In 2009, plenty of American League rookies had excellent seasons. Twenty three-year old third baseman Gordon Beckham had a eye-opening year, hitting .270 with 14 homers and 63 RBI in 103 games.
Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus , who began the season at the age of 20, wasn’t all too stellar offensively, batting .267 with a .329 on-base percentage, but his defense was breathtaking to watch. So much so that that alone put him into the Rookie of the Year conversation.
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jeff Neimann fought his way through a tough Eastern Division to win 12 games and post a sub-4.00 ERA.
Baltimore Orioles 25-year old left fielder Nolan Reimold batted .279 with 15 homers and 45 rbis in 104 games.
The eventual winner, Oakland Athletics reliever Andrew Bailey, had 26 saves and a 1.83 ERA.
His teammate, 22-year old Brett Anderson , won 11 games, had a respectable ERA of 4.02, and compiled 150 strikeouts. What will the 2010 rookie class have in store?
American League
Texas Rangers reliever Neftali Feliz
The 21-year old Dominican jumped onto the scene last season and blew away the opposition in a pivotal setup role.
A lanky right-hander with a whipping motion and a velocity upwards of a 100 miles per hour, he appeared in 30 games and allowed only six runs on 13 hits in 31 1/3 innings.
With a full repertoire to compliment his blazing fastball, he will surely have a similar effect in his first full season.
And with the closer role relatively up for grabs (Frank Francisco is good, but he can be leap-frogged), look for Feliz to rack up the saves along with the holds he will collect as the eighth-inning guy.
Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley
The 22-year old hit .313 after a late-season call-up and will have a opportunity to take over in left-field for good with Russell Branyan on the disabled list.
Brantley spent a lot of time as a youth wandering around the Seattle Mariners clubhouse while his dad, Mickey, spent four seasons with the team in the late 1980s.
With baseball in his blood, Michael followed in his father’s footsteps and was ultimately drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers out of high school in 2005.
In five minor-league seasons spent with both the Brewers and Indians, he batted .300 with a .387 on-base percentage.
He is no longer known as Mickey’s son. And he can continue to make a name for himself by building of his late-season success, which, with the Indians rebuilding, he will have a tremendous opportunity to do.
In his baseball career, he’s been a singles hitter, but he has gap power and could potentially hit 20 homers a season. Look for him to break out and get a substantial amount of at-bats, even if Branyan takes back the starting job upon his return.
Detroit Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson
Replacing Curtis Granderson is a tough chore, but if anyone can do it, Jackson can. Previously in the New York Yankees system as a highly regarded prospect, the 23-year old speedster hasn’t played a major league game, but he has shown enough to manager Jim Leyland this spring to be named their starting center fielder and leadoff hitter on Opening Day.
I do not expect Jackson to excel right off the bat, but even if he does struggle, he will wow his home crowd with his speed and defensive range.
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Wade Davis
The 23-year old Davis joins a rotation full of promising youth. He made six starts last season during a late-season call-up, winning two while posting a 3.72 ERA.
One victory came in a complete-game shutout, giving the Rays a glimpse of what he’s capable of.
He will get his fair share of starts for Tampa Bay and, with a plus-fastball that hits 96 on the gun, a biting curve-ball, and an above-average cut-fastball and changeup, be sure that he will also acquire his fair share of victories.
Others such as Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz , Athletics third baseman Brett Wallace , and Indians catching prospect Carlos Santana have the ability to make a considerable impact this year.
The list goes on and on for a remarkable crop of rookies in the American League.
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