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Pirates Rookie OF Earns Top-10 Awards Projection From ESPN Analyst
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- Pirates Rookie OF Earns Top-10 Awards Projection From ESPN Analyst
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Pittsburgh Pirates are fighting for a chance to make the postseason, but it's not looking too good right now. Unfortunately, the pitching staff has been a bit underwhelming, and the offense hasn't been able to make up the difference.
It's not over yet, but the Pirates face an uphill battle for the postseason. So, if they can't make it, what about some end-of-season awards? Like last year, when Paul Skenes won the NL Cy Young, an end-of-season award could make up for a disappointing season.
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According to ESPN's Bradford Doolittle , the Pirates do have someone inside the top-10 of an awards category. It's rookie outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez who, while a long shot, is within the top-10 of the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
Doolittle shared the rookie rankings by AXE, a metric to measure a player's value based on their overall production during the season. Valdez has a 109.4 AXE, slightly above average, but still well behind No. 1.
The Pirates' NL Central rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, have the leading rookie in AXE. Barnwell revealed that the "Frontrunner: JJ Wetherholt, Cardinals (131.7 AXE)."
Valdez is a ways away from Wetherholt, and it'd take a miracle to win Rookie of the Year. But it's still a cool honor for Valdez to be among the top-10 for this awards category.
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This season, for the Pirates in 61 games and 202 at-bats, Valdez has 50 hits, 35 runs scored, 13 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs, 41 RBIs, 37 walks, 91 strikeouts, a .248 batting average, and an .892 OPS with 1.5 WAR.
Those are some impressive numbers for a rookie, though his 91 strikeouts are a major detriment to his offensive production and overall value.
He also hasn't played enough to justify a top ranking here, as his 61 games are under half of what the Pirates have played this season.
Valdez most likely isn't going to win this end-of-season award. But it's still cool to see him among the top-10 despite such a small sample size, especially since Konnor Griffin was supposed to be in this ranking, but his injury has kept him out for much of the year.
