What voters told us with the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year selection

When the 2024 Jackie Robinson National League Rookie of the Year winner was announced on Monday, voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) showed that sudden impact on the mound means more in an awards race than a season's worth of consistency at the plate.

Certainly there is nothing wrong with Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates earning the Rookie of the Year honor over Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres and Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers. 

After all, the 22-year-old right-hander went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and struck out 170 in his 133.0 innings pitched while becoming one of the must-watch MLB pitchers every time he made his start.

While Skenes certainly had his statistics, winning the Rookie of the Year award over Merrill and Chourio is a statement by the BBWAA voters.

After all, this was a pitcher who pitched every five days being selected over a pair of position players who each played in 148 games this season. Skenes (who made his MLB debut on May 11) was also the only member of the trio of Rookie of the Year finalists who didn't make the postseason and wasn't on his team's Opening Day roster. 

Did the spotlight fall more on Skenes because of the pitching arsenal he showed off every few days rather than two players who took the field every day? There was plenty of eye-popping sizzle in the right arm of Skenes to be sure, but did it overshadow consistent at-bats from Merrill and Chourio?

The debate over the definition of Rookie of the Year will rage on after this year's vote where Skenes earned 23 of the 30 first-place votes and Merrill reaped the other seven. Should the award go to the more deserving rookie who was the best overall player or the one who was more valuable to his team's overall success? If you believe in the first, Skenes was likely your candidate. If you leaned toward the latter, Merrill likely got your vote.

In a NL Rookie of the Year race for the ages, there were no wrong answers on Monday. However, a preference for pitching certainly emerged, helping Skenes reach the summit of the NL rookie mountain.