Once a month we have been taking a look at this year’s most promising rookies. Now that the month of June is past, it’s time to update our previous two lists to see who leads the pack.
(Above, our top rookie uses telekinesis to send his bat back to the dugout, as he often does after striking out)
| Player | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | R | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kosuke Fukudome | 284 | .296 | .404 | .430 | 55 | 6 | 34 | 7 |
| Geovany Soto | 271 | .284 | .371 | .517 | 30 | 13 | 47 | 0 |
| Evan Longoria | 262 | .267 | .341 | .523 | 41 | 15 | 47 | 4 |
| Joey Votto | 268 | .280 | .347 | .478 | 34 | 12 | 38 | 4 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 269 | .268 | .344 | .383 | 54 | 5 | 24 | 34 |
| Carlos Gomez | 332 | .265 | .297 | .373 | 46 | 5 | 29 | 21 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 187 | .294 | .318 | .439 | 22 | 5 | 24 | 3 |
| Jay Bruce | 122 | .279 | .348 | .426 | 18 | 4 | 15 | 2 |
| Daric Barton | 252 | .230 | .331 | .325 | 34 | 3 | 24 | 0 |
| Chris Davis | 12 | .333 | .385 | .917 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
Kosuke Fukudome is the model of consistency at the top of the Rookies list, producing a .300 average, .400 OBP, and .430 SLG just about every time we check in with him. He’s among the top rookies in runs and RBI, and has a fair share of home runs and stolen bases to boot.
His teammate Geovany Soto is still producing good numbers, though he has started to fade a bit from the .296/.388/.554 line he had posted by the end of May. A .250/.327/.420 June will do that to you.
If Soto’s last month has been cold, Evan Longoria’s has been hot, as his .300/.374/.600 June line has brought him to the highest slugging percentage of all rookies, and to the highest home run total as well.
Joey Votto, despite the nice 12 HR total, had a June just as bad as Soto’s, posting .257/.315/.386 in the month and only knocking in two home runs in 101 at-bats.
Jacoby Ellsbury is still the best stealer of them all, and from there among the top in run scorers, but his batting average is in the middle of the road (Patrick wrote more today on Ellsbury’s woes). Alexei Ramirez, meanwhile, is looking good as his rise apparently continues, and Jay Bruce has seen his numbers drift ever downward, going from a red-hot start at the end of May through a dismal .223/.274/.340 June.
Chris Davis was just called up to the Rangers on Friday, and promptly hit a two-run home run in his first game. We’ll check back with him next time, to see if he progressed more like a Longoria or like a Bruce.
Anyone you think I missed? As usual, we’ll check in with the pitchers tomorrow.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Jason // Jul 1, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Who would you rather have for the 2nd half in a non-keeper points league: Chris Davis or Garko?
2 Patrick DiCaprio // Jul 1, 2008 at 5:26 pm
For me its Garko and its not even close. We are going to discuss Davis on the Roundtable Show tonight so listen in. If he played a full season right now he would be akin to Russell Branyan or, yikes, Butch Huskey.
3 Neil // Jul 2, 2008 at 7:23 am
How about Chris Davis vs. Conor Jackson in a keeper league that uses runs/RBI/HR/SB/OBP? I’m the leader in HR and OBP, but I have ground to gain in RBI and steals. I thought the word was that Davis is only playing 1B until Blalock comes back and moves to 1B.
4 Patrick DiCaprio // Jul 2, 2008 at 8:00 am
Conor Jackson, and again not close. Davis will struggle in the BA and OBP department. Even in a keeper league I think Davis has a ways to go before he is valuable and that is a large opportunity cost to pay while waiting.
5 Neil // Jul 2, 2008 at 9:47 am
Ouch! Hopefully Davis will be in the same boat as Mark Reynolds and Dan Uggla. Players that get picked on for their free swinging and Ks, but who pile up a lot of runs, RBIs and HRs on the cheap.
6 Sav // Jul 3, 2008 at 12:00 am
Soto’s quite often been a victim of horrible luck.
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