Pretty much everyone thinks Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson will be the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year. 35 ESPN “experts” were asked who they thought would win the NL ROY Award. An overwhelming 26 of them said Swanson, four said Tyler Glasnow, three said Hunter Renfroe, one said Manuel Margot and one said Josh Bell. None even mentioned Robert Gsellman… Some experts they are.
After getting no press in the Minor Leagues, Rob Gsellman came up to the Show and was lights out, going 4-2 with a 2.42 ERA and striking out 42 batters in 44.2 innings. He benefitted from a spike in fastball velocity, averaging 93.6 mph and hitting as high as 96 through the last few months of 2016, as well as an improved slider thanks to pitching coach Dan Warthen. This success was no fluke as his velocity stayed up while pitching well this spring.
“He’s really had a good spring and thrown the ball really well.” Collins told the Associated Press last Thursday. “He’s picked up where he left off,”
Many say he is Jacob deGrom 2.0 because of the hair. Others say it’s because of the lack of fanfare in the Minor Leagues only to come up to the Majors and dominate. The rest say it’s because he wasn’t supposed to throw hard but then he came up and, well, did. I say he will follow in deGrom’s footsteps by winning the 2017 Rookie of the Year Award as deGrom did in 2014.
In 2014, deGrom deGrominated with a 9-6 record while pitching to a 2.69 ERA and 2.67 FIP. In 140.1 innings he struck out 144 batters and walked 43 earning a 3.5 WAR. He snagged 26 out of 30 first place votes for the award with Billy Hamilton (.250, 6 HR, 56 SB) getting the other four.
Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson is the widespread favorite to win NL ROY, but people should not forget about Gsellman. Those two will surely face off frequently throughout the season, making their competition a bit more interesting. If both stay healthy, it could prove to be a very tight race for the award, but I’d have to give the edge to Gsellman.
If he wins, remember which baseball expert publicly predicted it first. I’ll give you a hint: He doesn’t write for ESPN.
