The Bernstein Brief: Rookie Of The Year Is Kris Bryant's To Lose
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) As the Cubs pull away from the Giants in the National League wild-card race, Kris Bryant is doing the same from the rest of the field vying for NL Rookie of the Year.
His fWAR is now a robust 4.6, which is tops among MLB rookies, and closest to him among position players is San Francisco's Matt Duffy at 3.9. Bryant has been a positive producer both at the plate and in the field, and his baserunning has been spectacular -- his BsR of 6.1 is fourth in baseball among everyone.
NL players have the top four spots in rookie fWAR, with Pittsburgh's Jung-ho Kang at 3.4 and the St. Louis' Randal Grichuk at 2.9. The only pitcher in the conversation would be Noah Syndegaard of the Mets, and he's at 2.4.
Some names from lower on the current rookie list may end up being the best players -- guys like Houston's Carlos Correa and Minnesota's Miguel Sano, if not Chicago's Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber -- but Bryant to this point is objectively the game's most valuable rookie of 2015.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
