Kris Bryant homered twice (once off Clayton Kershaw) in Monday night NL rookie showcase

Monday was supposed to be an NL rookie showcase. Most people will tell you that the two frontrunners for the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year Award are Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson and Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and neither of them disappointed in the Dodgers-Cubs contest at Wrigley Field. 

Bryant held up his end of the bargain by homering off reigning NL Cy Young Award winner (and NL MVP) Clayton Kershaw in the bottom of the third:

Then he doubled his pleasure, doubled his fun with an eighth-inning blast for his first career multi-homer game:

Not to be outdone, Joc Pederson put on a show in center field and belted his 19th homer of the season in a ninth-inning comeback attempt:

And just when you thought the NL Rookie of the Year competition was going to be a two-horse race ...

Enter: Maikel Franco. The Phillies rookie third baseman entered Monday night's game in the Bronx with a .294 average and seven home runs. He was third among NL rookies in OPS and was fourth in home runs despite playing in half as many games as Pederson and 20 fewer games than Bryant.

Franco proceded to have a game big enough to see from space: 4-for-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R:

Oh, and if stellar defense is more your speed, Franco brought his glove to the Bronx, too:

2015 is the year of the rookie and we're not about to complain about it.