Pittsburgh Pirates Wake Up Call – The Rookies of the Year

In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.

Rookies of the Year crowned

Corey Seager of the Dodgers and Michael Fulmer of the Tigers were named the MLB Rookies of the Year last night. Both had tremendous 2016 seasons and were more than worthy of the awards.

Seager hit .308 with 26 home runs and was worth 6.1WAR. The shortstop isn’t just the Rookie of the Year, he is also a legit MVP candidate. He could be the first player since Ichiro in 2001 to win the Rookie of the Year and the MVP in the same season.

Michael Fulmer was a stud for a surprising Detroit Tigers team. The Tigers weren’t predicted to do much and finished second in the AL Central with an 86-75 record. Fulmer played a huge role as he finished with a 3.06ERA and was worth 3.0WAR in 159 innings.

Impact Rookies for the Pirates

Watching Corey Seager dominate for the Dodgers had to make Pirates’ fans drool at the thought of Josh Bell in 2017. Bell did see plenty of Big League team in 2016 but fell two at-bats short of losing his rookie eligibility. Which means he is still Rookie of the Year eligible.

Josh Bell has all the potential in the world and could be the first Pirates’ rookie of the year since Jason Bay in 2004. A lot has to go right for Bell in 2017 but I wouldn’t doubt the young man. The defense still needs a lot of work but the bat plays at the MLB level. If he takes even a modest step forward in 2017 he will be a Rookie of the Year candidate.

Josh Bell isn’t the only potential breakout rookie for the Pirates. Tyler Glasnow wasn’t as dynamic as Bell but he has all the tools to be a top-flight MLB pitcher. If Glasnow can improve on his 2016 season, he could very well be this year’s Michael Fulmer.

Glasnow clearly has all the tools to be a great pitcher, he just needs to work on the finer points. It’s no guarantee he will start 2017 in Pittsburgh but he will have an impact in Pittsburgh next year. If he can fix some of the flaws in his game, Rookie of the Year Tyler Glasnow could be a real possibility.

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