Braves’ Drake Baldwin snubbed for NL ROTY as Cubs’ pitcher wins with just 22 appearances originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Atlanta Braves had one of the most disappointing seasons in all of Major League Baseball. However, if there was one bright spot, it was rookie Drake Baldwin. Throughout the season, Baldwin stepped up when veteran catcher Sean Murphy couldn’t. Because of his strong performance, Baldwin is likely to become the team’s everyday catcher next season — and Murphy could be on the trade block.

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“If the Braves are going to continue to start Baldwin at catcher and utilize the DH position for another impact addition, it makes sense to save money behind the young starter. Murphy is far too highly paid to be a backup and unreliable offensively to plug into the DH spot. With this in mind, Nola could be the perfect compromise,” ATL All Day’s Nick Halden wrote.

Despite Baldwin’s impressive numbers, Dan Treacy has Cade Horton of the Chicago Cubs winning the NL Rookie of the Year award.

“The former first-round pick out of Oklahoma posted a 2.67 ERA across 22 starts and one relief appearance, allowing 10 home runs in 118 innings and posting a 1.09 WHIP,” Treacy wrote. “While an injury kept Horton off the mound in October, the right-hander’s excellent regular season makes him the Cubs’ first Sporting News Rookie of the Year since Kris Bryant in 2015.”

While Horton is a strong candidate, his body of work doesn’t quite compare to Baldwin’s. Horton didn’t arrive in Chicago until May, while Baldwin was an Opening Day starter.

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“The biggest difference separating the two? Baldwin has been with Atlanta since opening day and has played in 122 games entering Saturday. Horton made his debut May 10, and has pitched just 118 innings in 23 games,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote.

That’s a key factor that simply can’t be overlooked. Horton was outstanding in the second half, but Baldwin’s larger sample size gives him the edge.

Horton’s limited workload still earning him Rookie of the Year honors makes the result all the more intriguing.

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