MLB Awards: Why Brewers' Norichika Aoki Should Win NL ROY

The mainly unknown Norichika Aoki deserves the National League Rookie of the Year award.

The competition for NL Rookie of the Year is scarce, but when it's all said and done, the award will come down to Aoki and Bryce Harper.

Originally, the Milwaukee Brewers viewed Aoki, who they signed to a two-year, $2.25 million deal, as a bench player who would get an occasional start. The struggles of Carlos Gomez and Nyjer Morgan forced Roenicke to go to his bench and call upon the rookie. And he delivered.

A former batting champion in Japan, Aoki is batting .294 and is having an award-worthy season. Among National League rookies, Aoki ranks first in batting, on-base percentage, stolen bases, and OPS. Factor in that Aoki wasn't a starter for the first part of the season, and those stats are incredible.

Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper is getting National attention for what he's been able to do. Yet Aoki, who has 20 less at-bats than the young phenom, is keeping up with him step by step.

Voters may stray away from the 30-year-old because of all his experience and success he had over in Japan. Harper, who is only 19, is the more intriguing story.

Harper was the youngest player in Major League history to appear in an All-Star game. Aoki, on the other hand, wasn't included on the ballot. You can take away the stardom and the hype, but you can't take away what Aoki has done at the plate. Aoki has reached base safely in his last 19 games and is hitting .347 during that stretch.

The Japanese star has a shown unusual power for a Ichiro-esque hitter. He has five bombs on the season, his first being an inside-the-park home run and two coming in one game.

Outside of Milwaukee and Japan, Aoki's name is rarely uttered—and it's not because his name is difficult to pronounce. Bryce Harper has taken the media by storm, leaving Aoki to fly under the radar, which probably suits him just fine.

The National League Rookie of the Year Award should be based on merit and not recognition. If the award is given to a player based solely on stats, Norichika Aoki should stand alone.