THE SWISH LIST of ROOKIES

We’re at the point in the season where the Rookies are hitting the wall, if they haven’t already, so let’s have one last look at some guys who will make a push to be Rookie of the Year as the season comes to a close.

NL Hitters:
1. Peter Okajima (VC) – Okajima has slowed down just a bit but he continues to be a huge offensive force in the National League. He’s definitely getting my vote for NL ROY unless he gets injured.

2.  Khalil McNamara (SF) – A rookie putting up good numbers for a World Series contender always carries some extra weight. McNamara is making a late push since his promotion and could overtake Okajima with a strong finish. Twenty-five stolen bases in only 91 games leads me to believe that he might get to that 1,000 stolen base level that his teammate Sosa just hit.

3. Kyle Romero (WIC) – Tops for the NL Rookies in slugging % (.597), home runs (43) and RBI’s (98) and he’s #3 for hitters???!?!?!?! That tells you just how deep the rookie candidates are in the NL. No shame in coming in third in this race as Romero might end up being the best Rule V draft pick ever made.



NL Pitchers:


There is not a rookie pitcher in the National League that is putting up ROY-worthy numbers.


AL Hitters:
1. Michael Henry (HAR) – A darkhorse candidate when the season began, Henry has absolutely torn up AL pitching a la Mike Piazza. With 90 RBI’s in only 99 games and an OPS or 1.012 Henry is putting up amazing offensive numbers from the catcher position.

2. Darron Moses (BOS) – It must be the year of the catcher in the AL as Moses is another rookie catcher putting up great offensive numbers. It’s going to be a tight race between him and Henry coming down the stretch for AL ROY.

3. Carlton Sheets (FAR)/Ollie Greenwood (CH2) – Sheets and Greenwood both have very bright futures and I wouldn’t put it outside of one of them to make a strong push late in the season to become ROY. Sheets has been very strong defensively in left field while Greenwood has expectedly run into some issues in center field as he made the jump from AA but both should be strong offensive and defensive players for years to come.

AL PITCHERS:
1. Ivan Gimenez (MEM) – Gimenez has been strong this season in making 23 starts and holding his opponents to a batting average of .236 for a strong Memphis team. He’s been a very, very solid back of the rotation pitcher as this team pushes towards the playoffs.

2. Matty Guerrero (SD) – 21 saves in 23 opportunities is nothing to scoff at in this league as Guerrero has helped to close out games for San Diego. He’s averaging almost a strikeout per inning but could use a decline in his walks to help keep the stress levels low in the 9th inning.

3. Benji Martin (ARI) – 19 saves with a 2.65 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 61 games for the Arizona closer. The Cobras aren’t winning enough games to get Martin the saves needed to win the ROY but he’s having a very fine season nonetheless.

THE SWISH LIST of ROOKIES

Swish has been kind enough to review our Rookies from time to time. Here is his first installment of "THE SWISH LIST"


Here is the AL/NL Rookie Preview: Season 17 Rookie Review From Jerome Walton to Bob Hamlin to Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki it’s always fun to see how rookies fare in their first season.While initial success doesn’t always mean sustained excellence I figured it would be interesting to look at a few of the top rookies in each league a few times each season.

AL Hitters

Ollie Greenwood Chicago Black Sox Age: 24 B/T: L/L Born: Pauls Valley, OK Position(s): CF/1B/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(CH2) – A former #1 pick in Season 15, Greenwood continues his annihilation of pitchers in his rookie season. With a lean line of .362/.432/1.117 he’s not leaving much fat on the bone for the pitchers in the AL to work with.

Carlton Sheets Fargo Prairie Dogs Age: 23 B/T: L/R Born: Senath, MO Position(s): SS/3B/2B/OF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(FAR) – Sheets kept his rookie designation this season even though he saw 32 games of action in the big leagues in Season 16 and he’s taking advantage of it.His 10 doubles lead all AL rookies and coupled with his 10 home runs he’s become a force to be reckoned with at the plate.He’s been no slouch in the field either with two plus plays in left field.

Michael Henry Hartford Crushers Age: 27 B/T: R/R Born: Largo, MD Position(s): C/1B/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(HAR) – Henry is the oldest of the field at 27 but he’s shown that he speaks softly and carries a mean hitting stick.After bashing his way through the minors Henry has continued to show an ability to intentionally cause harm to pitchers in the AL this season with a sterling .356/.431/1.142 line in limited action. His BB/K ratio of 11/10 shows that his hitting maturity matches his elevated age.

AL Pitchers

Benji Martin Arizona Cobras Age: 24 B/T: R/R Born: Colmesneil, TX Position(s): P (SuB) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(ARI) – After winning the AAA FOY Award last season, Martin was handed the closing job for Arizona this season and has handled it well with 8 saves.A 3.42 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and .239 OVA shows that Martin is faring well for a rookie closer this season.

Harry Johnson San Diego Salmonbellies Age: 23 B/T: R/R Born: Ceiba Del Agua, CU Position(s): P (P) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(SD) – Johnson only has 3 saves on the season in his role as a set-up man but he’s been an invaluable Rule V draftee for San Diego.While his walks are high (12 in 26.2 IP) his OAV is a measly .144 helping to keep his WHIP at 0.94 and his ERA at 1.69

Sean Beckett Charlotte Sometimes Age: 22 B/T: S/L Born: Midland, MI Position(s): P (SP2) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(CHA) – While Beckett only has one victory on the season his low walk rate (5 bb in 33.1 IP) indicates that he’s not doing himself any harm on the mound. He has a very solid 1.23 WHIP to go with a 4.59 ERA this season.


NL Hitters 

Kyle Romero Wichita Wind Age: 22 B/T: R/R Born: Buhler, KS Position(s): SS View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(WIC) – A Rule V draftee somehow left off of the Montreal big league roster,Romero is probably in the lead for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. He just had a 27 game hitting streak come to an end but he leads the AL in Slugging (.734) and AL rookies in RBI’s (38). He’s definitely going to be a force for years to come.

Peter Okajima Vancouver Totems Age: 23 B/T: L/L Born: Kabul, AF Position(s): 1B/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(VC) – If not for Romero, everyone would be talking about Okajima this season.Coming off one of the greatest minor league seasons that I’ve seen (75 HR, 202 RBI, .360/.469/1.305) Okajima is continuing his assault on pitchers. With a cool 28/15 bb/k ratio, Okajima is an on-base machine (.469 ob%) but if you dare pitch to him he’s going to cause quite a bit of physical and probably mental anguish as he has 15 home runs and 36 RBI’s. In any other season Okajima would easily win the NL ROY Award and be a top candidate for the NL MVP.This season he’s in for a dogfight to pick up any hardware at all.

Bruce Peterson Tampa Bay Stars Age: 26 B/T: R/R Born: Manchester, NJ Position(s): RF/1B/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(TB) – A worthy ROY candidate himself, Peterson is having a very good season (.297/.372/.848) but is overshadowed by Romero and Okajima.


NL Pitchers

Sonny McIntosh Vancouver Totems Age: 26 B/T: S/R Born: Del Valle, TX Position(s): P (SP4) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(VC) – McIntosh probably leads a weak group of rookie starting pitchers in the NL this season. His 2.91 ERA and .227 OAV have allowed him to put up very good numbers at the backend of the rotation for Vancouver this season.

Hades Morgan Atlanta Peachfuzz Age: 26 B/T: L/L Born: Washington, DC Position(s): P (SP3) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(ATL) – Morgan is kind of doing his thing with a little smoke and a lot of mirrors this season as he’s not striking out a lot of hitters (19k’s in 42.2IP) but he’s had great results so far for Atlanta with a 4-2 record.

Brent Paramore Wichita Wind Age: 24 B/T: R/R Born: Bedford, VA Position(s): P (SP3) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(WIC) – Although Paramore has a high ERA (5.21), his WHIP (1.35) and OAV (.242) indicate a pitcher that is going to win some games for Wichita this season.

Thanks Swish for the great Rookie writeup. I'm already looking forward to next "SWISH LIST"