AL Rookie of the Year

American League

Contenders

Gordon Beckham: Chicago White Sox; 3B

103 games, 378 AB

.270, 14 HR, 63 RBI, 58 R, 7 SB

2008’s 8th overall pick found himself thrust into the spotlight on June 4th when the Sox felt like they needed some production from the hot corner. Enter Gordon Beckham. After some early struggles, Beckham got hot after the All-star break and established himself as the best positional rookie in the AL. On top of the usual peripherals, Beckham showed off his veteran skills with the bat with a seasoned 41 walks to only 65 strikeouts, leaving him with an impressive .347 on base percentage. The combination of his stats and exposure playing in Chicago should have him contending for the award right down to the end.

Rick Porcello: Detroit Tigers; SP

170.2 IP in 31 Starts

14-9, 3.96 era, 89 K, 1.34 WHIP

Of all rookies this year, none had to assume a more prominent role on his team than the 20 year-old Porcello. After making 30 starts in the regular season, he was called upon to pitch the Tigers in the playoffs in a play-in game versus Twins—he delivered. Porcello pitched an excellent 5.1 innings, punching out eight and allowing just one run. The bullpen would eventually blow the lead and the Tigers would lose in extras, don’t talk semantics with me! He pitched wire to wire and that allowed him to win more games than any rookie (14). People may scoff at his 3.96 era but this is the American League, hitters can sock some dingers on the Junior Circuit.

Andrew Bailey: Oakland Athletics; RP

83.1 IP in 68 appearances

6-3, 1.84 era, 91 K, 0.88 WHIP, 26 SV

Can you name Oakland’s lone 2009 All-Star? Well if you’re not perceptive enough to figure out that it’s Andrew Bailey you may want to stop reading, as you are about as sharp as a sponge. A wet one that is, those dry ones can really do some damage. Where did this season come from? Just look at those stats, if he played in New York he would be in the MVP race. The most telling stat is his ridiculous 9.83 K/9, you’re tough to hit when you strikeout more than a person an inning. The Wagner College product took over the closer’s role in May and collected saves in 26 of 29 opportunities. I suppose the plus-side of no one caring what you’re doing really takes the pressure off... that’s Oakland for you. He is the rookie of the year—no question—but will the writers even notice?

Brett Anderson: Oakland Athletics; SP

175.1 IP in 30 Starts

11-11, 4.06 era, 150 K, 1.28 WHIP

Player A: 74.1 IP, 14 starts, 4-7, 5.45 era, 6.3 K/9

Player B: 101 IP, 16 Starts, 7-4, 3.03 era, 8.7 K/9

A rookie is supposed to improve as the season goes along, it’s a part of his development. The Rookie of the Year award does not go to the most improved rookie but that quality shouldn’t be overlooked. Brett Anderson was the Athletics’ main piece in the trade that sent Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks. They put the 21 year old in the rotation from day one and let him figure it out from there. Player A is Anderson from the months of April through June. He wasn’t showing off his command and could get a grasp on the nasty stuff he has. Player B is Anderson from July through September, when he was pretty dominant. The only other pitchers to strikeout more batters an inning than Anderson over the same time were Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander, and Jon Lester; pretty good company. His chances of winning are pretty slim as he isn’t even the best candidate from his own team but that doesn’t mean he should be kept out of the conversation. If the writers look at the level he was playing at over the season’s last three months and chose to ignore the first three, he could pull an upset. It’s just very unlikely.

Pre-Season Favorites

Matt Wieters: Baltimore Orioles: C

96 Games, 354 AB

.288, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 35 R

Everyone’s pre-season ROY favorite didn’t make the kind of splash in the majors that was expected after about a year of hype. Wieters struggled from the get go and didn’t get on track until September when he finally got the bat going. While not turning in a great season, it certainly wasn’t terrible. Just not award worthy.

David Price: Tampa Bay; SP

128.1 IP in 23 Games

10-7, 4.42 era, 102 K, 1.35 WHIP

The 1st overall pick in 2007, the former Vanderbilt star was expected to retain the dominance he showed in the Rays’ World Series run form a year ago. That didn’t exactly happen. From the moment was called up, he had major control issues. All the walks lead to high pitch counts and an inflated era. His overpowering stuff was still on display but it sure wasn’t consistent. I’m sure he’ll have these problems solved come 2010 but he comes up short for ROY as he came nowhere near meeting expectations.

Longshots

Brett Gardner: New York Yankees; OF

108 Games, 248 AB

.270, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 48 R, 26 SB

He really has no chance of winning but his name is familiar with voters because he plays for the Yankees. That can do wonders anyone’s chances. Plus the 26 steals ain’t too bad.

Elvis Andrus: Texas Rangers, SS

145 Games, 480 AB

.267, 6 HR, 40 RBI, 72 R, 33 SB

A truly raw prospect was given the job of opening day shortstop and it showed early on. Elvis got better as the year went on but failed to develop into the top of the line up spark plug the Rangers really needed to contend. His amazing range from the “6” was overshadowed by his inability to make the throw to first from deep in the hole, leaving him with 22 errors. If Texas had stayed in the race Andrus would have been a serious contender. But they didn’t, so he’s out, unless someone throws their vote away.

Jeff Niemann: Tampa Bay Rays; SP

180.2 IP in 30 starts

13-6, 3.94 era, 125 K, 1.35 WHIP

Niemann was up and down all season long but his final numbers are pretty good. He was the Rays’ fifth starter and filled the role perfectly. Each time Joe Madden handed him the ball he expected Niemann to give them a chance to win, he had 17 quality starts out of 30. He was a frontrunner of the award all season long but a winless September put the kybosh on his hardware chances.

Ricky Romero

178 IP in 29 starts

13-9, 4.30 era, 141 K, 1.52 WHIP

Too bad for Romero they don’t hand this award out in July. By far the leagues best rookie over the first three months, he pulled an opposite Brett Anderson.

First 12 Starts: 79.2 IP, 7-3, 2.96 era, 61 K, 7.56 K/9

Second 16 Starts: 98.1 IP, 6-6, 5.40 era, 80 K, 6.80 K/9

Ricky wasn’t so fine in the second half and pulled the largest nosedive of any rookie this season.

Should Win: Andrew Bailey
Will Win: Gordon Beckham

Of all MLB's end of the year awards, this is the one is the hardest to determine. There are four legitimate contenders all with about the same odds to win. Bailey has the best stats but will the writers really reward a reliever? If Happ wins in the NL, which he probably will, the writers will likely give the the trophy to a positional player. Of the four candidates, only Beckham fits that role.