Josh Bell's first full season in the major leagues was among the best statistically by a Pirates rookie in the team's 131-year history.
However, it was not enough to earn him the title of BBWAA National League Rookie of the Year, which was announced Monday night on MLB Network. The 25-year-old first baseman finished third in voting behind the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger, who was the unanimous winner with 30 first-place votes, and the Cardinals' Paul DeJong. Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was the unanimous selection for American League Rookie of the Year.
That he was named a finalist was a testament to how important he was to the Pirates in 2017.
Bell, who garnered 10 second-place votes and two third-place votes, ranked second among National League rookies in RBI, runs, triples, total bases and extra-base hits while tying for second in home runs. He set the National League record for most home runs by a switch-hitting rookie and also tied the Pirates’ rookie home run record with 26.
He slashed .255/.334/.466 with a team-high 90 RBI and played in 159 of 162 games, including 139 starts. Additionally, Bell proved to be capable of handling his first full season at first base.
Bell’s 16 home runs and 35 extra-base hits prior to the All-Star break are the most ever by a Pirates rookie and he led all rookies with a .301 average while batting with runners in scoring position. Despite Bell’s emergence, the Pirates ranked 27th in Major League Baseball in batting average, 21st in on-base percentage, 29th in slugging percentage, 29th in home runs and 28th in runs.
"It’s always been a little bit of a revolving door for us," Neal Huntington said last month of first base for the Pirates. "To have Josh step in in a big way, he might never win a Gold Glove, but he can play first base and he’s going to continue to get better there because of how hard he works and how much he cares."
That "revolving door" Huntington was referring to is the Pirates' situation at first base. Bell was the Pirates' eighth first baseman to start opening day in as many seasons. After often being replaced late in games, Bell earned Hurdle’s confidence as his play at first steadily improved, registering 6 defensive runs saved according to FanGraphs.
After all, first base was relatively new to Bell. He didn't start to play the position until the Arizona Fall League in 2014 before spending all of 2015 between Altoona and Indianapolis at first base, committing 16 errors in 116 games.
Bell again struggled at the position in 96 games at Indianapolis in 2016 before he was called up. However, his work with Joey Cora and Kevin Young helped him become more comfortable at the position in his first full season in the major leagues.
Additionally, he improved as a switch-hitter. During his 45 games with the Pirates in 2015, he batted just .211 against left-handed pitchers compared to .284 against righties.
In 2017, his splits were closer to being even, with a .259 average and .342 on-base percentage against righties and a .242 average and .305 on-base percentage against lefties. He also showed patience at the plate and an ability to drive the ball to both sides of the field.
According to FanGraphs, 28.9 percent of balls Bell put into play were to the opposite field.
"He’s one of those guys that can beat you with a ball to the opposite-field gap, beat you with a ball into the seats, beat you with a lead-off walk, beat you with a big spoil at-bat that he hits a ball over the second baseman’s head because he just battles," Huntington continued. "As he continues to mature and utilize all those traits and be a really good major league hitter with power, he’s going to be fun to watch."
Bellinger, who played in 93 games after making his major league debut April 25, batted .267/.352/.581 with 39 home runs and 97 RBI, helping lead the Dodgers to the National League’s best record in the regular season.
DeJong, meanwhile, was a 38th-round draft pick of the Pirates in 2014, but he did not sign and was selected by the Cardinals in the fourth round in 2015. He batted .285/.352/.532 in 2017 with 25 home runs, 65 RBI and 26 doubles in 108 games this season.
