Rum Bunter’s 2016 National League Rookie of the Year

Oct 11, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager (5) strikes out to end the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals during game four of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 11, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager (5) strikes out to end the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals during game four of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

As we continue to dish out our 2016 Major League Baseball awards here at Rum Bunter next on the docket in the 2016 National 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.

Here at Rum Bunter we have handed out our NL and AL MVP, as well as our Cy Young Award winner and Manager of the Year in each league. Yesterday, Gary Sanchez was named Rum Bunter’s American League Rookie of the Year. Today, we look at Rum Bunter’s National League Rookie of the Year.

Rum Bunter’s 2016 National League Rookie of the Year is Los Angeles Dodgers’ shortstop Corey Seager. This should come as no surprise. This is due to the fact that Seager was one of our honorable mentions for National League MVP.

In 2016 Corey Seager was both an elite hitter and an elite defender. He did this at a position, shortstop, where defense is a premium and offense is not always a given. However, Seager had both in 2016.

During the 2016 campaign Corey Seager played in 157 of the Dodgers’ 162 games. In these 157 games he accumulated 687 plate appearances. In these 157 games he posted a WAR of 7.5, which was the second highest in the National League.

Seager slashed .308/.365/.512/.877 to go along with a .372 wOBA and a 137 wRC+ in 2016. He also had a .204 ISO, 26 home runs, and three stolen bases. This led to him posting an oWAR of 33.9.

As I said above, Seager’s defense was also elite in 2016. In fact, one can argue that he was the best defensive shortstop in baseball in 2016. At season’s end Seager had a 17.5 dWAR. This was, largely, due to his 11.1 UZR/150 in 2016.

Next: Arbitration Breakdown: Jordy Mercer

Corey Seager is one of the best all-around players in all of Major League Baseball. He is also Rum Bunter’s 2016 National League Rookie of the Year. Congrats, Corey!

Honorable mention: Rockies SS Trevor Story, Cardinals RP Seung-hwan Oh

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Schedule