Loaded NL Rookie of the Year class leaves Shota Imanaga on the outside looking in

The finalists for baseball's major awards dropped on Monday and the Chicago Cubs were lacking in representation. That is to say the team lacked a single finalist in NL Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, MVP or Manager of the Year voting - a fitting end to a season that began with promise, but again fell short of expectations.

The Cubs' best shot was undoubtedly rookie left-hander Shota Imanaga, who will undoubtedly get some down-ballot love for Rookie of the Year and potentially Cy Young, after making 29 starts for Chicago and working to a 2.91 ERA/1.021 WHIP across 173 1/3 innings of work - and playing a key role in a combined no-hitter in early September.

This year's class of rookies in the Senior Circuit was especially impressive - headlined by the likes of finalists Jackson Merrill of the Padres, Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio and Pirates ace Paul Skenes, who was also named an NL Cy Young finalist.

To me, personally, Merrill is winner here. He played a key role for a San Diego team that punched its postseason ticket and piled up 5.1 fWAR on the year, excelling on both sides of the ball and coming through in the clutch time and time again. That being said, don't sleep on the love affair the game has with Skenes and what he brought to a Pirates franchise desperate to return to relevance.

I struggle a bit to get past this chasmic gap that voters (and baseball fans, in general) seem to feel exists between Skenes and Imanaga. The big difference here is the strikeouts - something that's never been a part of Imanaga's game, yet it feels like he's being punished for it (and having eight years in Japan under his belt). Going with Skenes as a finalist is non-negotiable given what he did - but this is an opportunity to also appreciate what Imanaga meant to this Cubs team.

If he winds up finishing fourth, I can live with it. Honestly, maybe I'm just too close to it having watched his starts all year long. But if you want to talk about a rookie having a tremendous impact on his team - look no further than Imanaga. The Cubs went 23-6 in his starts this year. When anybody else started? 60-73.