AL Rookie of the Year UPDATE

About four days ago I wrote about the AL Rookie of the year and how tight the race was getting. My unofficial vote changed from my home town pitcher, Jeff Niemann, to the Oakland A's rookie closer, Andrew Bailey. Today is another day, and my vote is back up for grabs. Here are the most updated stats and my thoughts on who should win the award.

Matt Wieters C Baltimore

Games 83 Hits 83 Home Run 7 RBIs 36 BA .282

Wieters stock is rising but it is probably too little too late. Wieters bat has heated up and he has made some great plays behind the plate. He does however have two things working against him. 1. The number of games he has played, and 2. Baltimore is not a good team. If he had played all year and the O's were .500 he would be a sure fire AL ROY.

Jeff Niemann Starting Pitcher Tampa Bay

Games 27 Wins 12 Losses 6 K's 112 ERA 3.80 WHIP 1.32

Niemann has not pitched in the last 4 days. His next start will be against the Mariners tomorrow night.

Brett Anderson Starting Pitcher Oakland

Games 28 Wins 10 Losses 10 K's 139 ERA 4.21 WHIP 1.28

Anderson has won 3 games in a row and in his last outing had 10 strikeouts and went 6 innings. His biggest obstacle to winning the award may be his teammate Andrew Bailey!

Elvis Andrus Shortstop Texas

Games 131 Hits 117 Home Run 6 RBIs 34 BA .272

Andrus has been as steady as they come all year for the Rangers. His team has played very well, and many credit his defense for helping turn around the Rangers pitching staff this year. Andrus could be the front runner for the ROY award.


Andrew Bailey Relief Pitcher Oakland

Games 63 Wins 6 Losses 3 K's 85 ERA 1.95 WHIP .92 SAVES 25

Bailey has 4 saves this month and has lowered his era to 1.95. He had 3 strikeouts and earned the save in his last outing. The only thing going against Bailey is the fact that his team in not playing meaningful games. The voters for ROY tend to favor players on teams that are in contention at the end of the year.

Rickey Romero Starting Pitcher Toronto

Games 25 Wins 12 Losses 8 K's 119 ERA 4.22 WHIP 1.51
1-3 in September Lost his last start vs. the Rays

I am officailly taking Romero off of my list of contendors. He is just 1-3 this month and was beating by the Rays in his last outing. Comparing his stats to the rest of the starting pitchers this blogger just does not think Romero has much of a chance to win the award.

Rick Porcello Starting Pitcher Detroit

Games 28 Wins 13 Losses 9 K's 79 ERA 4.22 WHIP 1.33

Porcello lost to the Twins in his last game although it was a pretty good start. He went 6 innings giving up only 3 runs. Porcello is 2-1 in September. Porcello and the Tigers are still in the thick of a pennant race which could swing votes his way. Rick may be the dark horse in this race that crosses the finish line first.

Gordon Beckham 3B Chicago White Sox

Games 92 Hits 90 Home Run 12 RBIs 54 BA .266

Beckham seems to be running on fumes. Without a strong performance this week he may loose his spot in the running.

Brad Bergesen Starting Pitcher Baltimore

Games 19 Wins 7 Losses 5 K's 65 ERA 3.43 WHIP 1.28

Bergesen is on the 60 day IR he has most likely pitched in his last game this year. I am offically removing him from my list.

I have seen some articles about Nolan Riemold of the O's getting a push from Baltimore to win the award, but with him being shut down for the season with an achillies tendon problem he probably does not have the numbers to earn the award. Here is his current stat line:

Games 104 Hits 100 Home Run 15 RBIs 45 BA .279

4 more days of stats and my vote is still going to Andrew Bailey. Wieters has played very well, and Brett Anderson was very impressive in his last start, the future is bright for the A's. If Niemann can put together a couple more wins he could take the trophy. Rick Porcello is also still very much in the hunt because he is playing for a pennant and a couple of pressure packed wins would go a long way in the eyes of the voters. The next 3 weeks worth of games should be very exciting.

The Card Addict

Jeff Niemann Rookie of the Year?????

The Tampa Rays hoped beginning the season one of their starting pitchers would have a chance to win the A.L. Rookie of the Year award. What they did not know was that pitchers name would be Jeff Niemann. Most people believed David Price was a ROY candidate coming off his strong '08 post season performance. It only seemed logical that he would continue his success and have a shot at the AL ROY trophy. Poor control and high pitch counts have kept the "Price from being Right" most of his rookie campaign.

While Price struggled, Jeff Niemann is quietly putting together a very solid rookie year. He threw a gem of a game tonight against the Baltimore O's to push his record to 11-5. He went 7 1/3 innings tonight giving up only a solo shot to Brian Roberts before being pulled. He gave up seven hits and had 5 K's. He lowered his ERA to 3.71, and got his eleventh win, both tops on the Rays staff. Niemann has be arguably the best starter for the Rays this year.

His ERA and BAA are both in the top 20 of all AL pitchers, he has 2 complete game shutouts, and 81 Ks. He is now 6-1 since June 16th.

Niemann was the Rays first pick in the 2004 draft, fourth overall. He made his major league debut on April 13, 2008 against the Baltimore O's. Niemann was out of options starting spring training this year so the Rays were forced to give him a starting spot to keep him from being exposed to waivers. Sometimes having your hand forced can be a good thing, especially if you are the Rays!

There are some other great looking Rookies this year, Brett Anderson LHP of Oak, Elvis Andrus SS Texas, Brad Bergesen RHP Bal, Gordon Beckham 3B Chi, Matt Wieters C Bal, Andrew Bailey RHP Oak, Rick Porcello RHP Det, Ricky Romero LHP Toronto, but if by some miracle the Rays can catch Texas and Boston and win the AL Wild Card I look for Tampa to have their second American League Rookie of the Year!

Go over to the EBAY and pick up a couple of Niemann rookie cards while you can: