Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Year of the Rookie in MLB

With the phenomenal debut of Stephen Strasburg tonight in Washington, it seems appropriate to point out all of the rookie talent making major contributions to their ball clubs so far this year.

Jason Heyward is the rookie sensation in Atlanta. Atlanta currently leads the close NL East thanks in large part to their pitching. But Heyward has kept the offense going, providing multiple walk offs this season to propel the Braves into first place. Heyward is on pace to hit 30 HR's and over 100 RBI's. Heyward has cooled off of late, but if he can keep the pace he is on, he can keep the Braves in the race down the stretch.

Stephen Stasburg made his major league debut tonight in front of the first of many more sellouts at National Park in the nations capital. Strasburg was everything he was made out to be, and more. In 6 innings he gave up 4 hits, 3 runs, and struck out 14 with 0 walks to earn his first win in the bigs. He had unbelievable command of all 4 of his pitches, and even hit triple digits on the radar gun several times. The Nationals have not had this much excitement around their team since the relocation. The Nats are only 5.5 games behind first place in the tight NL East. If they can keep pace and Strasburg keeps pitching like this, its going to be a wild couple of months for the D.C. area.

Austin Jackson was part of a trade this offseason to bring Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees, and he is tearing the cover off the ball so far in Detriot. Jackson has a .325 average and is on pace to steal over 25 bases. He is also getting the job done in center field, thanks to his range. He is not a power hitter, and his job as a lead off man will be to get on base. His on base percentage could be higher, but experience will lead to more patience at the plate. Jackson will be the Tigers center fielder for a long time.

Ike Davis was called up by the New York Mets in late April to provide some support for the Mets offense. The rookie has made some significant contributions so far, including 2 home runs tonight, the second a walk off in the 11th inning against the Padres. Ike came out of the gate very strong, and even though he has cooled off of late, his on base percentage has stayed strong. In the Mets lineup, especially when Carlos Beltran comes back, getting on base more and more will be all the Mets can hope for. Jason Bay, David Wright, and Beltran have to be the major contributors to the offense if the Mets look to contend this year in the NL East. But so far, Ike has done everything the Mets have asked of him, and has played great defense at 1st base.

Comments

7 comments:

  1. you forgot Mike Leake!! He's 5-0

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  2. That's what happens when you play on a team in a small market. Just looked up the stats on Leake, he is 5-0 in 11 starts with a 2.22 ERA for the Reds. Even more interesting is that in the Reds losses when he starts, they lost by 2 or less runs in every one of them. Have to wonder if that bullpen can hold up the rest of the season.

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  3. not as long as nick masset is pitching in the bullpen

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  4. Definitely can't forget Leake. Never went to the minors, straight to the majors. Won his first 4 starts, just a great story. His command is unreal. I'll always take command over stuff.

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  5. and oh ya...GO SOX!!! YANKEES SUCK!

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  6. Leake had two no decisions mixed in between his first 4 wins.

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  7. I can't remember all of his starts, but if the Reds had a decent bullpen, or if he had decent run support when he pitches, he should be 11-0...but I think there are maybe 2 or 3 games he got bailed out near the end...

    Just went through all his games, I say about 9-0 he should have been. 2 games he got bailed out on

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