Seager stands out as top NL ROY Award candidate

Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager is every bit as good as advertised. That’s the bottom line with the National League Rookie of the Year Award competition. That’s saying something, too, because the reports were off the charts before Seager had even played his first Major League game.

Some scouts even predicted that Seager would be one of baseball’s top five players within a year or two. They raved about the usual stuff: skills, smarts, work ethic. They also saw that perfect combination of talent and a relentless drive to be great.

At this point, it’s not a question of whether Seager will be the NL Rookie of the Year Award winner. He will be. He’s on pace for 44 doubles, 30 home runs, 191 hits and an .888 OPS. He’s batting .349 in his past 41 games.

Hardware Hopefuls

• AL MVP • NL MVP

• AL Cy Young • NL Cy Young

• AL Rookie of the Year • NL Rookie of the Year

• Friday: AL Manager of the Year • Friday: NL Manager of the Year

• AL MVP • NL MVP

• AL Cy Young • NL Cy Young

• AL Rookie of the Year • NL Rookie of the Year

• Friday: AL Manager of the Year • Friday: NL Manager of the Year

Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz has had a phenomenal rookie season, and his offensive numbers line up nicely against Seager’s. If he hadn’t suffered a fractured left thumb on July 31, he might have pushed Seager right down the stretch.

That said, the totality of Seager’s game — the great defense and the polish and all the rest — still would have landed the trophy on Seager’s shelf.

Perhaps the question is …

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