Rum Bunter’s 2016 American League Rookie of the Year

Oct 2, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (24) bats against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (24) bats against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports /
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As we continue to dish out our 2016 Major League Baseball awards here at Rum Bunter next on the docket in the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year.

Now that the 2016 Major League Baseball regular season has ended eyes can be pointed toward the offseason. The offseason includes, first and foremost, postseason play, free agency, trades, and award. Due to this here at Rum Bunter we are dishing out our 2016 awards for Major League Baseball.

Thus far we have given out nine awards. These awards are the MVP, Cy Young winners, and Managers of the Year in each league. Next up is the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year.

Rum Bunter’s 2016 American League Rookie of the Year is a player who did not make it to the Major Leauges until August. This player is New York Yankees’ catcher Gary Sanchez. Despite playing in just 53 games in 2016, Gary Sanchez is Rum Bunter’s 2016 American League Rookie of the Year.

In his 53 games in the Majors Gary Sanchez accumulated 229 plate appearances. What he did in these 229 plate appearances is truly incredible. And it is due to this that he is Rum Bunter’s AL Rookie of the Year.

Gary Sanchez slashed .299/.376/.657/1.033 in his 229 plate appearances. Sanchez also owned a .425 wOBA, 171 wRC+, and an ISO of .358. Gary Sanchez did not just show good offense in 2016, though.

In 316 innings at catcher Sanchez committed just three errors. He was responsible for four defensive runs saved and he threw out base runners at an above league average rate. Furthermore, he was also a strong pitch framer. All of this led to Sanchez posting a 4.9 dWAR in 2016.

Next: Arbitration Breakdown: Jordy Mercer

Gary Sancherz’s overall WAR in 2016 was 3.2. Which led all Yankee position players. The fact he led the team’s position players in WAR despite playing in just 53 games is remarkable. The rate at which he hit home runs was also remarkable.

Gary Sanchez smashed 20 home runs in his 229 plate appearances. This would put Sanchez on pace to hit 56 home runs over the course of a full season’s worth of plate appearances. While that is, most likely, not going to happen moving forward. Yankee fans still have to love the power that Sanchez flashed in 2016.

New York Yankee fans long awaited the arrival of Gary Sanchez. That arrival happened in 2016 and he did not disappoint. And his performance led to him winning Rum Bunter’s 2016 American League Rookie of the Year Award.

Honorable mention: Tigers SP Michael Fulmer, Indians OF Tyler Naquin

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