Major League Baseball awards season is upon us, and the winners of the American and National League Rookie of the Year awards have been announced.
Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres and Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers were included in the top three of the National League.
The top three players in the American League were Luis Gill of the New York Yankees, Colton Causer of the Baltimore Orioles, and Austin Wells of the Yankees.
After the awards were announced and given to Skenes of the Pirates in the NL and Gil of the Yankees in the AL, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal admitted he was surprised by the award recipients.
“I was actually surprised both of them, I thought Cowser was going to win the AL. I was surprised Skenes won,” Rosenthal said.
“I was surprised Skenes won”@Ken_Rosenthal: says he’s surprised by the results of both Rookie of the Year races 🏆 pic.twitter.com/37Vf9wWBHh
— FoulTerritory (@FoulTerritoryTV) November 19, 2024
Rosenthal described why he was surprised that Skenes won, noting that he thought the award would be skewed toward a position player, even though Skenes had a historic season.
Merrill played in 156 games for the Padres, where he hit .292 with 24 home runs, 90 RBIs and an .826 OPS.
Rosenthal was also surprised that Gill took home the American League award and stated that he thought the Orioles’ Cusher would win it.
Kauser played in 153 games for the Orioles and batted .242 with 24 home runs, 69 RBI and a .768 OPS.
Although Rosenthal thought Merrill and Cowser would win, he notes that the seasons put together by Skenes and Gill deserved the awards.
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