Who's Your Rookie of the Year?

In an effort NOT to talk about the Boston Red Sox or the Texas Rangers (no easy task today, considering they are about to embark on what I believe to be a very crucial series in Texas) I have decided to take a look at some of the rookies that have impressed me this year and give my two-cents as to whom (as of this point) I believe should be given the distinct honor of being Rookie of the Year.

In my last post I mentioned Atlanta's Freddie Freeman. Freeman would be a fine choice. He has played in 124 games thus far and is hitting for a nice .293 batting average. (134h/457ab) He has driven in 62 runs and has managed 45 extra base hits (17 of which being the long ball.) He leads all rookies in doubles, with 28. He is not just an offensive player though. This season his ranger factor is a 9.21 while his fielding percentage is at .995. What all of these statistics are telling me is that Atlanta has found their first baseman for many years to come.

For fielders, I find the (no pun intended) field to be a bit short. I look at Freeman's numbers and I am very impressed with what he has accomplished in his young career. There are a couple of other young studs that have played markedly well that deserve some mention here, and still may close out the season strong enough to change my mind. There is second baseman Danny Espinosa in Washington for example. He is more of a defensive liability than Freeman. He posts a 4.77 range factor with a .982 fielding percentage; by no means bad for a rookie, just not as good as Freeman's numbers. At bat, his average is low at .231 (which is still better than Jayson Werth) but he has pop in his swing. He's belted 18 homers this season with 57 RBI's. Needless to say, Washington fans would love to see that type of production coming from Werth.

One last individual that has caught my attention has to be Angels first baseman, Mark Trumbo. Offensively he is putting up the closest numbers of any rookie to Freddie Freeman. Currently he is batting .260 (110h/463 ab) with 23 home runs and 69 RBI's. It is clear to me now why the Angels were not big spenders in the off-season, or rather, felt they could take the hit. It is evident that Trumbo is a major league stud. At first base this season he has a range factor of 9.30 with a fielding percentage of .993 - pretty excellent numbers for a rookie as well.

Now, in case you didn't notice I had some criteria for those players that I felt were worthy above, and it was basic - games played. If a rookie had not played over 100 games this season, I did not even consider them... unless they were a pitcher. Which brings me to my final two names. Of all rookie pitchers, it would be very easy to point out that the New York Yankees, Ivan Nova leads the way with 13 wins and 4 losses. He is posting a 3.97 ERA in the toughest division in baseball and is a vital piece to that Yankee rotation right now. But the problem I have with him is that, well, other than the fact he is a Yankee, is the fact that he is a Yankee. Let me explain. If a rookie pitcher from the Yankees or Red Sox, the two deepest pockets in baseball, were posting those numbers, there is an obvious point that can be made - they have a superior team surrounding them. This idea does not fall deaf on me. I buy it. Which is why I think, though Nova is admittedly having a great season, there is one rookie that remains that I think absolutely deserves the American League Rookie of the Year honor.

The Seattle Mariners Michael Pineda has been dominant. That is a hard thing to be when you play in King Felix's park, but he has been. His 9-7 record with a 3.73 ERA is no indication of the type of pitcher he is. Much like Felix Hernandez - the body of work and the team you are on has to take some consideration. Pineda is in no-mans land, Seattle. He has started 24 games and has pitched 147 innings already - the most for any rookie pitcher. By the way, he also has 148 strikeouts, 28 more than the next rookie in that category. He also maintains a 1.11 WHIP, 15th in all of the majors, first for rookies. Pineda hs been a beast, pure and simple. It is a shame in my eyes to see such a talent on a ballclub that will not give him a shot of winning anything.

Given my argument, I think you already know, but my NL Rookie of the Year would have to be Freddie Freeman. AL Rookie of the Year would be Michael Pineda. Thoughts?

Hot 'Lanta

The Atlanta Braves have the most commanding lead in the NL Wild Card race this season, at 8 games. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and oh by the way, could be the kryptonite to the Phillies Superman squad.

All season long the Braves have had to listen to the praise given to their NL East counterparts, the Phillies. All season long they have been chasing down the same dynamic lineup. All season long, they've been quietly winning and now, are running away with the Wild Card. Chipper Jones has been playing with a renewed sense of passion after an injury plagued 2010 campaign. Sure his numbers are down against his career statistics, but he no longer has to be "the man" in Atlanta. Long gone are the days of 38 Homeruns, 102 RBI's and a .330 average (2001) - but he now has bats surrounding him in the lineup and depth on this ball club that this blogger hasn't seen since the days of Otis Nixon, David Justice and Ron Gant.

If ever there was a team with an evenly distributed offense, it is the Braves. You have pop in your bats care of Dan Uggla, Brian McCann and still on occasion Chipper Jones. You have great speed and potential from Michael Bourn and Jason Heyward. On top of that, you have a potential Rookie of the Year in Freddie Freeman playing first base.

Though the pitching staff doesn't reverberate quite like the Glavine, Maddux, Smoltz days - having Hudson, Lowe and Jurrjens is not a bad second option. Especially given the defensive capability backing up the pitching staff. As a loyal Boston fan, its hard to come up with a better defensive shortstop than Alex Gonzalez. He is a rock for the Braves infield.

In the home stretch of the 2011 season it is going to be a lot of fun to watch how the Braves and Phillies finish out and even more fun to see these two teams go head to head in the playoffs. As it stands right now the season series is dead even, both teams taking 6 games a piece. They have 2 3-game series remaining in the month of September. One in Philly from 9/5 - 9/7 and then the season finale, in Atlanta from 9/26-9/28.

That is what has fascinated me thus far about this rivalry. Philadelphia has handled all of the other competition, but Atlanta just won't go away. With these teams built as complimentary to one another as they appear to be, a 7-game series is most likely going to happen. In that event I do think we are going to see some rather impressive baseball.

TRADE DEADLINE: Top 7 Movers & Shakers

The non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone. The dust is now settling, a little over 24 hours later. It is time now for baseball fans to take a deep breath and take a look at the frenzy that has transpired.

Some teams definitely got better, while others did nothing (*cough* *cough* Yankees...) Though there appeared to be a lot of moving pieces over the weekend, there were 7 teams in particular that were "winners" at the trade deadline. These are the teams that addressed their issues the best and capitalized on what, from the outset, was not supposed to be a "great" market.

7. Toronto Blue Jays - The Blue Jays, really? Yes, really. Though they did not make any major headlines across Major League Baseball, they did manage to participate in a three team deal that brought them center fielder Colby Rasmus from the St. Louis Cardinals for minimal prospects. Who is Colby Rasmus? He is a 25 year old up-and-coming center fielder whose offense was vastly overshadowed in St. Louis behind Pujols and Holliday. Rasmus is a career .251 hitter in only his 3rd major league season. His speed in the field offers the Blue Jays a legitimate center fielder to beef up the outfield, and another bat with some pop to help protect Bautista in the middle of that lineup. Will the Blue Jays make a push this year? No, absolutely not. However, this deal was not made for this year - it was made for the future. Well done.

6. Atlanta Braves - Just when it seemed as though the Braves were not about to make any moves, at the final hour (or so it felt) they swept in and made a deal with Houston to acquire Michael Bourn in exchange for 4 prospects. While Brian McCann is out on the DL, Atlanta was desperate for some offense. Michael Bourn gives you both speed (212 stolen bases in 663 major league games) with a nice batting average (.271 career) and a high OPS (.766). No - this will not replace Brian McCann's numbers while he is out, but it will strengthen the offense for a post season run. Michael Bourn, Jayson Heyward, Brian McCann, Dan Uggla, Nate McLouth... it could be electric.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates - 18 years is a long time to have a sub .500 record. All of that has changed this year and the Pirates can feel it in their veins. How can you not route for a team that has been down for so long, and finally, have rebounded? Sure, when I say that the Pirates traded for Derek Lee and Ryan Ludwick most people will scratch their heads and say, "and....". Here is the deal; sure Derek Lee has been awful in the past couple of seasons. The fact of the matter is that he has not been that bad as of late. Through the month of July he averaged .246 at the plate, knocked in 12 homeruns and brought in 41 RBI's. Boston fans would love that type of production out of Carl Crawford right now. Ludwick has posted similar numbers, .238 average, 11 homeruns with 64 RBI's. On their previous respective teams, these players were easy to pitch around, now they are in a lineup that has been productive and is anchored by a great young player like Andrew McCutchen... I just see good things happening for the Pirates.

4. Cleveland Indians - Oh boy - here we go. The Indians are on a season long hot streak and it feels like management believes that the team is legit. So much so that they went out and landed the "U" - Ubaldo Jimenez. The gave up 4 prospects to bring him in, which, seeing the Tribe make a move is refreshing. My concerns for Jimenez is that which are shared among many baseball writers - he has fallen off from his untouchable start of last season. He has come down to earth and is now pitching in the American League. He posts a 6-9 record this season with a 4.46 ERA in the National League. The Indians have brought him in to be their ace. Though I think he will compliment that pitching staff, I don't think he is the ace that the Indians believe him to be. Time will tell.

3. Philadelphia Phillies - The Phils acquired Hunter Pence from the Astros. There was a fire sale going on in Houston and Philly did not want to be left out. Hunter Pence might have been the best all-around pick up at the trade deadline. He can hit. He can field. He doesn't have to be "the man" in Philly. Chase Utley is heating up. Ryan Howard just got more protection. They already have the best pitching staff in all of baseball. This could get scary.

2. San Francisco Giants - The reigning champs are playing chess with the rest of the National League and I think they just might have put the league in check. Buster Posey has been out for pretty much the entire season. Having only played in 45 games this season, the team has been missing his bat, for certain. Miguel Tejada is on the DL. Freddie Sanchez is on the DL. Mark Derosa is on the DL. This team was facing injury after injury. What did they do? They landed the most sought after bat on the market in Carlos Beltran and added an more than efficient defensive/offensive replacement at shortstop in Orlando Cabrera. I love these moves. Sure, last seasons playoff hero, Cody Ross is not having a great season. If his bat comes around with this pitching staff healthy - don't count out the Giants.

1. Texas Rangers - Okay, I was wrong, they did not get Heath Bell. Sorry, they landed Mike Adams from the Padres and Koji Uehara from the Orioles to sure up their bullpen. This helps to bridge the gap to their closer Neftali Feliz and addressed the (arguably) only flaw this team has shown thus far this season. Offense is not a problem, we've established this. Their pitching is what needed help and Nolan Ryan went out and got them that help. If they had landed Heath Bell, that would have been amazing - but the job Ryan has done here is excellent.