NL Rookie of the Year Power Rankings: Mets' Jacob deGrom finishes the season No. 1

Every week until the end of the season, we'll take a look at the top first-year players in the National League and size up their candidacy for the Rookie of the Year. This is the final ranking.

With every start, Jacob deGrom strengthened his case for Rookie of the Year. As it turned out, he didn't even need to make a closing statement.

Mets manager Terry Collins said the club's decision to skip deGrom's final start wouldn't "vary any votes" and this space agrees. The right-hander finishes with the fourth-lowest ERA (2.63) among rookie pitchers in franchise history, and his candidacy is bolstered by a dominating second half.

From ESPN New York:

DeGrom's 1.79 ERA since July 8 ranks second in the NL, trailing only Cy Young favorite and potential NL MVP Clayton Kershaw (1.75) of the Los Angeles Dodgers. During that stretch, deGrom went 28 innings without allowing an earned run – the longest streak in the majors by a rookie since the San Francisco Giants' Matt Cain went 30 2/3 innings in 2006.

The lanky 26-year-old threw a total of 178 2/3 innings this year when factoring in his Triple-A workload, which represents a 31-inning increase from last season.

Despite not making his debut until the middle of May, deGrom's baseball card is simply more impressive than any other rookie's. It says here he's done enough to become the Mets' first player to win the honor since Dwight Gooden in 1984.

Hamilton holds the edge in FanGraphs' wins above replacement for NL rookies at 3.3 to deGrom's 3.1, but that stat also favors deGrom considering WAR is a counting number and Hamilton played a month and a half more than the Mets right-hander.

Advanced metrics, such as WAR, wOBA, and wRC+, paint Hamilton as a below-average offensive player, evidenced by his paltry .250/.292/.355 slash line. His strong defense and speed help his case, but his 56 stolen bases entering the final weekend are somewhat devalued by a major-league leading 23 caught-stealing attempts.

Hamilton really only had one impressive month (.327/.348/.500 in June), but he's proven capable of the bat. It's not inconceivable to project his prime as a 30-double, 10-triple, 10-homer and 50-steal player, and that's pretty good out of center field.

The Mets catcher ends his rookie campaign on a low note after tests showed bone chips in his right elbow. He will undergo season-ending surgery Wednesday, but the procedure is not expected to affect his place in the Opening Day lineup next year.

D'Arnaud benefits from a weak rookie class, but his second-half numbers are strong enough to finish the year in third on this list. Perhaps most promising is how d'Arnaud responded from a midseason demotion to Triple-A.

The 25-year-old backstop returned June 24 and posted a .350 wOBA the remainder of the season, creating 28 percent more runs than league average.

As noted in this space previously, Wong's season would look much better had it not been for a shoulder injury. His hitting rates leave some to be desired and his home-run total is skewed by a red-hot stretch in July, but 12 homers and 20 steals for a rookie second baseman is certainly worthy of votes.

Inciarte nearly hit his way further up this list with a strong finish to the year. The Diamondbacks center fielder took a 13-game hitting streak into the season's final weekend, punctuated with a 4-for-5 effort on Tuesday.