Harris, Strider, Fried, Snitker finalists for heavy hardware
This browser does not support the video element.
ATLANTA -- Michael Harris II, Spencer Strider, Max Fried and Brian Snitker are all finalists for the major end-of-season awards, which will be announced next week on MLB Network.
Harris and Strider are finalists for the National League’s Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award. Fried is a NL Cy Young Award finalist for the first time, and Snitker has a chance to win his second NL Manager of the Year Award. The finalists are the top three vote-getters for each award. Ballots were cast by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
The 2022 award-winners for each league will be announced next week, starting at 6 p.m. ET on MLB Network each day:
Monday, Nov. 14: Jackie Robinson Rookies of the Year
Tuesday, Nov. 15: Managers of the Year
Wednesday, Nov. 16: Cy Young Awards
Thursday, Nov. 17: MVP Awards
This browser does not support the video element.
As the Braves surged to a fifth straight NL East title, they relied heavily on Harris and Strider, who were arguably the most impactful rookies Atlanta has seen since Chipper Jones in 1995. They are considered the clear-cut top two picks for NL Rookie of the Year.
• Here are the 2022 finalists for MVP, Cy Young, ROY and MOY
The most recent teammates to finish first and second for the award were Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman in 2011. Kimbrel was a unanimous winner, becoming the first Braves player to win the award since Rafael Furcal in 2000. Ronald Acuña Jr. became Atlanta’s most recent Rookie of the Year in 2018.
The Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan was named the third NL Rookie of the Year finalist.
This browser does not support the video element.
Despite not making his MLB debut until May 28, Harris led all NL rookie position players with 5.3 bWAR. Strider led all NL pitchers with 3.7 bWAR.
Going back to 2010, the only position players who have won Rookie of Year honors with a bWAR higher than 5.3 were Mike Trout (2012), José Abreu (2014), Aaron Judge (2017) and Pete Alonso (2019). The only pitchers to gain this honor with a bWAR higher than 3.7 during this span were Michael Fulmer (2016), Jose Fernandez (2013) and Jeremy Hellickson (2011).
Harris hit .297 with 19 homers, 20 stolen bases and a .853 OPS. Despite spending most of the season’s first two months with Double-A Mississippi, the 21-year-old center fielder finished one homer shy of becoming just the second NL player to ever record 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in one season.
Drafted in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft, Harris spent time at Atlanta’s alternate training site after COVID-19 canceled the 2020 Minor League season. His stock rose as he enjoyed his only full Minor League season in 2021 and he spent this year proving himself, despite being MLB’s youngest player most of the season.
This browser does not support the video element.
As for Strider, he too entered 2022 with just one full Minor League season under his belt. But that didn’t stop him from recording 200 strikeouts faster than any other NL or AL pitcher ever has.
Strider reached 200 strikeouts at exactly 130 innings. Randy Johnson had previously set the record when he needed 130 2/3 innings to notch 200 strikeouts in 2001. Gerrit Cole had ranked second, needing 133 1/3 innings to reach the mark in 2019.
Though Strider didn’t transition from reliever to starter until May 30, he became the Braves’ first rookie of the Modern Era to produce a 200-strikeout season.
Strider went 11-5 with a 2.67 ERA over 31 appearances (20 starts). He limited opponents to a .517 OPS and produced a 38.3 percent strikeout rate, which ranked first among all MLB pitchers who completed at least 130 innings.
• Rookie of the Year Award, all-time winners
This browser does not support the video element.
Fried, the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara and the Dodgers’ Julio Urías are this year’s NL Cy Young finalists.
Fried went 14-7 with a 2.48 ERA while completing a career-high 185 1/3 innings. The 28-year-old left-hander ranked third among NL pitchers in both ERA and bWAR (5.9). He finished fifth in balloting for the 2020 NL Cy Young Award.
• Cy Young Award, all-time winners
This browser does not support the video element.
Snitker, the Mets’ Buck Showalter and the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts are this year’s NL Manager of the Year finalists.
Snitker won the award in 2018, after the Braves won the first of what is now five straight NL East crowns. The Braves were 10 1/2 games behind the front-running Mets entering June and sat 7 games back on Aug. 10. But Snitker kept the ship afloat while guiding his team to a 101-win season and yet another division crown.
• Manager of the Year, all-time winners