Reds pitcher snubbed from NL Rookie of the Year Award while others receive votes

The National League Rookie of the Year Award was handed out on Monday night, and to the surprise of no one, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll took home the trophy.

This had been expected for quite some time, and even the race for second-place was all but academic. New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga rightfully came in as runnerup behind Carroll.

But the third-place votes were all over the map. And while the Cincinnati Reds were well-represented with Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, and Elly De La Cruz all receiving recognition, there was one glaring omission - Andrew Abbott.

Reds LHP Andrew Abbott did not receive any votes for NL Rookie of the Year

A debate can be had about which National League rookie deserved to finish third behind Corbin Carroll and Kodai Senga. Many of the Cincinnati faithful have made the case for Spencer Steer, and they're not wrong.

But it's the omission of Andrew Abbott that's quite perplexing, and flat-out disrespectful. Abbott was 8-6 with a 3.87 ERA in 21 starts and recorded 120 punch outs over 109.1 inning pitched. Abbott was worth 2.7 bWAR in 2023.

While it's oftentimes difficult to compare pitchers and hitters for these types of awards, the fact that Miami Marlins starter received votes in place in of Abbott is ridiculous.

Perez was 5-6 with a 3.15 ERA in 19 starts with a 3.15 ERA in 19 starts and posted 108 strikeouts in 91 innings of work. Eury's bWAR was 2.5. Jordan Shusterman of FOX Sports cast his third-place ballott for Perez.

In terms of Wins Above Replacement, FanGraphs valued Perez's season as the 6th best among rookie pitchers (1.4). In fact, three Reds rookie hurlers (Abbott, Brandon Williamson, and Fernando Cruz) posted a higher fWAR than Perez in 2023.

To be quite honest, Elly De La Cruz didn't deserve to receive a Rookie of the Year vote in place of his teammate. De La Cruz posted a .710 OPS with 13 homers and 35 stolen bases. Flip over to WAR, and you'll see that De La Cruz was worth 0.8 bWAR and 1.7 fWAR. Both come in below Abbott.

San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey also received Rookie of the Year votes, but it had everything to do with his defense and nothing to do with his bat.

Bailey posted a wRC+ of 78, which is well-below average, and yet, he received a third-place vote as well. Unsurprisingly, that lone vote came from Danny Emerman of KNBR.com who's part of the San Francisco Chapter of the BBWAA.

Once again, the Cincinnati Reds are left out in the cold. Perhaps Noelvi Marte will leave doubt in 2024 and win the NL Rookie of the Year Award in unanimous fashion.