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2022 MLB Awards: Top 5 National League Rookie of the Year Candidates

With Major League Baseball award season coming up, here's a look at our top five National League Rookie of the Year candidates for the 2022 MLB season. Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris and Spencer Strider, Cincinnati Reds' Nick Lodolo, Arizona Diamondbacks' Jake McCarthy, and St. Louis Cardinals' Brendan Donovan all put together fantastic rookie seasons. But who will win NL Rookie of the Year?

Jack Vita

2022 MLB Awards: Top 5 National League Rookie of the Year Candidates
2022 MLB Awards: Top 5 National League Rookie of the Year Candidates /
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After taking a look at our top five American League Rookie of the Year candidates, it's time to shift our sights to the National League.

As part of our 2022 Major League Baseball award selections, here's my top National League Rookie of the Year candidates:

5) Nick Lodolo, pitcher, Cincinnati Reds

19 games, 19 starts, 103.1 innings pitched, 4-7, 3.66 ERA, 131 strikeouts, 39 walks, 122 ERA+, 2.7 WAR.

Despite pitching his home games in a hitter's park, on a poor defensive club (-39 Defensive Runs Saved; fourth-worst in MLB) that lost 100 games, TCU alum Nick Lodolo shined down the stretch of the season, establishing himself as a key building block for the Reds moving forward. Lodolo logged a 2.48 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 36.1 innings in his final six starts of the season, four of which were at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

4) Jake McCarthy, outfielder, Arizona Diamondbacks

99 games, .283/.342/.769, 8 home runs, 43 RBI, 23 stolen bases, 118 OPS+, -1 Defensive Runs Saved, 2.4 WAR.

The Diamondbacks might not be far from competing in the National League West, and Jake McCarthy is a good reason why. McCarthy cooled off a touch towards the end of the year, but had the season ended September 17, he would have finished 2022 with a slash line of .306/.364/.840 through 85 games. He also impressed on the base paths, swiping 23 bases in 26 tries.

3) Brendan Donovan, utility man, St. Louis Cardinals

126 games, .281/.394/.773, 5 home runs, 45 RBI, 2 stolen bases, 126 OPS+, 10 DRS, 4.1 WAR.

The Cardinals found their next great super-utility man in the form of Brendan Donovan, who made his Major League debut April 25. Donovan played six different positions for the Cardinals in 2022, and he played all of them extremely well, posting a total of 10 DRS, a .281 batting average and a .394 on base percentage on the season.

1) National League Co-Rookies of the Year: Michael Harris II, outfielder, and Spencer Strider, pitcher, Atlanta Braves

Harris: 114 games, .297/.339/.853, 19 home runs, 64 RBI, 20 stolen bases, 135 OPS+, 8 DRS, 5.3 WAR.

Strider: 31 games, 20 starts, 131.2 IP, 11-5, 2.67 ERA, 202 SO, 45 BB, 153 ERA+, 3.7 WAR.

I spent all season trying to decipher which of these two fantastic Braves rookies was most deserving of the National League Rookie of the Year Award. After six months, I can't pick between the two of them.

As baseball becomes even more pitching dominant and batting averages above .290 become more scarce, on the surface, I'm a touch more inclined to go with Harris, who batted .297 with 19 home runs and eight DRS. But Strider was equally important to the Braves in 2022.

Strider earned a rotation spot in the early summer and exceeded expectations. As starting pitchers Charlie Morton and Ian Anderson took significant steps backwards from a season ago, Strider and Kyle Wright played a key role in the Braves' epic, 10.5-game comeback to win the National League East.

Strider and Harris were equally valuable to the Braves' 101 wins, so I will choose to reward both of them.

More of our MLB Awards Selections:

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Jack Vita
JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a national baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation.

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