Zach Britton has been getting it done all year. I compared him to a left handed Brad Penny before the season started and that was a bit of a cop out as Penny has had great years (2007) and subpar years (2009). Britton appears like the 2007 Penny so far this year. He’s 5th in the AL with a 2.14 ERA, 4th with 5 wins, and 10th with a 1.05 WHIP. Why haven’t we heard anything about him? Or learned his name yet? He plays for the Baltimore Orioles and with all the drama around the big, fancy Yankees this year, baseball media has had little time to honor hot starts for rookies playing out of their mind like Britton. It’s time to ignore the circus (or soap opera, or drama, or boring nonstories) in the Bronx and learn about some Rookie of the Year Candidates.
AL:
Britton, age 23, is a lefty pitcher dominating the Big Leagues. For reasons why he’s a Candidate read the above paragraph.
Michael Pineda, age 22, is a tall righty throwing the ball by most big league hitters right now. He’s averaged 95.8 on his fastball (best in the bigs) and when combined with his sharp slider and improving 89 mph changeup can be dominating. Pineda is 8th in the AL in ERA (2.45) and first in strikeout/9 at 9.2. He’s also 8th in strikeouts and looks ready to maintain this dominance all year.
Jeremy Hellickson has been nasty all year for Tampa. He’s got a 3.18 ERA, and is 5-2. Hellickson looks like he’s going to continue to get better as his success hinges on his ability pitch off the barrell. Hellickson lacks the talent of the two guys above him on this list but really knows how to pitch.
Eric Hosmer has played only 11 games for the Royals but already sports 3 HR and a .929 OPS.
NL:
Darwin Barney in 2007
Darwin Barney has been unbelievable for the Cubs. His success next to Starlin Castro has to make Cubs fans excited about the future up the middle. He’s 4th in the NL with a .333 avg and has only struck out 12 times in 157 PA. His .353 BABIP makes the .333 avg seem a bit high but, if the kid hits .320 all year, we should learn his name quite well.
Craig Kimbrel has been one of the game’s top closers in 2011. He has 11 saves and a 14.5 K/9 rate. If Kimbrel proves the dominating closer he has shown glimpses of being throughout his young career, he could easily win Rookie of the Year.
Josh Collmenter for the Diamondbacks could be the darkhourse candidate here. His 0.90 ERA so far seems a bit too low to maintain but, he’s starting tonight against the Braves so I will get a good look at his chances moving forward. Update: Watched the game last night and was wholly unimpressed. Collmenter featured a fastball that blazed up to 87 but its his delivery thats made him so effective. Braves First Baseman Freddie Freeman: “It’s right over the top, 87 [mph]. It’s baffling; you don’t see that very often.” I say let major league teams see this kid a second time and he’ll get hit around pretty hard.
All of these guys have some serious talent and appear to be ready to help their teams all year. It seems like the AL has a heavier crop of rookies than does the NL, probably because the NL burnt through many rookies a year ago: Heyward, Posey, Sanchez, Garcia, etc. I love rookie production as it gives some unforeseen boosts to teams. Adding immensely talented guys from the farm system can be just as important as midseason deals. I’m sure we’ll hear much more about these guys if their performance continues… or if it tanks and respective fan bases cry.
Stat of the Day: Mauro Gomez (1B) is hitting .350 with 7 HR for the Braves AAA affiliate. With Freddie Freeman hitting .227 and striking out almost 1/4 of the time, how long until the Braves try something else?
-Sean Morash
