NL Rookie of the Year Rankings: Yonder Alonso, Zack Cozart, Emerging Contenders

The National League Rookie of the Year race is beginning to get interesting.

Yes, Bryce Harper is receiving the majority of the attention now, despite playing in many fewer games than the other top rookie candidates. Though the hype has been excessive, he's done nothing to show he doesn't deserve to be recognized.

However, several other rookies are putting up some excellent numbers, which could prevent this race from becoming the Bryce Harper Show.

It's getting increasingly difficult to whittle the list of contenders down to five. But here's how the top five candidates currently stack up, in one view.

5. Yonder Alonso, San Diego Padres

Last week, when we put this list together, Yonder Alonso was batting a disappointing .247/.326/.333 and didn't warrant a spot among the top five contenders.

Since then, however, Alonso's bat has been on fire.

In his last four games, the San Diego Padres' first baseman is 8-for-18 (.444) at the plate with three doubles and two RBI, boosting his slash average to .283/.351/.384, which currently leads all Padres hitters.

In his last 11 games, Alonso is 17-for-43 (.395).

Alonso isn't hitting for much power, but that's not his style. He's a gap hitter, and those line drives are now resulting in plenty of doubles in Petco Park's vast outfield. His 10 doubles are the third-highest total in the NL as of Tuesday.

4. Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

Coming out of the weekend, Bryce Harper was the player most everyone was talking about in baseball.

During the Washington Nationals' Sunday Night Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Harper was welcomed to the majors with a pitch drilled into his back by Cole Hamels. Afterwards, the Phillies lefty admitted he did so intentionally.

The unprovoked plunking stoked plenty of argument the next day, and Hamels paid for his honesty with a five-game suspension from MLB. But Harper retaliated on the field, eventually stealing home for the Nats' first run of the game.

You can see the steal of home here.

The play seemed typical of Harper. Stealing second for his first stolen base wasn't enough. Harper had to steal home. And on national TV.

However, as impressive as Harper has been, batting .308/.424/.500, we're still talking about a player who's appeared in only eight games. His fellow rookie contenders have appeared in three times as many games.

But playing time shouldn't be a problem for Harper from here on out. With Jayson Werth's broken wrist and the Nats' grave need for offense, he's not going back to the minors any time soon.

3. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, New York Mets

Last week, Kirk Nieuwenhuis topped our list of Rookie of the Year candidates, based largely on his April performance. But it looks like the game might be catching up with the New York Mets outfielder a bit.

So far in May, Nieuwenhuis is 3-for-17 (.176). Even more of a concern is that the rookie is striking out. A lot.

Nieuwenhuis' 32 strikeouts are currently tied for fifth in the NL. He even has more K's than Ike Davis!

Since mid-April, Nieuwenhuis' numbers have been in steady decline. He's gone from a season-high slash average of .375/.444/.531 down to .299/.370/.423.

When Andres Torres returned from his calf injury, Mets manager Terry Collins kept Nieuwenhuis in the leadoff spot because of how well he'd been hitting. But if Nieuwenhuis keeps up his current slide, Collins may have to make a move.

The decision point may come if and when Jason Bay returns from his rib injury. At that point, if Nieuwenhuis hasn't justified staying in the lineup, it will be a relatively easy decision to put him on the bench and possibly send him back to the minors.

This could very well be the last time Nieuwenhuis appears on this list of contenders.

2. Zack Cozart, Cincinnati Reds

Though Zack Cozart and Tyler Pastornicky look rather evenly matched in a battle between first-year shortstops, the Cincinnati Reds rookie is beginning to pull away based on his power.

Both rookie shortstops have a .271 batting average and about the same number of RBI. But Cozart is building a lead in OPS with an .801 compilation to Pastornicky's .688. Cozart has more doubles, triples and home runs. He's also drawn more walks than the Atlanta Braves rookie.

Though too few games have been played for Ultimate Zone Rating to paint a definitive picture, Cozart has also been the superior defender at shortstop, based on the data collected thus far.

As mentioned last week, Cozart also plays a more important role in the Reds' batting order, frequently penciled into the No. 2 spot in the lineup. He's not being protected in the lower third of the lineup.

Reds manager Dusty Baker is putting him in a key spot, expecting him to move runners along and get on base in front of Cincinnati's big boppers. That, above all, might speak to how highly he's regarded by his team and the contribution he's currently making.

1. Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals

UPDATE (5/9): There's been quite a discussion in the comments about whether or not Lynn still has rookie eligibility. I put the question to a couple of Cardinals beat writers, and MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch pointed me to her blog, where she answered the question definitively. 

"Not counting his time on the disabled list, Lynn was on the Cardinals’ roster from June 2-10 and again from June 22 – August 10," Langosch writes. "Altogether, that exceeds 45 days."

So it's settled. I apologize for any confusion and misrepresentation. Next week's NL rookie rankings will obviously reflect this information.

Thanks to all who chimed in on this.

When the St. Louis Cardinals tabbed Lance Lynn to replace the injured Chris Carpenter in their starting rotation, they likely hoped that he would pitch relatively deep into ballgames and not give up too many runs. You know, fifth starter sorts of expectations.

The Cards couldn't have imagined that Lynn would eventually lead the pitching staff in wins, ERA and strikeouts. The Triple Crown holder of the starting rotation? Yet after another dominant performance on Monday night, that's exactly what Lynn has accomplished.

Pitching against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Lynn held one of the more productive lineups in the NL to three hits over five scoreless innings. He also struck out seven batters but walked four. 

If there's one stat worth raising an eyebrow over, it would be Lynn's 11 walks. Only Jaime Garcia has more on the St. Louis pitching staff. But the Cardinals are likely willing to live with that, as long as Lynn keeps striking out batters and keeps runs off the board.

Lynn has won all six of his starts this season, compiling a 1.40 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 38.2 innings. That innings total is also the most among Cardinals starting pitchers.

Fifth starter? Not so much. Lynn is pitching more like an ace in the making.

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