Andrew Chafin Should Be Considered for N.L. Rookie of the Year

Brad Ziegler has become really effective as the Arizona Diamondbacks closer since taking over for Addison Reed with 19 saves, and he may grab all the headlines, but other than Ziegler, no reliever has been more effective or consistent in the Snakes than left-hander Andrew Chafin.

He hasn’t been talked about much on this site or elsewhere for that matter, and the bottom line is that he should.

He is a big reason why the Snakes have the best ERA (2.16) of any bullpen in the majors since July 1st.

Chafin has quickly become one of the best left-handed relievers in all of baseball, and he really hasn’t had any bad outings since the 2015 season began.

Chafin’s numbers so far this season look like this:

54.2 IP, 42 G, 5-0 record, 43 H, 16 ER, 1 HR, 6.51 K/9, 2.70 BB/9, .255 BABIP, 75.5 LOB%, 56.3 GB%, 2.54 ERA, 2.82 FIP.

Those are some pretty gawdy numbers, and it reflects on where he ranks in the majors and the N.L.

The first thing Dbacks fans have to love about Chafin is he is a workhorse and an innings eater.

His 54.2 innings pitched ranks 3rd in all of baseball among relievers. He has become this year’s 2013 Josh Collmenter.

Chafin, who has also started for the Dbacks, can come out of the bullpen in any inning or in any situation and get the job done. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the 9th (he has 2 saves this season) or in mop up duty for a starter that got an early hook.

That combined with the amount of innings he saves for the rest of the pen is the ultimate definition of value.

Among LHP relievers in the N.L. Chafin is 1st in innings, 8th in ERA, and 9th in strikeouts.

Hitters haven’t been able to touch him lately. Coming into Tuesday’s game, he had a streak of 10 straight scoreless outings and hitters were 3-34 (.088) against him. Righties are 1-15 in the last 10 games, and lefties are 2-14.

I think most fans forget that he is doing this all as a rookie!

Among N.L. rookie relievers this season, he is 1st in opponents average, 2nd in ERA, T-1st in saves, 3rd in games, and 4th in wins.

Considering his home ball park is Chase Field, he provides even more value with his high ground ball rate.

People might think of Yasmany Tomas for the Dbacks or Noah Syndergaard or Matt Duffy for N.L. Rookie of the Year, but Chafin is just as deserving and needs to be strongly considered.

If you didn’t know what Chafin has done this season than you know now.