Ryu Hyun-jin finishes fourth in NL rookie voting

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers finished fourth in the voting for the National League Rookie of the Year award, ballots showed Tuesday.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), whose members cast votes for the top rookie honors, released the results of the balloting on its website. Ryu, the South Korean left-hander, earned 10 third-place votes for 10 points.

Ryu went 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA in 30 starts in his first Major League Baseball season. He struck out 154 and walked 49 in 192 innings pitched.

He led all rookies in the NL in innings and ranked second in ERA.

Jose Fernandez, a right-hander for the Miami Marlins, was the runaway winner with 26 of 30 possible first-place votes, for 142 points. The Cuban-born pitcher ranked second in the NL with a 2.19 ERA, and topped rookie hurlers with 187 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings.

Yasiel Puig, an outfielder for the Dodgers, earned four other first-place votes and 25 second-place votes for 95 points, placing second.

The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Shelby Miller finished third with 12 points.

Ryu pitched seven seasons in South Korea's Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) before signing a six-year, US$36 million contract with the Dodgers last December. His South Korean club, the Hanwha Eagles, posted him for bidding among MLB clubs, and the Dodgers earned the right to negotiate with the pitcher with a bid of $25.7 million.

Ryu, 26, is the first South Korean to jump directly from the KBO to the big leagues. (Yonhap News)