After bringing up young players like Brice Turang, Sal Frelick, and Jackson Chourio in recent years, the Brewers had another feature in this year’s Rookie of the Year in Caleb Durbin. Earning a regular spot from the get-go, Durbin’s campaign placed him among fellow National League finalists Drake Baldwin, the catcher for the Atlanta Braves, and Cubs pitcher Cade Horton.
Durbin finished in third place, behind first-place Baldwin, who took home the award after appearing in 124 games for Atlanta. With a .274 batting average and 19 home runs, he was an instant lift to the offense while boasting impressive metrics like an 85th percentile hard-hit rate.
Despite finishing behind Baldwin, the Brewers’ own rookie Durbin put together an impressive start to his career. The 25-year-old made his mark with the Brewers this year after arriving in a trade with the New York Yankees.
Durbin slashed .256/.334/.387 this year for a 105 wRC+, which ranked sixth among qualified NL rookies. His 2.6 fWAR mark was even more remarkable, only behind Baldwin’s 3.1 fWAR.
Durbin tallied 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases, as well. With an impressive plate approach, Durbin struck out just 9.9% of the time. After a promising rookie season, Durbin looks well set to be another solid piece of the Brewers’ roster next year.
On the final ballot, Durbin finished third with 69 points, compared to Baldwin’s 183 and Horton’s 139. While Milwaukee didn’t get to boast about a winner on the ballot, they did feature three other rookies with Isaac Collins finishing fourth, Chad Patrick finishing seventh, and Jacob Misiorowski finishing 11th. It marks a fascinating wave of young talent for the Brewers, even with Misiorowski only appearing partway through the season.
Over in the American League, the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz claimed first place unanimously, beating out his teammate Jacob Wilson and the Red Sox’s Roman Anthony.
The finalists are listed below (winners are in bold, other finalists listed alongside). For the full results, check here.
National League: Drake Baldwin, ATL; Cade Horton, CHC; Caleb Durbin, MIL
American League: Nick Kurtz, ATH; Roman Anthony, BOS; Jacob Wilson, OAK
