Is Miguel Andujar or Gleyber Torres the Yankees' best rookie?

by Felix Pantaleón

The Yankees begin play on Thursday, September 20, 2018 (9/20/18) with a 2.5-game lead over the Oakland A’s in the American League Wild Card race. A big reason for the team’s success in 2018 is the play of rookie third baseman Miguel Andujar and rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres.

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For the third season in a row, the Yankees have a front-runner for the American League Rookie of the Year.

In 2016, catcher Gary Sanchez finished second in voting to Detroit Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer.

In 2017, right fielder Aaron Judge took home the hardware while finishing second in the American League MVP race to Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve.

In 2018, the Yankees have the top two rookie candidates in third baseman Miguel Andujar and second baseman Gleyber Torres.

MLB.com examined the play of the top rookie players for every team, and here’s the conclusion about which Yankees newbie is having the better season:

Yankees: Miguel Andujar

Nothing was handed to Andujar, who made the most of an early-season opportunity when Brandon Drury anded on the disabled list to grab hold of the third-base job. Andujar’s calling card is his bat, and he quickly cemented a reputation as an extra-base hit machine, tallying the third-most extra-base hits by a rookie in Yankees history behind Joe DiMaggio (88) and Aaron Judge (79). The AL Rookie of the Month in June and August, Andujar has worked to polish his defense. With Gleyber Torres also enjoying a strong season, the Yanks have two legitimate choices to follow Judge as the AL Rookie of the Year Award winner.

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Torres, who made the 2018 American League All-Star team, is hitting .280 with 23 home runs and 71 RBI in 397 at-bats.

Andujar is hitting .298 with 25 home runs and 84 RBI in 531 at-bats.