Three Arizona Diamondbacks who could be Rookie of the Year contenders next year

Dominic Fletcher

Dominic Fletcher has the most Major League playing time of any Diamondback rookie we will look at today. He appeared in 28 MLB games with 102 plate appearances last season. But Fletcher has an upper hand on the third and final outfield spot as of right now, and I doubt many fans would object to him landing a starting spot to open next season.

He hit .301/.350/.441 during this small sample size with a .340 wOBA and 113 wRC+. Fletcher’s 21.6% strikeout rate was slightly better than the league average but had a mediocre 6.9% walk rate. He also only hit two home runs with a sub-par .140 isolated slugging percentage.

Fletcher spent most of his season at Triple-A Reno, where he hit .291/.399/.500. His 12.6% walk rate looks good on paper but was roughly league average because of the new implementation of the ABS system. However, his 18.6% strikeout rate was significantly better than the average 21.8% K-rate in the PCL. The PCL is extremely hitter-friendly, and that’s putting it mildly, but his .209 ISO was again better than average.

Even though Fletcher only logged 219 innings in the outfield, he showed off some impressive defense. He racked up +4 defensive runs saved and +2 outs above average. Although he registered a below-average sprint speed, he made up for it with a strong arm. He was in the 71st percentile of arm strength last season.

Fletcher may not be the Diamondbacks’ best prospect, and he only hit and fielded well in less than 30 games. But I think he deserves a second look. If he hit and fielded anything like he did last year, not only would he receive ROY votes, but he’d even be a potential finalist.