Let’s take a look at how some of the most promising rookies have fared in the first month of the season. For a bonus treat, we’ll pay extra attention to how well the Generals’ ROY picks (here too) are doing. First up, the batters.
(Ordered by my subjectivity)
| Player | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | R | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geovany Soto | 87 | .333 | .427 | .621 | 12 | 5 | 20 | 0 |
| Kosuke Fukudome | 98 | .327 | .436 | .480 | 22 | 1 | 10 | 3 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 75 | .280 | .396 | .440 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 8 |
| Joey Votto | 74 | .308 | .341 | .538 | 14 | 4 | 13 | 0 |
| Evan Longoria | 55 | .273 | .388 | .527 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
| Carlos Gomez | 102 | .265 | .279 | .373 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 11 |
| Daric Barton | 102 | .265 | .377 | .382 | 17 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 33 | .121 | .147 | .182 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
So far, Kosuke Fukudome is making Kevin, Mike, Brian, and Rob look smart for picking him as their ROY candidate, while Geovany Soto is similarly enjoying a hot Chicago April–he leads all catchers in RBI, and is tied for second among catchers with 5 HR. Meanwhile, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike’s other ROY pick, has missed a few games due to a groin injury, but is playing well enough (and running fast enough) to be in the top 5 base stealers in the AL (and in the top 10 overall). It remains to be settled just how much time he will be splitting in the outfield with Coco Crisp.
Back in the NL, my and William’s pick, Joey Votto, has won the starting job at first base from Scott Hatteberg, and has proceeded to knock in a mess of runs, trailing just Soto in HRs and RBIs for rookies. William and I also both picked Evan Longoria for the AL ROY, and despite having started the season with a few weeks in the minors, he has raked since arriving in the majors, hitting three doubles, a triple, and three home runs in 55 at-bats.
Daric Barton–Brian’s ROY pick–and Carlos Gomez–Kevin’s–have both struggled at the plate recently, but they are making it count when they connect. Barton has 11 RBI and 17 R, while Gomez has 14 R and 11 SB.
Alexei Ramirez, Patrick’s pick for the AL ROY, isn’t looking so good, after having a hot spring training. There’s a fair chance the White Sox will send him to the minors for a stint, and then we’ll see how he does. Speaking of the minors, Brandon’s pick for the NL ROY, Jay Bruce, isn’t in the major leagues just yet, though he is hitting .338/.366/.584 in triple-A. We’ll catch up with him next time.
That’s it for the batters; anyone you think I missed? Tomorrow: rookie pitchers!
6 responses so far ↓
1 Patrick DiCaprio // May 1, 2008 at 12:11 pm
You forgot to mention my pick Manny Parra. So thank you for that!!
2 Andrew Cleary // May 1, 2008 at 12:27 pm
You’re not getting out of it that easy–I’m going to look at him with the pitchers tomorrow! Ha.
3 Mike Podhorzer // May 1, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Clearly Patrick’s ROY picks of Alexei Ramirez and Manny Parra confirms what we’ve all been saying behind his back this entire time- he’s just not General material.
4 rudygamble // May 2, 2008 at 5:28 am
keep Adam Jones on the AL ROY radar. he’ll get playing time. his .265/11/2/10/3 start isn’t too bad….
5 Andrew Cleary // May 2, 2008 at 7:42 am
I agree, he’s definitely worth watching, but to nitpick, I don’t think he’s eligible as a rookie anymore, since he totaled more than 130 at-bats in his two years in Seattle.
6 Sav // May 5, 2008 at 10:16 pm
As of Tuesday the 6th, Geovany Soto has a 7-game extra-base hit streak and an overall OPS of 1.115, right around third in the majors.
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