Hellickson, Kimbrel Grab ROY Honors | 
No real surprises in the American and National League Rookie of the Year voting this afternoon. Tampa Bay Rays’ starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and Atlanta Braves’ closer Craig Kimbrel easily won their league’s respective awards. Kimbrel grabbed all 32 first place votes to easily beat out teammate Freddie Freeman in the NL, while Hellickson received 17 first place votes and finished 39 points ahead of Los Angels’ 1st baseman/outfielder Mark Trumbo in the AL. Trumbo received five first place votes with top votes also going to Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer (4), and the NY Yankees’ Ivan Nova (1).
Hellickson threw 189 innings and finished 13-10, 2.95. He had a very good 1.153 WHIP and a 4.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR). He allowed just 146 hits and averaged just one home run allowed per nine innings. Hellickson joined teammate Evan Longoria (2008) as the only Rays to win the ROY Award.
Kimbrel was a strikeout machine in his freshman year in the ATL. He led the league with 46 saves and averaged 14.8 strikeouts per nine innings. He also led the NL in games finished (64), while he compiled a 4-3, 2.10 mark and earned a place on the NL All-Star team. Kimbrel is the first Brave to win the award since Rafael Furcal took top rookie honors in 2000. Other franchise winners are David Justice (2000), Bob Horner (1978), and Earl Williams (1971).
It was the first time since Fernando Valenzuela (LAD) and Dave Righetti (NYY) were Rookie of the Year winners in 1981, that the league’s two awards went to pitchers in the same year.
Below is the complete results of this year’s vote.
| Player, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay Rays | 17 | 5 | 2 | 102 |
| Mark Trumbo, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 5 | 11 | 5 | 63 |
| Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals | 4 | 4 | 6 | 38 |
| Ivan Nova, New York Yankees | 1 | 5 | 10 | 30 |
| Michael Pineda, Seattle Mariners | 3 | 2 | 11 | |
| Dustin Ackley, Seattle Mariners | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| Desmond Jennings, Tampa Bay Rays | 1 | 1 | ||
| Jordan Walden, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 1 | 1 |
| Player, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves | 32 | 160 | ||
| Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves | 21 | 7 | 70 | |
| Vance Worley, Philadelphia Phillies | 8 | 16 | 40 | |
| Wilson Ramos, Washington Nationals | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| Josh Collmenter, Arizona Diamondbacks | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
| Danny Espinoza, Washington Nationals | 1 | 3 | ||
| Darwin Barney, Chicago Cubs | 2 | 2 | ||
| Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers | 2 | 2 |
Drew Sarver is a senior writer for BaseballDigest.com. You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.
Topics: Angels Of Anaheim, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Bob Horner, Dave Righetti, Eric Hosmer, Evan Longoria, Fernando Valenzuela, Franchise Winners, Going To Kansas City, Jeremy Hellickson, Josh Collmenter, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Mark Trumbo, New York Yankees, Nl All Star Team, NY Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Rafael Furcal, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals
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