breakout star. 

At least that's what most everyone expects from Harper, and he hasn't done anything to temper those projections in his first five games as a major leaguer. 

While a handful of rookies have disappointed a bit thus far, a few of their peers have made notable contributions with their clubs after the first month of the season. 

Here are five of the top candidates for the NL Rookie of the Year award. Please feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments.

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5. Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

Is No. 5 too low to have Bryce Harper in these rankings? 

Well, he's only played five major league games so far. As impressive as he's been, both at the plate and in the field, other rookies have put in more time and thus made a more meaningful contribution to their teams.

But for those of us (including myself) who thought Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo might have been a bit hasty in breaking the glass on his prized prospect, Harper has done nothing to show that he's been overwhelmed by the majors. 

Granted, it's early, so take small sample size and all that into consideration. But for a kid who's been a typical slow starter and hadn't even hit that well at the Class AA and AAA minor league levels, he's looked plenty comfortable against big league competition. 

In 18 plate appearances, Harper has a .375/.389/.625 slash average and four doubles in six hits demonstrates both his extra-base power and speed on the basepaths. The kid goes hard on every play. That's displayed with his range in left field and his throwing arm, as well. 

Harper will surely be moving up this list very quickly. 

4. Wade Miley, Arizona Diamondbacks

The NL Rookie of the Month for April should probably be on this list, don't you think?

The Diamondbacks broke spring training with Wade Miley as a long reliever in their bullpen. He was a bit shaky in that role, giving up three runs, seven hits and four walks in 8 1/3 innings.

Those who follow the D-Backs expected Miley to pitch as a starter for Class AAA Reno if he didn't make the major league club in the spring. Maybe Miley had that same idea, and was never comfortable pitching as a reliever.

But Miley got moved up to the starting rotation when Daniel Hudson went on the disabled list with a shoulder injury and has thrived in the role which he likely prefers. 

In two starts, Miley has a 2-0 record and hasn't allowed an earned run in 12 and one-third innings. More impressively, he has 13 strikeouts and just three walks. 

Miley's excellent performance could continue on Friday night, as he'll be facing a New York Mets lineup that's had trouble scoring runs. 

3. Zack Cozart, Cincinnati Reds

Why Zack Cozart over Atlanta Braves shortstop Tyler Pastornicky?

Both have similar stats. Cozart has an .749 OPS with seven doubles and four RBI. Pastornicky's OPS is .710 with seven RBI. Each shortstop is on a second-place team, helping to keep their team in playoff contention.

But Cozart appears to be the better defensive player, though it's far too early for a metric like Ultimate Zone Rating to make a determination on that. 

While Pastornicky has comparable offensive stats and has driven in more runs for a Braves' lineup that's scored the second-most runs in the NL, he's spent almost the whole season hitting eighth in the Atlanta batting order.

That's a nice, safe place for a player whose bat almost cost him a major league job in spring training. So the Braves are surely happy with the production they've been getting from him. 

Cozart, meanwhile, has mostly batted second for the Reds. He's expected to move along runners and set the table for the big bats of Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. More is asked of him from manager Dusty Baker, and so far, he's performed up to that standard. 

2. Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals

If Lance Lynn is among my top NL Cy Young Award candidates, then he absolutely belongs on my list of Rookie of the Year contenders.

As I wrote about him in those Cy Young rankings, Lance Lynn has filled in more than capably for the injured Chris Carpenter. The St. Louis Cardinals hoped he would be able to anchor the back of their starting rotation, but Lynn's performance has far exceeded those expectations. 

Lynn leads the Cardinals' staff in strikeouts. And among their starting pitchers, he's thrown the second-most innings while allowing the fewest hits. With a 5-0 record, 1.60 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 33 and one-third innings, he's looking more like an ace than a rookie just happy to have a job in the Cards' starting rotation.

Putting Lynn back in the bullpen if and when Carpenter returns originally looked like an easy decision for Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. He'd have a hard time justifying making such a change now. 

1. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, New York Mets

For a guy who wasn't even on the New York Mets' active major league roster on opening day, Kirk Nieuwenhuis has made the most of his opportunity. 

Called up from Class AAA Buffalo after center fielder Andres Torres suffered a calf injury, Nieuwenhuis hasn't just played like a minor league fill-in. He's been the Mets' best offensive player besides David Wright, compiling a .310/.375/.448 slash average with two homers and eight RBI. 

Nieuwenhuis has hit so well that when Torres returned, manager Terry Collins couldn't give the veteran his job back. Not the whole job, at least. Torres did take his regular position in center field, but Nieuwenhuis kept the leadoff spot in the lineup. 

The Mets have had trouble scoring runs this season, but when they have hit well, Nieuwenhuis has had much to do with that production.

His best performance may have been in last Thursday's game against the Miami Marlins. He led off the game with a triple, helping the Mets to an early lead. Then in extra innings, with Marlins closer Heath Bell struggling to find the strike zone and ready to blow the game, Nieuwenhuis put him out of his misery with a walkoff RBI single. 

The Mets could have a tough decision to make when Jason Bay recovers from a rib injury. But unless Nieuwenhuis does something to lose his job, it's difficult to imagine Collins putting one of his best hitters on the bench.