Craig Kimbrel was voted as the Rookie of the Year for the 2011 MLB season. He broke the rookie record for saves, one year after former Braves’ prospect Neftali Feliz did the same thing, as he amassed 46 saves for the Atlanta Braves this past season.
Kimbrel was the unanimous selection for the rookie of the year award, receiving all 32 first place votes. He beat out fellow teammate, Freddie Freeman, who finished second in the voting with 21 second place votes and 70 overall points.
Kimbrel was nasty in 2011 and showed his wicked fastball and nasty slider on a consistent basis. He was the only reliever in baseball to strike out more than 100 hitters in 2011. Here is his overall numbers from 2011:
Year | W | L | G | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | 3 | 2 | 0.51 | 24 | 10 | 35.1 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 56 | 0.877 | 3.8 | 14.3 | 3.73 | DAN,ROM,MYR · APPY,SALL,CARL | |
2009 | 2 | 3 | 2.85 | 49 | 18 | 60.0 | 30 | 19 | 2 | 45 | 1 | 103 | 1.250 | 6.8 | 15.4 | 2.29 | MYR,ROM,MSS,GWI · CARL,SALL,SOUL,IL | |
2010 | 3 | 2 | 1.62 | 48 | 23 | 55.2 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 35 | 0 | 83 | 1.132 | 5.7 | 13.4 | 2.37 | GWI · IL | |
2011 | 4 | 3 | 2.10 | 79 | 46 | 77.0 | 48 | 18 | 3 | 32 | 1 | 127 | 181 | 1.039 | 3.7 | 14.8 | 3.97 |
Kimbrel had a stretch in 2011 when he did not allow a run for 38 consecutive appearances and 37 2/3 IP. He ranked 72nd in the MLB in Ks this year and 41st in the NL with 127 Ks among all pitchers. That piece, among all pitchers, is pretty significant.
Needless to say, the Braves should be proud that he pitches for them and not the opposition.
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