Yankees third baseman Miguel Andújar is Sporting News' 2018 American League Rookie of the Year, as selected through a panel of 99 AL players. SN has given out Rookie of the Year awards since 1946.
Miguel Andújar's storybook rookie season started and ended unexpectedly.
The story starts as many fantasy tales do: Once upon a time, Brandon Drury was named the Yankees' third baseman for the 2018 season. Some DL stints and a trade to the Blue Jays later, Andújar found himself as the starting third baseman. Then came the production: Andújar would go on to live up to his top-prospect billing, launching 27 long balls to aid a historic Yankee offense.
Following the ALDS Game 4 loss to the Red Sox which ended the Yankees' season, Andújar cleaned out his locker and headed for the clubhouse exit. As he left, he exuded the same qualities as he did following wins all season — a quiet confidence and even-keeled demeanor, two qualities that are rare to find in first-year players.
While the Yankees' season ended on a sour note, at least Andújar helped pen a positive chapter: He's the 2018 Sporting News American League Rookie of the Year.
A history-making season for the Yankees saw 267 home runs launched for a new MLB record, and Andújar was a big part of that, launching 27 dingers of his own. Andújar takes home the SN rookie honors on the strength of those 27 home runs, a .297/.328/.855 slash line and 92 RBIs. Andújar also set the record for doubles by a Yankee rookie with 47, surpassing Joe DiMaggio's 44 in 1936.
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The third baseman received 61 of 99 votes tallied; Japanese star Shoehei Ohtani (19 votes) and Rays outfielder Joey Wendle (11 votes) rounded out the top three in voting.
Andújar's impact didn't come as a suprise to some of his Yankee teammates.
"Even in the minor leagues, when I played with him at a young age, I saw the potential," Aaron Judge, the 2017 SN Rookie of the Year, told Sporting News. "I said, 'Man, that kid's gonna be something special down the road.'"
Special is one word to describe Andújar's rookie season. He finds himself in a long line of young Bomber talent, becoming the 10th Yankee rookie to earn the SN award; he joins pinstripe alumni Whitey Ford (1950), Bob Grim (1954), Tony Kubek (1957), Ryne Duren (1958), Tom Tresh (1962), Stan Bahnsen (1968), Dave Righetti (1981), Derek Jeter (1996) and Judge (2017).
How did Andújar etch his name in the books? Well, by being a very unorthodox Yankee in his approach at the plate. Andújar's aggression played against the Yankee approach.
The Yankees are a team composed of grinders, seeing almost four pitches per plate appearance during the regular season (3.99). Andújar was well below that mark, seeing 3.52 pitches per plate appearance.
"There's not necessarily one way to pitch [Andújar]," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "He is an aggressive hitter. He goes up there typically on the hunt early in counts, so he's had a lot of success on first pitches. So that brings that number down.
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"I think what [Andújar] has is a very versatile swing," Boone said. "Most guys, there's a particular way to attack them, or a weakness that you go after, and if you execute, you can have success. If you make a mistake, some guys are in position to handle it."
To Boone's point, Andújar's early count "hunting" has resulted in big-time results, as he finished with a .351 average and six home runs when putting the first pitch in play in 2018. In addition to the early count aggression, Boone commended Andújar's ability to control the strike zone and punish mistakes; Andújar has a 91.8 percent contact rate when swinging at pitches inside the strike zone.
Judge mirrored his manager's thoughts on Andújar's mechanics.
"He's got a good swing, and the way his swing is set up, he can hit a lot of pitches at any time," Judge told Sporting News. "He may be thinking fastball, but his bat stays in the zone for so long that even though he's thinking fastball, if he's aggressive to it, if he gets an off-speed pitch in the zone, he can pull it to left field."
Andújar demonstrated in 2018 that he isn't a strictly dead-pull hitter. While a majority of his home runs went to left field, he used all fields when hitting.
Source: FanGraphs
Andújar's durability also came into play, playing in 149 games and staying consistent throughout the season — his average last dipped below .270 on April 21 and he had 53 multi-hit games during the 2018 season.
*****
VOTING RESULTS
1. Miguel Andújar, Yankees: 61
2. Shohei Ohtani, Angels: 19
3. Joey Wendle, Rays: 11
4. Gleyber Torres, Yankees: 4
5. Jake Bauer, Rays: 2
6. Willy Adames, Rays: 1
7. Lou Trivino, Athletics: 1
THIS WEEK’S SN AWARD SCHEDULE
Monday: Rookies of the Year (AL and NL)
Tuesday: Comeback Players of the Year (AL and NL) and Managers of the Year (AL and NL)
Wednesday: AL All-Star Team | NL All-Star Team
Thursday: MLB Player of the Year
