Thirteen players who ranked as their organization's top prospect in the offseason have suited up for the big league club this season, but not all the rookies have been ready for prime time.

The Blue Jays' Kyle Drabek ran up a 5.70 ERA through 14 starts to earn a demotion to Triple-A. Reds fireballer Aroldis Chapman walked 20 batters in his first 13 innings and suffered a similar fate, though he's back in Cincinnati now. First baseman Brandon Belt went 12-for-57 (.211) and had spent as much time in Triple-A Fresno and on the disabled list as in the Giants lineup. Chris Sale ran up a 5.91 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 10 April appearances for the White Sox before settling in.

These are not their stories. Instead we'll focus on those rookies who stand above their contemporaries for their play through the season's first three months. Statistics here capture a snapshot of each player's performance at the end of the day June 30, roughly the season's halfway point.

Rookies are organized into four groups so that performances can be compared more directly. Players are divided into starting pitchers, relief pitchers, up-the-middle defenders and corner players, because no one ought to expect a middle infielder's raw offensive production to look like a corner outfielder's.

For rookie rundowns going back five years, check out the 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010 midseason lists. [...] Continue Reading »

A rookie may have one foot in the door to big league success, but we like to think he still has his other foot in the prospect pool. So in what has become a midseason tradition, we bid adieu to young players whom we no longer get to cover in print or in cyberspace, not because they're unworthy but because they have lost prospect eligibility.

You may notice that this year's format is slightly altered. Rather than count down the top 20 rookies, we've organized the top first-half performers into a team—five starting pitchers, three go-to relievers, eight position players plus a DH. This results in a few notable omissions, such as Cubs corner outfielder Tyler Colvin, Rays righthander Wade Davis, Indians shortstop Jason Donald, Indians righty Mitch Talbot and Pirates second baseman Neil Walker. But we may hear from them, as well as stud catcher Carlos Santana, in our end-of-season top rookies feature.

Rookies are organized into four groups so that performances can be compared more directly. Players are divided into starting pitchers, relief pitchers, up-the-middle defenders and corner players, because no one ought to expect a middle infielder's raw offensive production to look like a corner outfielder's.

For rookie rundowns going back four years, check out the 2007, 2008 or 2009 midseason lists. [...] Continue Reading »

The Cardinals have played a big league-leading 91 games to this point, illustrating that the All-Star break splits the season into asymmetrical portions. So the idea of the break functioning as the halfway point to the season is a bit of a misnomer. What the break does, however, is afford us a chance to catch our breath, as well as provide the ideal backdrop to evaluate the top rookies of the 2009 season. (We checked in during spring training with our preseason Top 25 Rookies.)

Let’s begin with the all-rookie team, something you’ll find in our most recent issue, which features Mike Stanton on the cover and a Top 100 Prospects update inside. 

C— Ryan Hanigan, Reds. 1B—Travis Ishikawa, Giants. 2B—Casey McGehee, Brewers. 3B—Gordon Beckham, White Sox. SS—Elvis Andrus, Rangers. OF—Brett Gardner, Yankees; Andrew McCutchen, Pirates; and Colby Rasmus, Cardinals. DH—Nolan Reimold, Orioles.

SP—Brad Bergesen, rhp, Orioles; J.A. Happ, lhp, Phillies; Scott Richmond, rhp, Blue Jays; Ricky Romero, lhp Blue Jays; and Randy Wells, rhp, Cubs. RP—Andrew Bailey, rhp, Athletics.

And on to the top 20, where an asterisk (*) denotes a lefthanded batter or thrower and a pound sign (#) signifies a switch-hitter. Click names to head directly to our player finder pages.

Performing in the major leagues was the only way Romero was going to shed his perceptions as an overdraft. And that’s exactly what he has done this season. Infamously selected one spot ahead of Troy Tulowitzki in ’05, Romero has put his plus offspeed offerings to good use this season, generating a fair share of strikeouts and groundouts. Romero has averaged a firm 91 mph on his fastball this season, but it’s improved command of the pitch, more than anything, that has made the difference. [...] Continue Reading »

June 30 marked the halfway point for the year 2008, and it also marked the halfway point for the 2008 baseball season. First-year players have had three months to make their marks for playoff contenders, and we’ve had time to get a truer read on their abilities. Like last year, we’ll rank the top 20 first-half rookie performers, and highlight 10 names to watch in the second half.

If you were with us this March, you’re familiar with our preseason Top 25 Rookies. The selections of Evan Longoria, Joba Chamberlain, Jay Bruce or Kosuke Fukudome seem obvious, but many other top 25 selections may leave you scratching your head. Cameron Maybin, Colby Rasmus, Steve Pearce, Nate Schierholtz and Gio Gonzalez all have spent the entire season in the minors, while Franklin Morales, Ian Kennedy, Homer Bailey, Brandon Wood and J.R. Towles did not impress in brief big league auditions and are presently working their way back.

A new feature this time, we’re including black ink and gray ink monitors, patterned after the Bill James-inspired model at Baseball-Reference.com, to recognize rookies who rank among the top three in major statistical categories. For rate stats, a player must qualify for batting or ERA title to be recognized.

Black Ink: Player leads all rookies. Gray Ink: Player ranks either second or third among rookies. Click the player names below to get up-to-date stats, but keep in mind the listed stats are through games of June 30 to provide a snapshot.

1. Geovany Soto, c, 25, Cubs
AVG: .284 OBP: .371 SLG: .517 AB: 271 HR: 13 2B/3B: 22/1 SB: 0/0
Black Ink: SO (70). Gray Ink: AVG, OBP, SLG, AB, H (77), 2B, HR, RBIs (47), BB (39), TB (140).

Though he scuffled a bit in June (.250/.327/.420), Soto remains a leading contender for the NL Rookie of the Year award—which would go well with his Pacific Coast League MVP from last season. His case is bolstered by his handling of the pitching staff for the league’s top team and by the fact that he stands to be the starting catcher in the All-Star Game. In addition to his hitting exploits, Soto also has thrown out 13 of 46 (28 percent) of opposing basestealers, the sixth-best rate in the NL.

2. Evan Longoria, 3b, 22, Rays
AVG: .267 OBP: .341 SLG: .523 AB: 262 HR: 15 2B/3B: 20/1 SB: 4/4
Black Ink: HR, SLG. Gray Ink: 2B, RBIs (47), SO (69), TB (137).

Good and only getting better, Longoria stepped up the production in June (.300/.374/.650 in 100 at-bats) and would appear to be an easy choice for AL Rookie of the Year. Already entrenched as the first-place Rays’ (it’s just fun to type) five-hitter, Longoria is rock-solid at the hot corner and has even spent a game at shortstop, his position as a sophomore at Long Beach State. [...] Continue Reading »

A long list of the game’s brightest young stars—including Justin Verlander, Ryan Howard, Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Zimmerman, Scott Kazmir, Jonathan Papelbon, Matt Cain, Prince Fielder and Russell Martin—made both 2005 and 2006 the Years of the Rookies.

So it surprised us when the rookie class of 2007 was on par with, and perhaps superior to, the two that had come before. What makes this year’s group especially noteworthy is . . . well, read on to find out.

As always, * denotes a lefthanded batter or pitcher, while # denotes a switch-hitter.

POWERFUL AND SWIFT

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