Just as the Rangers snuck up on the Astros, it seems Francisco Lindor has snuck up on Carlos Correa?
It’s a race for AL Rookie of the Year - and #Indians’ Lindor might be winning it over #Astros’ Correa. Lindor ahead in both rWAR and fWAR.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 15, 2015
First, it's true. Here are those WARs, plus another...
Lindor 3.4 fWAR
Correa 2.8 fWAR
Lindor 3.4 rWAR
Correa 3.2 rWAR
Lindor 2.6 bWARP
Correa 2.4 bWARP
In order, those are FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference.com and Baseball Prospectus. And each of them has Lindor actually outplaying Correa this season. And in case you're wondering, it's not related to playing time; they've played almost exactly the same.
It's about defense. Everyone shows Lindor as being an excellent fielder; not Andrelton Simmons excellent, but A- or B+ for sure. Everyone shows Correa as being ... well, just adequate. At best.
If you believe Correa's published fielding metrics, then you basically have to take Lindor seriously as a candidate. If you don't, then you don't. Because while Lindor's having a fine season with the bat, Correa's clearly been finer.
Of course, Correa also benefits in the minds of voters from having kick-started the surprising Astros immediately upon his arrival in the majors, a year or so ahead of schedule. And I'll be shocked if more than a small minority of voters give Lindor more than a passing glance. But it does seem that he deserves better.
