Top Rookie Of The Year Candidates

The best player on the planet under age 21 is undoubtedly Mike Trout of the Angels. The 20-year-old outfielder is hitting .354 with an OPS (on-base plus slugging) percentage of 1.013. The kid has good power (16 homers) and Mickey Mantle-like speed with 31 stolen bases to lead Major League Baseball.

Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 6/2/2012

Barring injury or a total meltdown, Trout is a cinch to win Rookie of the Year — but he’s not the only great player under 28 making a difference this year. Here are some other young stars:

  • Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs. Hitting .317 with 6HR in just 26 games
  • Jordan Pacheco, Colorado Rockies. .300 avg. with only 29 strikeouts in 243 AB
  • Yoenis Cespedes, Oakland A’s. He’s hitting .299 with 13 home runs
  • Will Middlebrooks, Boston Red Sox. .296 with 12 homers and .841 OPS
  • Quintin Berry, Detroit Tigers. Hitting .286 with 15 stolen bases
  • Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals. .265 with 9HR and 13 stolen bases

And these are the top rookie pitchers so far this year:

  • Wade Miley, Arizona Diamondbacks. 11-6 with 3.11 ERA and 88K’s
  • Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers. 11-7 with 138 strikeouts
  • Tommy Milone, Oakland A’s. 9-7 with 93K’s and WHIP of 1.19

For the Oakland Athletics, L.A. Angels and many other teams, the young kids are leading the way.

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About Mike

Mike Luery is an award-winning journalist with 25 years on TV and radio. Currently, he is the political reporter for KCRA-TV, the top-ranked station in Sacramento. This is Luery's second tour of duty with KCRA, where he was also a reporter from 1984 - 2000. In between, he was NBC's Capitol Bureau Chief in California and a reporter for CBS 13 in Sacramento. Luery lives in northern California with his wife Carol. Baseball Between Us is his first book.
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