AL Rookie of the Year so Far

Update: Chamberlain pitched pretty well but only for four innings. Ryan Sweeney went to the DL, which won't help his lack of at-bats.


Here's the competition:

Pitching
Joey Devine (OAK): 3-0, 1.23 ERA, 22 IP, 28 K, 3 H
Jesse Carlson (TOR): 1-0, 1.93 ERA, 23.1 IP, 24 K, 7 H, 1 SV
Joba Chamberlain (NYY): 1-2, 2.42 ERA, 26 IP, 33 K, 12 H
Greg Smith (OAK): 3-5, 3.74 ERA, 74.2 IP, 56 K, 27 BB
Armando Galrraga (DET): 4-2, 3.76 ERA, 52.2 IP, 35 K, 24 BB
Garrett Olson (BAL): 4-1, 3.86 ERA, 44.1 IP, 32 K, 16 BB

Batting
David Murphy (TEX): .289/.327/.462, 20 DB, 7 HR, 39 RBI, 35 R
Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS): .284/.379/.405, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 43 R, 28 SB
Evan Longoria (TAM): .250/.321/.451, 11 DB, 8 HR, 29 RBI, 26 R
Daric Barton (OAK): .232/.345/.345, 7 DB, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 29 R

Well, the pitchers seem to be the most numerous and the most successful. Most probably haven't heard of Devine or Carlson, but they have done a great job out of their respective bullpens. However, they won't win unless their ERA's stay ridiculously low because they aren't closers getting saves. Joba seems to have the biggest publicity of the rookies, but now that he is in the rotation, that won't stop. Yet, he'll have to improve on that horrible start, and if he does, he'll be the favorite. The others really haven't dazzled the way Chamberlain can, so don't expect them to win.

Not too many batters to choose from here. Only four qualify as of now, but watch for Ryan Sweeney (.293, 2 HR, 22 RBI) and Ben Francisco (.314, 3 HR, 17 RBI). Back to those who actually qualify. Murphy has the lead right now as he leads in BA, SLG, DB, and RBI, but he doesn't have the publicity of a Ellsbury or Longoria. Ellsbury has been pretty good so far as his .380 OBP and 28 SB demonstrate. Longoria has also done well, but that .250 BA won't win him voters. If he continues to hit HR (he has 50 less AB than Murphy) and drive in runs, then gaining 20 points on his BA will put him with Joba. As of now, he is not there.

If I had to choose the Rookie of the Year as the best player so far, I would pick David Murphy because of how well he has hit, and he, Hamilton, and Bradley have done a nice job in Texas. Longoria needs to increase his BA for me to consider him. However, I think Joba will end up winning because we'll combine last year's stats on as well subconciously, but I still think he deserves the award. I just need to see a successful transition to the rotation. Luckily, we still have about 2/3 of the season left, and guys like Ryan Braun can come out of nowhere to win the award (maybe Jay Bruce in the NL).

I'll do the NL later when I have time.