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Correa edges Lindor for AL Rookie of the Year

Thomas B. Shea / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Houston Astros youngster Carlos Correa received the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year award Monday evening, narrowly edging out fellow shortstop Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians for the honor.

Correa, the first overall pick in the 2013 draft, eked out four more first-place votes than Lindor after helping the Astros return to the postseason for the first time since 2005. Not surprisingly, the two precocious shortstops accounted for 100 percent of the first-place votes, with also-ran Miguel Sano finishing a distant third.

Player 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Carlos Correa 17 13 0 124
Francisco Lindor 13 14 2 109
Miguel Sano 0 0 20 20
Roberto Osuna 0 2 2 8
Billy Burns 0 1 3 6

Frankly, though, Correa's margin of victory could've been smaller. While Correa hit for more power and drove in more runs, Lindor boasted a considerable advantage in batting average, defensive runs saved, and wins above replacement.

Player WAR OPS HR DRS WPA
Correa 3.3 .857 22 0 2.09
Lindor 4.6 .835 12 10 0.20

Still, Correa's excellence at such a young age was almost unprecedented. Despite opening the season at Double-A, Correa bashed 22 home runs while hitting .279/.345/.512 over 99 games with Houston, joining Alex Rodriguez as the only shortstops ever to post an OPS+ above 120 with at least 40 extra-base hits before their age-21 season.

Correa also carved out a spot next to Nomar Garciaparra in the record books, joining the former Boston Red Sox great as the only shortstops in history to post an .850 OPS with double-digit homers and stolen bases in their rookie seasons.

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