Andujar had a strong season, but Ohtani had a historic one. He was a far better hitter with OPS+ 152 to 126 for Andujar as well as producing at a high level on the mound. There is no hype involved.
Ohtani played 5 years of minor league ball, playing 403 games with 1170 PA. Andujar played 596 minor league games with 2474 PA. Andujar has more professional experience, but they both absolutely are rookies.
If Ohtani was a rookie in 2016, he wouldn't have won the award like Sanchez didn't. ROY is a yearly award. Ohtani had weaker competition than Sanchez had, thus he is the 2018 AL ROY.
Here is a nice article from an actual voter. He lays out his reasoning and none of it involves "hype," but many of the stats that I laid out including a OPS+ 26 points higher, a OBP 33 points higher and a SLG 37 points higher. That is on top of his pitching. He also points out Andujar's historically bad fielding.
https://sports.yahoo.com/yankees-fan...065239328.html
I consult with executives, scouts, field staff, players – you know, people actually involved in the game – before I vote on these awards. Their vote was split. Slightly more favored Ohtani.
So, it seems that not only 25 of 30 writers favor Ohtani, but also those who are part of the game. The only group that favors Andujar are Yankee fans.