Kenley Jansen had quite a season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The former catcher has barely been pitching for two seasons, and all he did in 2011 was set a major league record by striking out 16.09 batters per nine innings. For his troubles, he got one third-place vote in the SB Nation National League Rookie of the Year voting, finishing tied for ninth.
Relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves won the award going away, with 22 of 28 first-place votes.
Jansen had two stints on the disabled list this year, but finished his season with a 2.85 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 51 games, collecting five saves. He allowed just two runs over his last 31 appearances and struck out 61 batters in 32 2/3 innings.
Here are the full National League results from 28 SB Nation writers:
| Rank | Name | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Craig Kimbrel | 22 | 4 | 2 | 124 |
| 2 | Danny Espinosa | 4 | 6 | 8 | 46 |
| 3 | Freddie Freeman | 8 | 3 | 27 | |
| 4 | Vance Worley | 1 | 5 | 3 | 23 |
| 5 | Wilson Ramos | 1 | 2 | 5 | 16 |
| 6 | Brandon Beachy | 1 | 4 | 7 | |
| 7 | Cory Luebke | 1 | 3 | ||
| 7 | Lucas Duda | 1 | 3 | ||
| 9 | Mark Melancon | 1 | 1 | ||
| 9 | Allen Craig | 1 | 1 | ||
| 9 | Kenley Jansen | 1 | 1 |
I voted for this award as well, and my ballot was this: Craig Kimbrel first, Vance Worley second, Danny Espinosa third. The real Rookie of the Year Awards, voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America, will be announced on Monday, November 14.
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