Pitchers rarely capture a Rookie of the Year Award. In the previous 10 seasons, just three of 20 Rookie of the Year winners were honored solely for their work on the mound, most recently the Brewers' Devin Williams in 2020.

Just once in the last 42 years have pitchers swept rookie accolades in the American and National Leagues -- the Rays' Jeremy Hellickson and the Braves' Craig Kimbrel in 2011 -- and it has happened just four times since both circuits began giving out an individual award in 1949. Based on the first six weeks of this season, 2024 might mark the fifth occasion.

The Athletics moved right-hander Mason Miller to the bullpen in an attempt to preserve his health, and the results have been spectacular. He leads all big leaguers in average fastball velocity (100.7 mph), pitches clocked at 100 mph or harder (97), swing-and miss percentage (49 percent, with equal rates on both his heater and slider) and strikeout percentage (54 percent). With a 1.26 ERA and eight saves in 12 appearances, he has rivaled outfielders Wilyer Abreu (Red Sox) and Colton Cowser (Orioles) as the AL's best rookies thus far.

While Miller appears to be the lone realistic pitching contender in the AL, the NL is loaded with them. Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga has an invisible low-90s fastball and his 0.78 ERA is the fourth-lowest for a rookie though his first six starts (not including openers). Thanks to an upper-90s fastball and upper-80s slider, Pirates righty Jared Jones leads the Majors with a 10.4 K/BB ratio and 122 swings and misses.

After setting a new standard for pitchers by signing a $325 million contract in December, Dodgers righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up five runs in one inning in his first start, but he has posted a 1.64 ERA since while pounding the zone with four offerings. And don't sleep on Giants lefty Kyle Harrison, who owns one of the game's most unhittable fastballs and is its youngest starter (six days younger than Jones at 22 years, 9 months).

And just think -- we haven't even seen Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh yet. That should happen soon.

HAVING THEIR CAKE ...

The Guardians have the third-best record in the Major Leagues -- and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 Draft after prevailing in an improbable Draft Lottery. Which got me to wondering: how many times has a team had the top choice during a winning season?

It happened 12 times in the first 59 Drafts, most recently in 2022, when the Orioles selected Jackson Holliday in the midst of an 83-79 season. Only two of those dozen clubs made the postseason. The 2008 Devil Rays took Tim Beckham en route to winning 97 games and the AL pennant, while the 2017 Twins popped Royce Lewis while going 85-77 and earning a Wild Card.

Here's the complete list of those teams and their No. 1 pick:

1969 Senators (86-76): Jeff Burroughs

1977 White Sox (90-72): Harold Baines

1984 Mets (90-72): Shawn Abner

1988 Padres (83-78): Andy Benes

1989 Orioles (87-75): Ben McDonald

1993 Mariners (82-80): Alex Rodriguez

1995 Angels (78-67): Darin Erstad

2001 Twins (85-77): Joe Mauer

2004 Padres (87-75): Matt Bush

2008 Devil Rays (97-65): Tim Beckham

2017 Twins (85-77): Royce Lewis

2022 Orioles (83-79): Jackson Holliday

RECOMMENDED READING

• Jonathan Mayo presented our first full first-round projection for the 2024 Draft, with Georgia slugger Charlie Condon going No. 1 overall to the Guardians.
• Speaking of Condon, Kenny Van Doren caught up with him after he homered in his seventh consecutive game and tied the BBCOR (bat-ball coefficient of restitution) era record with his 33rd of the season.
• We're always ranking something at MLB Pipeline, and last week Sam Dykstra lined up the best potential closers in the Minors.

TRIVIA

The only man to score the winning run in a College World Series championship game and later coach a team to a CWS title was born on May 7. Who is he?

A. Augie Garrido

B. Mike Gillespie

C. Jerry Kindall

D. Mark Marquess

ON THIS DAY

Normally, a 17-1 run lead would be safe -- but not on May 7, 2014. The Clinton LumberKings trailed the Burlington Bees by 16 runs after five innings in a Class A Midwest League game, then stormed back to tie it with six runs in the sixth and five in both the eighth and the ninth. They deadlocked the contest on a grand slam by catcher Marcus Littlewood, then took a 20-17 lead in the 12th on an RBI groundout by DH Justin Seager and a two-run single from second baseman Lonnie Kauppila. Clinton sent Kauppila to the mound in the bottom of the 12th, and he earned the save with a 1-2-3 inning in his first pitching appearance since high school. The game featured six future big leaguers, including Emilio Pagán earning the victory with three innings of one-hit relief. For more, check out Josh Jackson's game story from a decade ago.

TRIVIA ANSWER

B. Mike Gillespie

Born on May 7, 1940, Gillespie scored the lone run in Southern California's 1-0 victory over Oklahoma State in the 1961 College World Series finale. He replaced the legendary Rod Dedeaux as the Trojans' coach in 1987 and led USC to a national title in 1998. He and Jerry Kindall are the only two men to both play for and coach a CWS champion. Gillespie, who won 1,156 games in 31 years as a NCAA Division I head coach and took UC Irvine to Omaha in 2014, died on July 29, 2020.

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