Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa was announced as the winner of the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year award.

The 21-year-old out of Ponce, Puerto Rico had himself quite an inaugural season. Correa hit 22 home runs this season with an outstanding .512 slugging percentage. His play in the field was just as impressive as in the batter's box.

The Astros hadn't made a single playoff appearance since the 2005 season, when they lost to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series, but they made it to the American League Divisional Series this year. 

In Game 5 of the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals, Correa had one of his finest games, hitting two home runs and driving in four runs. Correa entered the league with extremely high expectations as a No. 1 overall draft pick, and he has performed well so far. He also won the Rookie of the Month award back in June.

Correa received 17 first place votes to capture the AL award, while Chicago Cubs infielder Kris Bryant took home the National League Rookie of the Year.

Correa is the first Puerto Rican-born player to win the award since Geovany Soto in 2005. Correa is now the sixth player out of the small Latin American island to take home the Rookie of the Year award in Major League Baseball history. The others include Orlando Cepeda in 1958, Benito Santiago in 1987, Sandy Alomar in 1990, Carlos Beltran in 1999 and Soto in 2005.

Jose Abreu from Cuba won the AL Rookie of the Year award last season, after fleeing the communist nation. MLB is becoming more diverse with Hispanic talent than ever before. Latino representation in MLB has increased to more than 27 percent.

Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1