Michael Chavis Should Be Clear Front-Runner for American League Rookie of the Year

The Boston Red Sox were in a spiral at the beginning of the season, sitting at 7-13 through April 19. When rookie Michael Chavis stepped into the lineup, everything seemed to change, as they are 18-10 since he took his first at-bat on April 20th. Thanks to his contributions, they are now 25-23, just 5.5 games behind the New York Yankees.

Chavis, on the year, is batting .296, with nine homers and 24 RBI, along with two stolen bases. He's also secured a cool .389 OBP, which good for 13th best in the American League. The air around the Red Sox has been completely different since Chavis was called up, and one could argue that no other American League rookie has had a more significant impact on the success of their team than the 23-year-old.

Some may argue that rookie Brandon Lowe should receive the ROY honor, as he's leading all MLB second baseman in fWAR with a 1.7 mark, and is third in home runs (10), second in slugging percentage (.568), and fifth in average (.291). He's also in the top-10 in OBP (.342) However, Chavis' stats are higher in every aspect except for homers, as he's just one home run behind Lowe, despite playing in 14 fewer games

Unfortunately for Chavis, there's going to be a big question mark surrounding his playing time when Dustin Pedroia returns from the injured list, since the Red Sox, for some reason, remain committed to letting Pedroia play second base.

Pedroia has been plagued by injuries, and it wouldn't be wise for the Red Sox to move on from a player who has effectively turned around the fortune of the team in just one month in favor of a player who cannot stay healthy. However, Chavis has handled the whole situation with complete class, as he has said that he doesn't want to play over Pedroia, but would rather learn from him up close. Chavis can play first base and third base, and there's been talk of him even playing the outfield, so he should have plenty of paths to at-bats regardless of whether Pedroia plays, so long as he continues to rake the way he has.

With the impact he's made with his bat, his defensive versatility, and ability to get on base no matter what, Chavis has established himself as a front-runner in the Rookie of the Year race. And if he continues to keep this up, he should get the honor at the end of the season.

After all, we're sure the Rays would still be flirting with the AL East lead without Lowe. The World Series Hangover Red Sox would not be here without Chavis -- and we know it because we just had to endure it.