Posted by Brian Joseph on Friday, October 23, 2009 at 2:58 am

From the look of things, the National League had a finer crop of rookies in 2009 than the American League. Cameron Maybin was often mentioned as a preseason front-runner for the Rookie of the Year Award and Jordan Schafer’s opening night home run against the Phillies created a buzz around himself. However, neither were on the 25-man roster by June. However, both the Marlins and Braves produced rookie candidates worthy of attention but neither caught enough attention from the BDD writers to earn the honor.

Instead, it was outfielder Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates who earned enough votes from the BDD crew to be named our NL Rookie of the Year Award. McCutchen only appeared on nine of the 15 ballots but seven of those ballots had McCutchen at the top of the list. He didn’t join the Pirates until June 4th but made up for lost time with 36 multi-hit games in 108 starts as Pittsburgh’s lead-off hitter and every day center fielder. The 23-year-old McCutchen (22 during the season) hit .286/.365/.471 with 26 doubles, 12 home runs, 74 runs scored and 54 RBI. The speed merchant also stole 22 bases in 27 tries and notched 22 infield hits. The high point of his rookie campaign came on August 1st when McCutchen blasted three home runs against the Washington Nationals. In addition, McCutchen had a 13-game hitting streak from June 11th to June 25th and a 12-game hitting streak from August 17th to August 30th. The Pittsburgh outfielder led all rookie position players with a 34.7 VORP and finished fourth among all National League rookies.

Atlanta’s Tommy Hanson finished second receiving three first-place votes and appearing on 11 of 15 ballots. Like McCutchen, Hanson got a late start on his ‘09 season making his first start on June 7th. He won his first five decisions and rattled off an impressive 11-4 record with a 2.89 ERA and 1.183 WHIP in 21 starts. In 127-2/3 innings, Hanson struck out 116 and a 2.52 K/BB. 57% of Hanson’s 21 starts were quality starts and his 58 game score, like his quality start %, was well above major league average. The highlight of his season came during a stretch from June 12th to July 4th where the 23-year-old hurler tossed 20-2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

Next was Philadelphia’s J.A. Happ who posted the highest VORP of all rookies in the majors at 46.7. The lefty started the season in the Phillies bullpen but replaced Chan Ho Park in the rotation after a solid effort in middle relief. It was in the rotation, though, where Happ blossomed. His numbers — 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA and 1.235 WHIP — were more impressive than his raw talent but his pitching know how and unshaken demeanor made Happ look like a grizzled veteran instead of a rookie. Happ tossed 166 innings and struck out 119 in 35 games, 23 of which were starts. His first career shutout occurred on June 27th in a 10-0 win against the Blue Jays which the 27-year-old topped on August 5th with a four-hit, 10-strikeout complete game shutout over the Rockies. 61% of J.A’s starts were quality starts and his game score average was 56.

Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins grabbed two first-place votes and appeared on seven ballots en route to a fourth place finish in the BDD NL Rookie of the Year voting. Coghlan was called up in early May and found his way into the everyday lineup rather quickly. By the end of the month, he had worked his way into the club’s lead-off slot and a red hot second half placed Coghlan sixth in batting average in the National League. His batting line of .321/.390/.460 was mostly due to his post-All-Star success which included the most hits of any player in the majors during that time. Coghlan had a streak of eight consecutive multi-hit games from August 1st through August 9th and a 14-game hitting streak from August 23rd to September 6th with the final six games of that run being of the multi-hit variety. On the season, the Marlin left fielder had an impressive 51 multi-hit games in 124 starts.

Randy Wells of the Chicago Cubs finished fifth and grabbed one first-place vote in the six ballots he appeared on. Wells posted a 12-10 record with a 3.05 ERA and 1.276 WHIP in 27 starts. He struck out 104 in 165-1/3 innings and registered 67% quality starts.

Rounding out the voting was Pittsburgh’s Garrett Jones who slugged 21 homers in 358 plate appearances and posted a .293/.372/.567 batting line. Jones, 28, was a shock in his half season with the Pirates as the lefty played both corner outfield positions and first base.

Here’s what the BDD team had to say:

Bill Baer
For Bill’s look at the Rookie of the Year voting, check out his post at BDD here.

Brian Joseph
“For me, this year’s NL rookie of the year was J.A. Happ. His impressive performance was one of the keys to the Phillies’ success.”

Rob McQuown
“Rough year to be an NL rookie, as the top 4 hitters all had ROY-type seasons, as well.  Just not as good as the hurlers did.”

Eric Polsky
For Polsky’s take, check out his post on BDD from the beginning of October.

Zach Sanders
“McCutchen displayed an impressive range of skill both in the field and at the dish. With two candidates on the list, the Pirates may have some kind of chance in the future. Maybe.”

Michael Street
“I like the guys who did it all year long. Hanson, McGehee, McCutchen and Garrett Jones are all entincing but none of them produced the way Wells and Coghlan (since May did. Hanson and McCutchen were strong third-place candidates but I have to give the edge to Hanson because I think pitching’s harder than hitting.”

Doug Thorburn
“Another close call. McCutchen, Hanson, and Happ all put up great numbers for 2/3 of a season, and all three players have bright futures. I give McCutchen the slight edge due to his well-rounded game, which features a potent blend of speed, power, and patience at the plate.”

Isaac Thorn
“McCutchen doesn’t look like a rookie… his plate discipline, speed, and ability to hit 3 home runs in a game all contributed to him being my choice. Hopefully he doesn’t get traded to the Cubs for Milton Bradley.”

David Wade
“I love me some young pitchers. Position players get no votes from me here. Hanson, Happ, Wells.”

Bo Wulf
“McCutchen’s the rookie leader in VORP at the premier defensive position.”