| 27th July, 2007 - 4:56 pm
 By Christopher Reina
Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Zimmerman, Dan Uggla, Matt Cain, Prince Fielder, Andre Ethier and Russell Martin were some of the names that comprised an excellent National League rookie class last year. Now that the season is more than half over, it is time to examine the best rookies of 2007.
10. Mike Fontenot, 2B, Chicago Cubs
Fontenot has struggled a little bit since the All-Star break, but he is still hitting .321 with 3 homeruns in 140 at-bats with an OPS of .848. He is the kind of hard-nosed ballplayer a city like Chicago falls in love with and hits very well in the clutch.
9. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C, Atlanta Braves
Saltalamacchia hit the ground running with the Braves when he was called up in early May. He hasn’t received as many chances as other rookies because of Brian McCann, but he is hitting .284, with 4 homeruns in 141 at-bats while playing a competent first base.
8. Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies
Tulowitzki wears No. 2 in honor of Derek Jeter and has been enjoying a similar rookie season as Jeter did in 1996 when he won the AL ROY.
He is batting .279 with 11 homeruns while playing a solid shortstop for the Rockies.
7. Chris Young, CF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Young is batting a paltry .237, but has shown a combination of speed (15 for 16 stealing bases) and power (16 homeruns) that has made the NL take notice. Improvement of his average is clearly necessary but he has shown signs of being able to do so if he can begin to maintain more consistency.
6. Josh Hamilton, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Hamilton’s rookie season has been tumultuous as his life has been. He has 14 homeruns in just 208 at bats in a season that has seen him go to the DL with gastroenteritis in May and a sprained wrist in July.
He of course was the number one overall pick by the Devil Rays back in 1999 but has suffered from injuries and drug abuse.
His inability to stay healthy, as well as Cincinnati’s difficulty to give him starts everyday have hampered his impressive season.
5. James Loney, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers
Loney was the 19th overall pick in the 2002 draft and has finally been given a chance to play everyday for the Dodgers when they moved Nomar Garciaparra over to third. Loney is batting .351, with 4 homeruns and 23 RBIs.
He has also shown excellent poise in the clutch, batting 5 for 11 in the 9th inning, with two of his four homeruns.
4. Yovani Gallardo, P, Milwaukee Brewers
Gallardo hasn’t been in the big leagues as long as some of the other names on this list, but his impact has been significantly felt as Milwaukee tries to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1982.
He is a big pitcher who the Brewers selected in the 2nd round back in 2004 out of Texas and reached the big leagues in June to fill in for injured starter Chris Capuano.
Gallardo is 3-1, with a 2.18 ERA and a WHIP of 1.06. He also has 33 strikeouts in 41.3 innings. His stuff is electric, as he features good movement on all of his pitches (fastball, curve, slider, change).
3. Hunter Pence, CF, Houston Astros
Pence will miss most, if not all of the remainder of his rookie season due to a wrist injury, but his play will garner him votes for ROY just the same.
In 73 games, Pence hit .330 with 12 home runs and an OPS of .919.
2. Tim Lincecum, SP, San Francisco Giants
Lincecum has had bouts of inconsistency, but when he has been good, he has been great. He has some of the most amazing effort of any pitcher I’ve ever seen, let alone from a player who pitching for the University of Washington last year.
He has a 3.90 ERA, but has given up two earned runs or loss in eight of his 15 starts. He has struck out 100 batters in 92.3 innings and has a WHIP of 1.191.
Since the All-Star break, Lincecum has delivered on so much of his promise, posting a 1.33 ERA in three starts.
1. Ryan Braun, 3B, Milwaukee Brewers
Braun has been a monster for the Brewers since he was called up to the club in late May. He’s batting .352 with an OPS of 1.075 and 17 homeruns (1 per 12.7 at-bats). Braun has also been excellent on the base paths, demonstrating impressive speed by stealing 9 out of his 11 attempts.
He has struggled at third base, making 11 errors on the season, giving him a fielding percentage of .908.
Regardless, he will be the National League ROY. |
