Has the race for the National League Rookie of the Year Award essentially been decided with two weeks remaining in the 2012 season?
It’s beginning to look that way, as Todd Frazier’s September slide has created some distance between him and Wade Miley for front-runner status in our weekly rankings. What looked like a two-man competition might now be Miley’s race to lose.
The biggest news in this week’s rankings is Zack Cozart dropping out of the top five. Cozart hasn’t played since Sept. 3 due to an oblique injury. He’s expected to return before the end of the season, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer‘s John Fay, and Reds manager Dusty Baker has the second spot in his lineup waiting for him when he returns.
So that opens up at least one spot in our top five for a new candidate or the return of a previous contender. It could also be both. You’ll have to click through and see how the rankings shake out this week.
As we see it, here are the five leading contenders for NL Rookie of the Year Award.
All statistics mentioned are current as of Sept. 18.