The AL Rookie of the Year Candidate Nobody Is Talking About

The Los Angeles Angels rookie has looked like a legit star throughout the 2026 season.

Sep 12, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Walbert Urena (57) throws during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When the 2026 Major League Baseball season comes to an end and the year's awards are handed out, the American League Rookie of the Year Award is going to go to Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle.

McGonigle has 6.6 wins above replacement right now, which is fifth-best in baseball in general. The season that he has had for Detroit has been unheard of and he deserves the award. But what about the rest of the race? There are plenty of rookies out there who have had great seasons as well and will get votes, likely for second place and beyond. Throughout the 2026 season, guys like Parker Messick of the Cleveland Guardians and Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox have gotten a lot of love all season, along with McGonigle.

One guy who isn't getting the buzz he deserves, though, is 22-year-old Walbert Ureña of the Los Angeles Angels.

Walbert Ureña Deserves More Respect

Sep 12, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Walbert Urena (57) throws during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ureña has been quietly excellent all season and deserves votes for the 2026 Rookie of the Year Award. In fact, he should finish in the top five, at the very least.

Ureña has pitched in 28 games so far this season, including 26 starts, and has a 2.74 ERA and a 140-to-67 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 144 1/3 innings pitched. He also has 4.0 wins above replacement. If he wasn't pitching for the struggling Angels, baseball fans around the league would know about this guy.

Again, he's not getting the love he should be getting. On Sep. 2, MLB.com shared a column ranking the top contenders for the American League and National League Rookie of the Year Awards. The top five in the American League were McGonigle, Messick, Murakami, Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox, and Tristan Peters of the Chicago White Sox. After that, Kazuma Okamoto, Chase DeLauter, and Travis Bazzana were all listed ahead of Ureña in the "others receiving votes" category.

Ureña technically doesn't qualify for the ERA crown in Major League Baseball right now due to innings, but he would be fifth in the American League in general in ERA, and just behind Drew Rasmussen, who is at No. 4 with a 2.72 ERA. His 4.0 wins above replacement is tied for 49th in baseball with Caleb Durbin, Fernando Tatis Jr., Max Muncy, Taj Bradley and Peters.

In comparison, Murakami has 1.9 wins above replacement. Tolle has 3.0 wins above replacement. Okamoto has 2.5 wins above replacement. DeLauter has 3.1 wins above replacement, and the list goes on.

Ureña has looked like a legit star for Los Angeles, but he isn't getting the national buzz that he deserves. He should be right up there in the Rookie of the Year Award race, to say the least.