Rays' Wil Myers, Marlins' Jose Fernandez named rookies of the year

Paul White | USA TODAY Sports

If there's any wonder why the Tampa Bay Rays are a perennial contender in the American League, we're regularly reminded this time of year.

Rays outfielder Wil Myers is this year's winner of the Jackie Robinson Award as AL Rookie of the Year, selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America, Tampa Bay's third winner in six years.

The Miami Marlins have a good start on copying the Rays' road to success with pitcher Jose Fernandez winning the National League award.

Fernandez won 12 games for the last-place Marlins, finished second in the NL with a 2.19 earned run average and led the league with just 5.8 hits allowed per nine innings – the lowest figure in the NL since 1985 and best in the majors since 2000.

That was enough to get Fernandez 26 of the 30 first-place votes and beat out Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, who got the other first-place votes to finish a distant second.

Myers' selection makes the Rays the only team with three Rookies of the Year on its active roster – and all were chosen while with Tampa Bay – pitcher Jeremy Hellickson in 2011 and third baseman Evan Longoria in 2008.

And just to add to the franchise resume, Rays pitcher Chris Archer finished third this year. Shortstop Jose Iglesias, who started the season with Boston but went to Detroit in three-team deal at the July 31 trade deadline, was second with five first-place votes to Myers' 23. Archer and Oakland pitcher Dan Straily each had a first-place vote.

Both Myers and Archer came to the Rays in similar and oft-repeated situations, when the financially restricted club traded pitchers for prospects.

Myers didn't get to the majors until June 18, just over six months after the seven-player deal that sent pitcher James Shields to Kansas City, but he hit .293 with 13 homers in 88 games. His 53 RBI were tops among AL rookies, the first time since 1948 a player was the rookie leader in RBI while playing fewer than 90 games.

"When I was called up, it didn't even cross my mind," Myers said of winning award. As it turned out, his 88 games were the fewest ever for a position player Rookie of the Year.

"As the season went on, I could see that I had a chance," Myers said.

Archer came to the Rays organization in a January 2011 trade with the Chicago Cubs with pitcher Matt Garza the key figure going the other way.

There's even a Tampa-area connection for Fernandez, who was so dominant after making the Marlins roster out of spring training as a 20-year-old that he's also a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award that will be announced Wednesday.

Fernandez was born in Cuba, escaped with his family after ninth grade on their fourth attempt by boat – even rescuing his mother after she fell into the ocean during the trip -- and finished his schooling at Tampa's Braulio Alonso High School.

He saw his grandmother for the first time since leaving Cuba on Sunday when he was stunned by her showing up in Miami.

Fernandez says he doesn't fully understand the details of how his grandmother's visit was arranged but he said she will be able to travel back and forth from Cuba in the future to watch him play.

He won the Rookie of the Year with a steadier season-long performance than his countryman Puig. Fernandez didn't get nearly the highlight-reel attention – at least until, of all things, he hit a home run.

It was Fernandez's final start of the season – his 172 innings were as far as the Marlins were willing to let him go in his third pro season – and his five-hit effort over seven innings was overshadowed when Atlanta catcher Brian McCann took exception to what he thought was too much admiring by Fernandez of his first major league homer.

It was pitching, though, that was Fernandez's calling card. He allowed more than two runs only once in his 18 starts after June 1, compiling a 10-3 record and 1.50 ERA over that stretch.

That he even got all those major league innings was a shock to Fernandez, who was so certain he would at least start this year in Class AA that he had made living arrangements with fellow prospect Christian Yelich.

"I wasn't planning on being in the big leagues until at least after the All-Star Game," Fernandez said. Instead, he pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts in the All-Star Game.

Rookies of the Year aren't new to the Marlins, who had outfielder Chris Coghlan in 2009, shortstop Hanley Ramirez in 2006 and pitcher Dontrelle Willis in 2003. In fact, Ramirez was part of a 1-3-4 finish among teammates that also included second baseman Dan Uggla and pitcher Josh Johnson.

Coghlan remains a part-timer with the team but the others have been traded away.

Whether Fernandez is the cornerstone of the Marlins building toward what the Rays have accomplished in recent years depends on Miami's willingness and ability to keep together its young talent because the franchise has more talented players, especially hitters, ready to emerge.

Pitching can be the foundation, as the Rays have proven with the likes of David Price, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb and Hellickson.

Giancarlo Stanton, 24, already is an established power threat for Miami and several promising players debuted this season, including shortstop Adeiny Hechevarria and outfielders Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Jake Marisnick.