BBA: 2009 National League ROY Ballot

The biggest project the BBA is taking on, however, is the voting for major post-season awards.  We're putting ours out now and we'll see how the baseball writers compare after the Series is over.

The Managers of the Year were already announced.  Due to the voting rules, I didn't have a ballot in that race, though Jim Tracy and Tony LaRussa would have likely finished 1-2 in mine as well.  Today is the deadline for the Rookie of the Year.  Since this is a Cardinal blog, I'll be voting on the National League race.

I had planned to do a ton of research, really sorting out the candidates and putting a decent argument behind each selection.  Then the week got away from me and I'm staring at the deadline, so that went out the window.  I've seen some of the other ballots posted, though, so I don't think I'm completely out of left field with these selections.

12-4, 2.93 ERA, 166 IP, 20 HR, 119 K, 56 BB, 1.24 WHIP

Happ played a very big role in the Phillies' returning to post-season play.  He helped insure that the slump of Jamie Moyer didn't doom the club, stepping up and pitching well throughout the year.  He struggled a little down the stretch, but on the whole had a very solid rookie season.  The Cardinals didn't help him out, though, pasting him for five runs in six innings in the one start he had against them.

2. Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves

11-4, 2.89 ERA, 127.2 IP, 10 HR, 116 K, 46 BB, 1.18 WHIP

Hanson has been long touted as the next Braves pitching star and he proved that the hype had some basis in truth during 2009.  Hanson didn't get called up until June, but he immediately made his mark, winning his first four decisions.  The league caught up with him somewhat in July, but he made adjustments and had a stellar last month of the season, fashioning a 2.31 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.  The Cardinals missed facing him in 2009.

1. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

493 PA, 74 R, 26 2B, 9 3B, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 22 SB, .286/.385/.471

It wasn't because of his results against the Cardinals (.231/.286/.269 with no homers) but I always got the feeling that, when I saw Pittsburgh highlights, McCutchen was in the middle of them.  His speed is obvious--nine triples in a season is pretty good, but when you factor in that he didn't get called up until June, it's even more impressive--and he's shown that he's got enough power to keep people honest.  Pittsburgh had a couple of rookie candidates this year (which, when you are drafting at the top of the line for over a decade, you really ought to) but McCutchen is likely the one to be the next big star for the Pirates.

There were a lot of strong rookies in this year's National League class.  Chris Conglan from Florida, Garrett Jones from Pittsburgh, Randy Well from Chicago.  For all the grief he gave the Cardinals, I just about put Casey McGehee on the list.

Then there was the Cardinal rookie.  At the beginning of the year, I would have been pretty surprised if Colby Rasmus didn't make the list.  In truth, it's possible Rasmus won't even get a vote, due to the limitation of only listing three on a ballot.  Rasmus's overall line is pretty solid (.251/.307/.407, 16 HR) but his second half slump, where he hit a paltry .216 after the All-Star Break with just five homers, took him out of the running.  That said, Rasmus dealt with some issues this year that shouldn't reoccur, so I'm excited about seeing him in the Cardinal lineup for years to come.

Nick over at Pitchers Hit Eighth will have the other Cardinal vote in this race.  Pip at Fungoes and Mike at Stan Musial's Stance will be voting on the Cy Young (Oct. 19), and then Mike and I get the MVP votes (Oct. 26).  So be sure to check those out as well as the BBA official site for more awards!