Coming as no surprise, we found out Monday evening that Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager unanimously won the NL Rookie of the Year vote.

 

The 22-year-old Seager had been the odds-on favorite seemingly all along for good reason: He performed at a well-above-average level throughout the season, all while playing a high-demand position. In all, Seager appeared in 157 games, batting .308/.365/.512 (translating to a 137 OPS+) with 26 home runs.

 

Seager is the 17th Dodger to win the award, and the first since Todd Hollandsworth in 1996. Seager joins a star-studded group that includes Jackie Robinson, Fernando Valenzuela and Mike Piazza, among others. 

 

Monday evening, Tigers right-handed starter Michael Fulmer was named the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year, besting Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin and Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez.

 

Fulmer, who will turn 24 in March, was acquired from the Mets at the 2015 trade deadline as part of the Yoenis Cespedes deal. He reached the majors in late April and quickly showed he belonged. In 26 starts, Fulmer tallied 159 innings, a 3.06 ERA (135 ERA+), and a 3.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also notched a quality start in 58 percent of his tries, and finished with 4.9 WAR.

 

>>Mets Walker, Phillies Hellickson Accept Qualifying Offers

 

The deadline to either accept or reject qualifying offers by the top-flight free agents was Monday at 5 p.m. ET and Phillies starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson accepted the one-year, $17.2 million deal instead of testing free agency: 

 

Hellickson, 29, was 12-10 with a 3.71 ERA (111 ERA+) last season. 

 

Mets second baseman Neil Walker waited until just before the 5 p.m. ET deadline to announce he would remain with the club for an additional season.