Andujar, Gleyber up for top rookie

The odds of a Yankee winning the American League’s Rookie of the Year Award are high.

As expected, the finalists for the honor, announced Monday, were Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres and Shohei Ohtani.

Torres got off to a torrid start this season, hitting .294 with 15 home runs, 42 RBI and a .905 OPS. He cooled significantly following a hip injury in early July, hitting just .249 in the second half and then struggled in the playoffs, notably grounding out to end the Yankees’ ninth-inning rally in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Red Sox.

Andujar was more consistent over his rookie campaign but broke out after the All-Star break, hitting .319 with 15 of his 27 home runs in the second half, fast becoming one of the most clutch bats in the Bomber lineup. His defense left something to be desired, though, and in the postseason he was often replaced late in games by the slick-fielding Adeiny Hechavarria.

There have been nine Yankees to win Rookie of the Year, including Aaron Judge (just last season), Derek Jeter (1996) and Thurman Munson (1970).

After being heralded as the next Babe Ruth when he stormed into the league, twoway phenom Shohei Ohtani proved he was the real deal early on. Over 104 games during a season unfortunately shortened by multiple injuries, Ohtani slashed .285/.361/.564 and slugged 22 home runs, all while going 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA on the mound.

Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of the season, and though what he did in 2018 had not been seen since Ruth himself, Andujar and Torres both put together more complete seasons. It should be a close call.

One award that shouldn’t be a close call is NL Cy Young, for which Jacob deGrom is, quite unsurprisingly, a finalist. The other two finalists, both out of the NL East, are Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola.