National

Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll adds MLB history to NL Rookie of the Year campaign

Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Corbin Carroll is the favorite for NL Rookie of the Year, and his performance in the team's 7-1 win over the San Francisco Giants Wednesday offered a reminder as to why that is.

Entering the game just two away from a season with 50 stolen bases, he made history in the bottom of the third inning as the first rookie to accomplish that feat in a season with at least 20 home runs.

The 23-year-old also became only the third player in Diamondbacks history to steal 50 bases in a season, joining Eric Byrnes and Tony Womack.

Here's the milestone stolen base:

Less than an hour later, he hit his 25th career home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ketel Marte put the Diamondbacks up even more with a back-to-back homer.

Carroll's score made him the first rookie in AL/NL history to hit 25 homers and steal 50 bases.

He and Mike Trout are the only players to record at least 25 home runs and 40 stolen bases in their rookie season.

Arizona swept the two-game series with the Giants. In the race for the second of three NL wild-card berths, the team is one game ahead of the Chicago Cubs.

Carroll was also a major factor in Arizona's Tuesday matchup with the Giants, going 2-4 with two RBI and forcing a two-run error in the 8-4 victory.

Arizona drafted the outfielder with the 16th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft and he hasn't taken his foot off the gas since.

Out of an expansive class of players, the 5-foot-10 lefty's power and speed stood out as he highlighted top MLB prospects to know.

After only 32 career MLB games, he reportedly agreed to an eight-year, $111 million contract that is expected to keep the blossoming star in Arizona for the majority of his career.

In June, BetMGM had Carroll as the overwhelming favorite for NL ROY. Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz had also put himself on the map shortly after his debut. But De La Cruz had a long way to go to catch Carroll. Since then, De La Cruz's odds for the honor have fallen in most books while today's performance will potentially widen Carroll's gap from the rest of the field.

Like De La Cruz, Carroll has a pretty great story, With 18 homers and 26 stolen bases at the All-Star Break, he and Atlanta Braves' MVP candidate Ronald Acuña Jr. were the only two members of the 15/15 club.

The Seattle native went on to take the field starting outfielder in the All-Star game, which was played 11 miles from where he went to high school.

0
Comments on this article
0