Last year, Jose Fernandez edged out Yasiel Puig for the National League Rookie of the Year award. This time around, there are once again two candidates who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

Mets' pitcher Jacob deGrom and Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton are the front runners, but which candidate is more deserving of the award?

C. Trent Rosecrans, a Reds beat writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer, believes that Hamilton's chances of winning the award are slim.

"Hamilton, like his team, has struggled in the second half. And the two are likely intertwined. After hitting .285/.319/.423 in 90 games in the first half, he's hit .214/.265/.276 in 55 games since the break."

Rosecrans goes on to promulgate that Hamilton's miserable month of September will cost him.

"So far this month, Hamilton's hitting .156/.255/.200 has been caught stealing (2) as much as he's been successful stealing (2)."

Hamilton electrified the baseball world in 2012 when he broke Vince Coleman's record for the most stolen bases in a minor league season. He ended the season with 155 steals, ten more than Coleman's previous record of 145. Then last year he showed that his speed did indeed translate to the MLB. When the rosters expanded in September, Hamilton stole 13-out-of-14 bases in mainly a pinch-running role. Every time he came into the game, everyone in the ballpark knew he was going to steal, yet he was rarely thrown out.

This year, his first full season, he has been impressive. His bat has always been suspect, but he has still managed to steal 56 bags.

deGrom, on the other hand, was not near as well known. On Opening Day, he was pitching in Las Vegas for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate. He was overshadowed even then, pitching in a rotation stocked with more hyped prospects Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero.

Different backgrounds aside, the voters are going to have a very tough decision to make after the season.

Both players have their pros and cons.

In addition to the 56 stolen bases, Hamilton has 39 extra-base hits and has played a tremendous center field for the Reds. His .255 batting average is solid, but definitely not spectacular. Hamilton’s .296 on-base percentage is poor, especially for a leadoff hitter, his .657 OPS is well below the major league average, and he has been caught stealing 23 times, which leads the MLB.

deGrom, on the other hand, has been stellar in all aspects of the game. He has a terrific 2.68 ERA and has registered as many strikeouts as innings pitched. Despite pitching for the Mets and their anemic offense, he has an 9-6 win-loss record.

A pitcher’s record does not always reflect his overall value, but in this instance it speaks volumes to how well deGrom has been this year. He has had several potential wins blown by the Mets’ shaky bullpen and poor hitting.

Now let’s address two of the biggest flaws in the voting process. Voters are enthralled with contenders and position players, and have a tendency to let those factors sway their decisions.

Neither the Reds nor the Mets are in any kind of contention for the division title or even the wild card, so let’s throw that out.

Then it gets interesting. Position players seem to get a bit of an edge in the voting because they are thought to affect the team more. After all, they are on the field every day while a pitcher pitches only every fifth day.

deGrom didn’t make his debut until May and he also spent spent some time on the Disabled List in August, but Hamilton has played 149 games so far, meaning he has played nearly every game. Despite that, deGrom has still been the better player.

He is a complete pitcher with an overpowering repertoire. He throws hard with outstanding offspeed pitches, and has a fantastic career ahead of him.

Hamilton, on the other hand, is not near as complete of a player. He is fast, probably one of the fastest to ever play the game. But should he win an award just because he has one outstanding tool?

This writer doesn't don’t think so, and for good measure, here’s an impressive stat to ponder. deGrom, a former infielder at Stetson, has a .222 batting average this season. That is only 30 points lower than Hamilton’s average, a very telling statistic about deGrom’s wide range of skills.

deGrom should win the Rookie of the Year. He is a better player than Hamilton. He leads all NL rookies in ERA and strikeouts, and he might have the pitching Triple Crown had he gotten some run support from his bullpen and offense, as mentioned earlier about his lack of wins.

The only categories that Hamilton leads NL Rookies in are stolen bases and number of times caught stealing. If deGrom does not win the award, it will be because the voters held it against him that he missed some time due to injury and the fact that he happens to be a pitcher.

deGrom has pitched better than Hamilton has performed as a position player, and if deGrom doesn’t win, it will be a shame.