St. Louis Cardinals: Harrison Bader for Rookie of the Year

ST. LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 2: Harrison Bader #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after batting in the game-tying run against the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium on September 2, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 2: Harrison Bader #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after batting in the game-tying run against the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium on September 2, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
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St. Louis Cardinals
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 05: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves rounds second base after hitting a solo homer to lead off the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at SunTrust Park on September 5, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The St. Louis Cardinals have a wunderkind in their center fielder and the baseball world is taking notice. Will he win the Rookie of the Year for the NL?

The St. Louis Cardinals might have found themselves back in the race in the NL-Central, but the Atlanta Braves have battled themselves to the top the entire season. The Braves push was made easier by the addition of their own wunderkind in the form of Ronald Acuna, Jr.

Acuna has taken MLB by storm this season through impressive play all around. His batting line is outstanding at .289/.359/.570 with a .929 OPS. Just imagine how good the St. Louis Cardinals would be if Bader was slashing the same numbers!

Adding to his ROY campaign, Acuna is carrying a 3.9 WAR– the same as Bader.

Acuna’s range, speed, and fielding percentages pale in comparison to the St. Louis Cardinals center fielder, but remain respectable. Have a look:

Standard Fielding
Year Age Tm Pos Lg G GS CG Inn Ch PO A E DP Fld% Rtot Rdrs Rtot/yr Rdrs/yr RF/9 RF/G lgFld% lgRF9 lgRFG Awards
2018 20 ATL OF NL 86 85 75 744.0 148 142 3 3 0 .980 0 7 0 11 1.75 1.69 .986 2.09 2.09
2018 20 ATL LF NL 80 75 70 660.1 114 109 2 3 0 .974 -4 1 -7 2 1.51 1.39 .987 1.86 1.86
2018 20 ATL CF NL 11 7 3 61.2 24 23 1 0 0 1.000 2 4 38 76 3.50 2.18 .986 2.47 2.45
2018 20 ATL RF NL 3 3 2 22.0 10 10 0 0 0 1.000 2 2 97 115 4.09 3.33 .984 1.96 1.97
2018 20 ATL DH NL 1 1
1 Season OF 86 85 75 744.0 148 142 3 3 0 .980 0 7 0 11 1.75 1.69 .986 2.09 2.09
1 Season LF 80 75 70 660.1 114 109 2 3 0 .974 -4 1 -7 1 1.51 1.39 .987 1.86 1.86
1 Season CF 11 7 3 61.2 24 23 1 0 0 1.000 2 4 38 77 3.50 2.18 .986 2.47 2.45
1 Season RF 3 3 2 22.0 10 10 0 0 0 1.000 2 2 97 109 4.09 3.33 .984 1.96 1.97
1 Season DH 1 1
1 Season TOT 86 85 75 744.0 148 142 3 3 0 .980 0 7 0 11 1.75 1.69 .986 2.09 2.09

Remember that Bader has a .993 fielding percentage with a 2.97 RF/9 in CF.

What stands out to me in the comparison between Acuna and Bader (actually between Bader and any of his competition) is the fact that Acuna is four runs below average at his position while Bader is an impressive 10 runs above average at his position.

Bader is clearly the defensive value that should be exemplified by the Rookie of the Year.

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