This afternoon Topps posted their All-Rookie team on their blog. As a kid I used to love finding the cards in the Topps sets with the little cup. Sometimes they were good players, other years were a little leaner and there were some rather mediocre players running around with the Topps Cup on their cards. When I sat down to plan my posts for this week I originally had the idea to make my own version of the Topps All-Rookie team.
I would do a little comparing and contrasting with the Topps list when it was released, post a few pictures of the Rookie Cup next to some baseball cards. It was going to be a great post. Then I started looking at some of the stats for the rookie players. I actually had a few notes written down from my podcast I made few weeks back where I did a little prognosticating about the awards season. Well, there was the one guy from the Cubs who was the best rookie. Another third baseman was on my list and about three or four shortstops.
If Francisco Lindor could change his position to first base this would be a lot easier this year. I still made the All-Topps post and will share tomorrow. Seriously not an easy job given the fact that the best five rookies play two positions. In the meantime, here are my five best rookie players....
5. Matt Duffy 3B San Francisco Giants
I am not sure that Duffy will hang with the rest of the players on this last in the long run, but he still had a great year. In the long run, I think Duffy will be a solid everyday player. Nothing flashy, but there's nothing wrong with running him out to the hot corner 150 times a year. This year Duffy produced a .295/.334/.428 slash line along with 46 extra base hits.
4. Jung Ho Kang SS Pittsburgh Pirates
Kang ended up missing the last few weeks of the season due to injury, but still had a really good run after moving over from the KBO. In his first year with the Pirates he hit .287/.355/.461 with 41 extra bases. Most years Kang would get a little bit more love, maybe even contended for the National League Rookie of the year. In 2015, he's the third best shortstop on this list.
3. Francisco Lindor SS Cleveland Indians
Lindor was a really good player in these parts a summer or to back when he starred for the Carolina Mudcats. He was an exceptional defensive player, but I was never quite sure if he would hit when he reach the Majors. He definitely held his own this summer with a .313/.353/.482 mark with 48 extra base hits and 12 steals playing part of the season with the Indians.
2. Carlos Correa SS Houston Astros
Correa deservedly won the American League Rookie of the Year Award after helping the Astros win the American League West pennant. The former number one overall pick hit .279/.245/.512 with 45 extra base hits in just under 400 at-bats. He should be a fun player to watch for years to come in Houston.
1. Kris Bryant 3B Chicago Cubs
An easy choice for the top spot on my list. Bryant went .275/.369/.488 with 62 extra base hits during his first summer on the north side. He should be around for a long time and should push his home run total higher than the 26 he hit during his Rookie of the Year campaign this season.
So, I ventured into the world of retail baseball card last week. I was having an extremely busy week and needed a little mental diversion for a few minutes. What better diversion is there from the stresses of work than opening up a few packs of baseball cards? I cannot think of one, so I picked up a blaster box of Topps Heritage High Numbers at my local Target.
I had seen a few Hobby boxes opened the previous week at a card show in Raleigh and seen some nice pulls, nothing to write home about, but solid pulls. I was honestly hoping for a copy of the Bryant or Jung Ho Kang rookie card. So, I unwrapped my box and started opening packs. I got down to the final three packs in the blaster when I stumbled across both the Bryant and Kang rookie cards in the same pack......
I was honestly very happy with my blaster the moment that I saw these two cards. Not to say that I have no expectations for a retail box, but the bar is not exactly high. I understand that the odds of pulling good cards is steeper. Completely understand and I know when I am beating the odds. Which reminds me, I did not tell you what came out of the last two packs. Second to last pack netted me this Kris Bryant Bazooka Mini.....
This was a great retail pull. The Bazooka minis have long odds in retail packs of Heritage High Numbers, but it's not a completely impossible pull. The Bryant card sells for around $40 on Ebay, so combined with the rookie cards, I had more than made up the $19.99 I spent on my blaster. But, then there was one pack left. Just when I thought the box could not get any better......
I was stunned. I have not pulled many cards this cool from Hobby Heritage boxes over the last fifteen years the product has been around. I did pull a Bonds autograph numbered to 25 in 2001, but this might be second on my list. Easily the best retail box I have ever opened. I have seen several other collectors have some good luck on Heritage High Number retail boxes, which makes me consider going out and getting another box, but I think I will not press my luck. No whammies.
I have two Friday Five posts this week. One this evening, Friday, and I will have another one tomorrow early in the morning. Yes, it is technically Saturday, but this is interesting stuff.... This week I am going to look at some of the rookie players who are floating around MLB this year. There have been a ton of young talented players called up this year with a wide spectrum of performance levels. Originally I was going to make one post with the top 5 rookies, but decided to split the group into two so I could get a few more names into the conversation. Tonight position players, tomorrow pitchers. With a little under two months left in the season, there are going to be some great races for the Rookie of the Year Awards.
Here are my Top 5 Rookie Position Players:
5. Kris Bryant Cubs 3B
I have always had some reservations about Bryant, most of which revolve around his contact rate. There was a great Fan Graphs article at some point about it since the season started, but I first started paying attention to the stat a few years ago after sitting near a scout at a Durham Bulls game who was talking about it as a way to rule out players, contact does not guarantee success, who will likely wash it in the Majors. I first saw Bryant a few years back at USA Baseball. It is really hard not to love the way the ball jumps off his bat and not think he's going to be a tremendous power hitter for years to come. However, it seems that the contact rate issues are starting to mount for the Cubs third baseman. He leads the league in strikeouts and has a .141/.258/.269 slash line with just 2 home runs over his last month of play. Still, Bryant's overall stats for the year are good with 14 home runs, an OPS+ of 118, and a WAR of 3.0. He's still a young player with a limited amount of at-bats in the Majors and can still make some adjustments to how he is being pitched. He makes my list, but is in real danger of falling off if I revisit this post and his performance does not improve. Here's a look at that power.....
4. Jung Ho Kang Pirates SS
Kang is in his first year in the MLB, but played for awhile in Korea before coming over this past off season. Sometimes overseas veterans can be a little hard to figure out. The Cardinals were in on the Kang bidding and I was not completely sold on him being an impact player. However, he appears to be the real deal. Kang has done a job for the Pirates this year spending time at both third and shortstop. His overall line currently stands at .291/.362/.446 with 8 home runs, 2 triples, and 17 doubles. I like that production out of Kang, but he has actually gotten better as the year has gone along. During July he posted a .379/.443/.621 line with 3 home runs, and 8 doubles. I am curious to see how the season ends for the shortstop. He is certainly in the conversation for Rookie of Year this year.
3. Matt Duffy Giants 3B
Duffy has been a big surprise this year for the Giants. He's was never a huge prospect for the Giants with a career minor league line of .304/.387/.413. He got on base, but he has never hit for double digit home runs, and has never taken an at-bat in Triple A. Like most baseball fans, I was not expecting much out of him when the Giants jumped him up from Double A to replace Pablo Sandoval. So far this year, playing third base full time, Duffy has slashed .309/.346/.464 with an OPS+ of 128. If you're a fan of WAR he actually leads all rookie position players in the statistic at 3.6. Duffy should also be in the running for Rookie of the Year, but I just do not hear his name get dropped very often in that conversation. Perhaps I am conversing with the wrong people.
2. Randal Grichuk Cardinals OF
This spring Cardinals manager Mike Matheny compared Randal Grichuk to a Lamborghini. I laughed. Grichuk seemed like a tools player, but he also spent the last year bouncing between the Cardinals fourth outfield spot and Memphis. There were some great moments for Grichuk last year, like hitting a home run off of Clayton Kershaw in the playoffs, but also lots of frustrations. He struck out 31 times in 110 at bats, had an OBP of .278, and only walked 5 times. This season Grichuk has just over 250 at bats with a slash line of .288/.336/..572, 40 extra base hits, and an OPS+ of 144. He's a fun player to watch and Cardinals fans rave about his skills, especially his bat, but I need to see a little bit more before I am completely sold on Randal Grichuk. So, why did I put him ahead of the other players if he's not a slam dunk? I think he and Bryant actually have the highest ceiling on this list. Kang is approaching 30, Duffy is going to be a high average/high on base with a little pop, but Grichuk and Bryant could both be something special. They just happen to be trending in opposite directions at the moment. He would be my pick to win the NL Rookie of the Year at the moment.
1. Carlos Correa Astros SS
I am going out on a limb here by saying that Correa will win the American League Rookie of the Year. He has fewer at-bats than anyone on this list, but has a slash line of .291/.345/.567 with fourteen doubles, fourteen home runs, 8 steals, and an OPS+ of 148. Correa was the first overall draft pick by the Astros back in 2012 and has the potential to be exactly what teams hope to get out of having that first overall pick: A franchise player. There are not too many good offensive shortstops left in the game, but Correa looks like he is going to be a great one for years to come. At just 20 years old we are likely in for a long run out of Carlos. I am guessing it's going to look pretty nice at the end assuming he stays healthy.
