Untimely Pirates injury opens the door for Giants in NL Rookie of the Year race

With the SF Giants now 16 games under .500 and poised to be sellers at the trade deadline, the only thing really left to root for this year is Bryce Eldridge as he tries to win National League Rookie of the Year.

It will not be easy by any stretch, but an untimely injury to Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Konnor Griffin should help Eldridge’s odds out since it may mean one less competitor to worry about.

Griffin has a torn finger tendon and will be out until September. He’s hitting .276/.332/.404 with five homer runs and 25 runs batted in on the hear but the fact that he is going to miss that much time probably kills his chance at winning NL Rookie of the Year.

Eldridge now has an opening even if he trails in the odds. He is still behind Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds and JJ Wetherholt of the St. Louis Cardinals but if he has a strong second half he could make it a very interesting three-horse race.

Both Wetherholt and Stewart have a head start of Eldridge since they were on the Opening Day roster. Wetherholt is hitting .263/.358/.405 with 13 home runs and 36 runs batted in. The Cardinals second baseman also grades out as one of the best defensive second basemen in the game.

Stewart is hitting .256/.341/.481 with 19 homers and 64 runs batted in. He definitely has a lot of pop and the Giants saw how fiery a competitor he is earlier in the year when he and Erik Miller had choice words for one another.

Eldridge needs to make up some ground in NL Rookie of the Year race

Eldridge has some catching up to do as he’s hitting .269/.355/.457 with seven homers and 19 runs batted in. He’s been in a mini-slump at the plate as of late that he’s trying to work through so he’s going to need a big second half if he wants to be the first Giant since Buster Posey to take home Rookie of the Year honors. 

If he can really get hot and start hitting a bunch of home runs that would probably be the only way he can pull it off. He may have to get to the 25-30 homer range in order to stand out a bit especially since Wetherholt has the defense to point to as well.

Even if Eldridge doesn’t win the award it would just be nice to see him continue to develop and improve. Big league pitchers are adjusting to him and he needs to do the same if he wants to be the face of the franchise someday.

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