Cardinals: Dylan Carlson doesn’t win Rookie of the Year, and that’s fine

Dylan Carlson not winning Rookie of the Year is just fine, because the young outfielder has a bright future with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Rookie of the Year voting results announced Monday revealed St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson was not the winner, finishing in third place in the voting behind winner Jonathan India and runner-up Trevor Rogers.  Even though he didn’t win, Redbirds fans still should be pleased with his first-year performance and excited about his future.

Mike Trout wasn’t the first rookie ever to hype up his team’s fans based on an awe-inspiring first full season, but his career has been so extraordinary, the search for “the next Mike Trout” is an ongoing – if impossible – pursuit.  Fellow 2012 ROY winner Bryce Harper is another player whose career has been strong enough to over-amplify fans’ expectations of first-year studs.

More recently, Ronald Acuna Jr. – another ROY recipient – Fernando Tatis Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have blown up assumption of what young players can and should do.  (Also, what’s will all these excellent Jrs. at the same time?)

Meanwhile, Carlson merely had a very good first year in the big leagues.   His Triple Crown numbers were .266/18 HR/65 RBI, and his triple-slash marks were .266/.343/.437.  For those who like the “+” stats, Carlson posted a 117 OPS+ and a 113 wRC+

No, none of those numbers jumps off the page, not compared to the exploits of the other players mentioned.  But that doesn’t mean Carlson doesn’t have a bright future.  He walked a very respectable 9.2% of the time and struck out in 24.6% of his trop to the plate, which is right around league average.

Fielding-wise, Carlson held his own in the grass, playing a solid right field over 87 games, a passable center field in 60 games, and logging nine additional appearances in left field.  While he’s not a Gold Glover like so many of his teammates, the simple ability to play all three outfield spots provides flexibility to his manager when injuries or other circumstances arise.

And recall that Carlson is a switch-hitter, though he clearly was better batting from the right-handed batter’s box last season.  Still, he doesn’t need a platoon partner, which again provides options for lineup construction, both at the plate and in the field.

Carlson spent the first few years of his professional career as a hyped minor league prospect.  He now has more than a full season’s worth of playing time validating that hype while also leaving room to grow and improve.

The Cardinals spent a few years sorting through their outfield options.  With Carlson joining Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader, it seems St. Louis’ starting outfield is set for at least the next few years.