Early AL Rookie of the Year Discussion: Oakland A's Andrew Bailey

It's September and that means that the teams that are out of the American League playoff race turn their attention to superfluous topics like postseason awards.  The Oakland Athletics are one of those teams and the campaign to get A's closer Andrew Bailey has already begun.  Bailey faces distinct competition from the Rangers' Elvis Andrus, the White Sox Gordon Beckham and A's teammate Brett Anderson, according to FanGraphs' Marc Hulet.  Hulet goes on to say that Anderson should be considered the frontrunner right now, but I wouldn't count on that considering Anderson's won-loss record. 

Athletics Nation goes on to say that because of the old school metric of wins and losses, Jeff Niemann from the Tampa Bay Rays will likely have an advantage.

Despite pitching in the same division as Boston and New York, Niemann has had the good fortune to face each of the AL East powerhouses only once. Granted, the appearances were back-to-back in early May, but he did not fare well. He left after three innings against Boston and after retiring just one batter in the fourth against the Yankees. Niemann has also struggled against good teams; the Angels (twice) and the Rangers, while pitching into the eighth or ninth innings against the A’s, the Royals, the Orioles, the White Sox, and the Blue Jays. True, his last two starts have been gems against the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers, but the Tigers have a suspect offense as well. Niemann's real claim is that he has numbers have only gotten better the longer the season goes. If he can pitch this next month like he has throughout the summer, and can add a couple of additional wins, he will be tough for Bailey to beat.

Rob Neyer weighed in on this discussion for AL Rookie of the Year, making a case for the Rangers' Andrus, but mostly because no one has truly stood out and because Bailey is basically a one-inning pitcher. 

Neyer concludes that while no one is a clear standout right now, a very good final three weeks of September could cement one of them above all the rest. 

For those who are fans of teams out of the playoff race, it's one of the things that will keep us interested the rest of the season.