Recently, I had a chance to correspond with a major-league scout who offered his take on what is shaping up to be one of the better rookie classes in American League history. Excerpts of his comments appear below.
"How crazy is the AL rookie-of-the-year race? There are probably 4 or 5 guys who could win it hands down in any other
season, but this could get really tight. ...
"The biggest names have to be (Boston pitcher Jonathan) Papelbon, (Detroit pitcher Justin) Verlander, (Anaheim pitcher Jered) Weaver and (Minnesota pitcher Francisco) Liriano. All incredible impact players already, and with the exception of Liriano (because of his injury) each of them would have probably been a lock in a different year. ...
"There's a handful of guys who probably won't get much if any notice and are great players. Jon Lester has become a key to Boston's success and has put together good numbers in his first season. ... (Catcher) Kenji Johjima in Seattle - granted the age thing plays into it - but that didn't stop Ichiro, and he's had a solid year and would be one of the top guys most of the time. ... (Pitcher Joel) Zumaya will be overshadowed by his teammate in Detroit, but his 103 mph fastball has been outstanding and a major piece of the best bullpen in baseball. ... (Infielder Howie) Kendrick out there will finish the year with solid numbers in my opinion, and the people of Orange County will likely become big Howie fans before long. ... (Second baseman Ian) Kinsler in Texas is another rookie putting together a solid offensive season for a competitive team - leads AL rookies in batting average. Just behind him is (left fielder Nick) Markakis in Baltimore who started off really slow so he
hasn't gotten as much publicity, but he was the hottest hitter in baseball in the month of July - not hottest rookie, but hottest
player overall. ... Which goes right along with back-to-back shutouts from Jeremy Sowers in Cleveland - still to be determined how he finishes, but could be a decent year if he continues the way he's pitched lately. ... And (outfielder Melky) Cabrera in New York has stepped in and done a solid job for them in his first year as well.
"I can't remember the last time there were 12 legitimate candidates for rookie of the year in a league where
there's only 14 teams. And I might be leaving some guys out."
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