Around the Bigs: American League Rookie of the Year Candidates

Aparicio, Carew, Fisk, Ripken Jr., McGwire, and Jeter. What do they all have in common? Well among other things, they have all won the American League Rookie of the Year award. Let's now meet some of the candidates for 2007.

Dustin Pedroia, 2B
The Boston Red Sox may have found themselves a real good hitter in Pedroia. They drafted him in the second round of the 2004 draft, and he made his MLB debut last August. He has spent most of the season as a table setter for the Sox, and has responded well with a .324 batting average and a .387 on-base percentage. He's not a slugger, nor a speedster - he just knows how to play the game. And at 24 years of age, he should be playing this game (well) for a long time.

Delmon Young, OF

One of the "advantages" of being one of the worst teams in baseball is having an early pick in the Ameteur Draft. In 2002, the Devil Rays had the second overall pick and took current slugger B.J. Upton. In 2003, they had the first overall pick and drafted Young. And all he's done in his first 150 games is hit .292 with 12 home runs and 83 RBI. With years and years of finishing dead last in the AL East, the Devil Rays may finally be able to turn the page in 2008, thanks to their Young blood.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, P

Hideo Nomo (1996), Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001) all hail from Japan, and they have all won the Rookie of the Year award, even though they have all played professional baseball, in Japan. Well Dice-K also played professional ball in Japan, but Major League Baseball rules say that a player is a rookie in his first season in American Baseball. "Dice-K " leads American League rookies in strikeouts (186), wins (14) and innings pitched (190). With his gyroball...gyroing, Dice-K is sure making the Red Sox glad they won the rights to him during the off-season.

Alex Gordon, 3B
The Kansas City Royals have had a history of losing the last few years, but that may change in the coming years. With youngsters like Gordon and his 14 home runs, the Royals look like they could start to contend in the near future. But in order for Gordon to become a legitimate threat in the major leagues, he is going to have to start cutting down on his strikeouts (126 in 500 ABs this year).

Brian Bannister, P
It looks like the Mets may have let another one go. This past winter, the Mets sent Bannister to the Royals for Ambiorix Burgos - clearly, the Royals were the winner of this deal. Bannister leads American League rookies in ERA (3.39) and is second in wins (12). The Royals may finally have an eventual ace of their staff...something they have lacked since the days of Kevin Appier.