Texas Rangers: Nomar Mazara Snubbed From Rookie Of The Year

The Texas Rangers received a welcomed surprise in the beginning of the year when a big contract player in Shin-Soo Choo went on the DL and a true rookie in Nomar Mazara arrive. Now that the ballot has been made known for MLB awards, Nomar is not on it and there is a case that he absolutely should be.

For Texas Rangers fans there is a sense of confidence about the future with Nomar Mazara being a key piece. Nomar is known as “The Big Chill” as he carries himself as a seasoned veteran instead of a 21-year-old rookie. He has delivered key moments for the Rangers this year and should continue to do that into the future.

The problem is that he is not even on the ballot for “rookie of the year” in the MLB awards voting. Instead the other players are SP Michael Fulmer, OF Tyer Naquin, C Gary Sanchez, SS Cory Seager, and OF Trea Turner. All of these players have had great years but when you compare stats and situations then Nomar Mazara should be one of the top candidates.

All stats are up until September 30th. I’ll begin my logic by informing you that Nomar Mazara is the youngest of all of these players at 21, Naquin is the oldest at 25. For a kid to come in and put up any sort of numbers the way he did with not other appearances in the MLB before this year is impressive. That brings me to the second point I have, Corey Seager and Trea Turner both played in 27 games a piece in 2015 so for me their rookie label is a bit tarnished.

Seager has played 11 more games than Nomar Mazara this year and given his experience last year I am going to suggest that he shouldn’t be in the conversation anymore. He has had a great year as an everyday player and is the only one in this group who has more HRs, RBIs, Runs scored, and also Strikeouts than Mazara.

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I think SP Michael Fulmer should absolutely be on the list as he is 11-7 this year and has been one of Detroits best pitchers, if not the best. Now Tyler Naquin has only played in 113 games while Mazara has played in 143 but he lacks the numbers that Mazara does have. Also Paquin has had 312 at bats while Mazara has had 509 and Naquin actually has 1 more strikeout than Nomar does.

Gary Sanchez has taken the league by storm since starting in mid August but just like Mazara when he first hit the scene, it takes a while for teams to get a scouting report on you. No doubt his 20 HRs through 51 game is impressive and his 1.050 OPS is amazing but Nomar wasn’t known as an HR hitter and surprised everyone with that early.

Excluding Seager for his previous games in 2015, and you could even do that with Turner, but Nomar Mazara has more HRs (only tied with Sanchez at 20), more RBIs 64 next closest is 42. And if you were to project strikeouts off of the stats given right now then they would follow as:

• Gary Sanchez     102 GP and 110 SO
• Trea Turner         140 GP and  118 SO
• Tyler Naquin       (already played 113 games) 110 SO
• Corey Seager      (already played 154 games) 131 SO
• Nomar Mazara  (already played 143 games) 109 SO

Nomar Mazara came into a situation to fill a spot in the lineup that provided runs in Choo’s absence and he made it difficult to sit him. That is the difference with these players because Nomar wasn’t expected to contribute what he has this year, much less for the team with the best record in the A.L. and 2nd best in the MLB.

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Mazara should at least be on the ballot and more of a topic within this conversation. The Big Chill looks to be a big piece for the Texas Rangers moving forward! What are your thoughts on it?