Fernandez, Myers headline GIBBY Rookie of Year class

Jose Fernandez has been named the National League's best rookie and Wil Myers the American League's top first-year player, but who will be voted the Majors' Rookie of the Year?

Fans can help decide which player will take home that honor by casting their votes for the Rookie of the Year GIBBY.

Myers and Rays teammate Chris Archer are up for the award, as is shortstop Jose Iglesias, the third finalist for the Baseball Writers' Association of America's AL Rookie of the Year Award.

"Obviously I was excited to be able to take this award home, especially with all the guys, with Archer and Iglesias, two great guys who had great seasons," Myers said.

The field also includes Fernandez, the BBWAA's top NL rookie, and fellow finalists Yasiel Puig and Shelby Miller.

Braves rookies Evan Gattis and Julio Teheran, Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole and Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu round out the list of nominees, showcasing just how deep and talented the rookie class was in the NL this season.

"I was kind of expecting to be the Rookie of the Year, or it to be close," Fernandez said.

Major League Baseball's A-listers will take home 2013 GIBBY trophies -- the ultimate honors of the industry's awards season -- based on votes by media, front-office personnel, MLB alumni, fans and the Society for American Baseball Research.

This year's GIBBY Awards feature nominees in 22 categories. Individual honors will go to the MLB MVP, in addition to the year's best starting pitcher, hitter, closer, setup man, rookie, breakout hitter, breakout pitcher, comeback player, defensive player, manager, executive and postseason performer.

GIBBYs also will be awarded for the year's top play, storyline, hitting performance, pitching performance, oddity, Cut4 topic, regular-season moment and postseason moment, from MLB.com's Must C highlight reels.

In the past five years, fans have cast more than 50 million votes across the various GIBBY categories, none of which were restricted to individual league affiliation. Fan voting runs through Dec. 1.

Winners will be presented their GIBBYs at the MLB.com Greatness in Baseball Yearly Awards extravaganza during the Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Fernandez, who hadn't thrown a pitch above Class A ball before this season, went 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA -- the fifth lowest by any rookie since 1915 -- and a 0.98 WHIP, the lowest by any first-year pitcher since 1967. The Marlins righty struck out 187 and allowed only 111 hits in 172 2/3 innings. In short, the 21-year-old wasn't just the best rookie pitcher in the NL; he was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.

Myers became the first player to lead AL rookies in RBIs in fewer than 90 games since Detroit's Hoot Evers did so in 1946. The 22-year-old Myers was called up on June 18 and paced AL rookies in doubles (23), extra-base hits (36) and OPS (.831). Overall, Myers hit .293/.354/.478 with 13 homers and 53 RBIs, showing that he could be a middle-of-the-order presence for years to come with the Rays.

Archer might have been his teammate's toughest competition in the AL. After coming up in June, the 25-year-old right-hander led AL rookies with at least 100 innings pitched by recording a 3.22 ERA, including a 0.73 mark in July, the lowest ever by a rookie that month, along with a .226 opponents' average, a 1.13 WHIP and two shutouts.

Iglesias was among the AL's best defensive infielders this season, which he split between the Red Sox and Tigers, but he also was surprisingly effective with the bat. Iglesias hit .303/.349/.386 with 16 doubles, 29 RBIs and 39 runs scored, impacting two eventual playoff teams along the way.

Some fans might feel the NL honor could have gone to Puig, making him a viable candidate for this GIBBY. The 22-year-old Cuban sensation hit .319/.391/.534 with 19 homers and 42 RBIs, sparking the Dodgers to the top of the NL West and turning seemingly every one of his at-bats into must-see events.

If not for Fernandez's historic rookie campaign, Miller's excellent season with the Cardinals might have received more attention. The 23-year-old right-hander finished 10th in the NL in ERA (3.06) and ranked first and third among Major League rookies in wins (15) and strikeouts (169) over 31 starts.

Gattis burst onto the scene this season sporting an incredibly unusual backstory, and his work at the plate was just as intriguing. The 27-year-old catcher/outfielder hit .243/.291/.480 with 21 homers and 65 RBIs, leading all rookies in RBIs and game-winning RBIs (11) and finishing second in home runs despite starting only 91 games.

Teheran, 22, capitalized on his first extended time in the Majors, putting together the fourth-lowest ERA (3.20) among all Major League rookies and ranking among the game's best with a 3.78 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Teheran finished 14-8 with a 1.17 WHIP in 185 2/3 innings.

After being called up in mid-June, the 23-year-old Cole showed why he was the first overall pick in the 2011 Draft. Cole finished 10-7 with a 3.22 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 117 1/3 innings. He began his career with a Pirates-record 10 straight starts of at least five innings and no more than three earned runs allowed.

And then there's Ryu, the 26-year-old lefty who might have been as dependable as any rookie pitcher. Ryu led all first-year hurlers with 192 innings pitched and finished second in ERA (3.00), tied for second in wins (14) and fourth in strikeouts (154) for the NL West's first-place Dodgers.