Chicago Cubs: 2 players receive Rookie of the Year votes

The Chicago Cubs didn’t have a lot to be proud of in 2021. They were a losing team that came in 4th place of the NL Central Division. They also traded away most of their core which was very tough to see as most of them were members of the 2016 World Series Champions. However, there were a few players who stepped up big and deserved recognition.

When Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez are all traded within a 24-hour span, it is going to be hard for the players that were left behind. They have to take those spots and do the impossible task of replacing guys like that.

A few of them took that opportunity and ran with it. Two of them, rookies by definition, are Patrick Wisdom and Frank Schwindel. They are both a lot older than the average rookies but rookies nonetheless. Each of them was so good that they earned recognition in the National League Rookie of the Year ballot.

Jonathan India of the Cincinnati Reds won the award. Trevor Rogers of the Miami Marlins came in second and Dylan Carlson of the St. Louis Cardinals came in third. All three of them are well deserving of these accomplishments and recognition for the way that they played.

The Chicago Cubs were featured on the Rookie of the Year ballot for 2022.

Patrick Wisdom was the highest Cub on the list in fourth place. He received five third-place votes to earn the honor of coming in fourth. It might not sound like much but it is good to be recognized, especially when you have his path to the MLB.

Frank Schwindel had two third-place votes which tied him with Typer Stephenson of the Cincinnati Reds for sixth place in the National League. His journey to Major League Baseball is even less likely than Wisdom’s so seeing him get this chance and then be recognized is so awesome.

It is hard to say that the Cubs are going to build around them because of their age but they will be there next season to see if they can keep it going. There are going to be some new additions to the team that might make it more fun to watch them as a whole but watching these two will be a pleasure no matter what.

Wisdom had a slash of .231/.305/.516 for an OPS of .823. He broke Kris Bryant’s record for the most home runs by a Cub with 28 on the year. He also added in 61 RBIs and 54 runs scored so it was a very good year. He accumulated a 2.2 WAR in 106 games.

As for Schwindel, he only played in 56 games for the Cubs. He played in eight games in 2021 with the Oakland A’s before making his way to Chicago via a waiver claim in July. Between the two clubs, he had 14 home runs, 43 RBIs, and 44 runs scored. He also had a very impressive slash of .326/.371/.591 for an OPS of .962. These are MVP-level numbers if it were over 162 games.

It isn’t likely to see two players like this come in as older rookies and make an impact like this. Normally, when you make it to that age without completing a rookie season, you aren’t good enough to ever make an impact. In the case of these two, they were both given an opportunity later in life and took advantage of it. Hopefully, they can keep it going into 2022 and beyond.