Who’s Ya NL (Central) Rookie of the Year?

Rowengardner: NOT my Rookie of the Year

I could spout off angrily about the Brewers getting swept by the Pirates, coming back strong to defeat the Nationals 3 of 4, and taking that momentum all the way to the bank in Milwaukee. Of course, they left it at the bank and got swept by the Reds at Miller Park this week, so we won’t talk about that anymore. The Crew is now 61-66 and, for all intensive purposes, donezo.

So instead we’re going to discuss the NL Rookie of the Year race, with 95% of the discussion centered around NL Central players and a line or two about the rest of the schmucks in the league.

Randy Wells, Cubs SP: His first appearance came on May 8. He’s 9-7 on the bump with 14 quality starts. He’s thrown 126.2 innings and fashioned a 3.06 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP. He is tied for team lead in wins and leads the team in ERA. Wells couldn’t buy a win early in the year despite pitching well, but has come on as of late. He went 5-1 in July despite having his highest ERA that month (still just 3.23), so take that for whatever it’s worth.

Andrew McCutchen, Pirates CF: He came up on June 4 and is such a highly-touted prospect that the Pirates got rid of the very talented Nyger Morgan to place McCutchen in center. He’s played in 72 games and hits leadoff every day. Through 290 at-bats, he has a .290 BA and has laced 18 doubles, 6 triples, and 9 ding-dongs. The speedy sonofabitch also has 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts. I give him extra props for playing a very important position in the field and hitting in a very important spot, albeit for a very shitty team.

Casey McGehee, Brewers 3B: The Crew picked up the ex-Cub in the offseason and he’s been up since day one. He played well enough for the Brewers to finally ditch Billy Hall and has played in 83 games so far. In 245 AB, McGehee is hitting .290 with 14 doubles, a triple and 10 jimmy-jacks. He’s knocked in 39 runs as well. He gets bonus points for driving without headlights, being pulled over by my buddy, and being let go because, well, fuck it, go Brewers. (Ed. Note: This was earlier this season, when the team didn’t make fans want to gouge their eyes out. He’d probably be locked up for two years if it happened yesterday.)

Colby Rasmus, Cardinals OF: In 115 games, Rasmus is hitting .251 in 366 AB, He has 20 doubles, a triple and 13 Yahtzee!’s to his credit in 2009. The man also has contributed 41 RBI for the division leaders. He gets his bonus points for starting since day one and playing almost every day – admittedly tougher on a rookie than playing a shorter season because of a late call-up. However, he loses crucial points for being named Colby. Really?!? Bold statement, Mr. and Mrs. Rasmus. He probably has a brother named Tristan, too.

The Astros and Reds have no rookies of consequence, or at least none that I can think of right now. They aren’t good enough to matter anyway.

Oh yeah, somebody tells me there are two other divisions in the NL and they want in on the action. I’ll appease the masses… Philadelphia starting pitcher J.A. Happ is 10-3 with a 2.63 ERA. He is a Bossman. Atlanta starting pitcher Tommy Hanson came with more hype, and has been good, but is a paltry (not really) 9-2 with a 3.12 ERA. I deem nobody else worthwhile of mention here, but I’m almost positive the Marlins have like 13 awesome rookies they will trade away in the next two years to continue the slow, painful crushing of Hanley Ramirez’ soul.

The Verdict

NL ROY: Happ.

NLC ROY: Wells. McCutchen. McGehee. Rasmus. In that order.