AL Rookies Love Cookies

Jason Michael Barker

Before we get to this month's look at the top rookies in the American League, I would like to thank each and every one of you who stuffed the virtual All-Star ballot box last week. I offered a few voting suggestions in my columns last week, two of which were Jason Giambi (1B, AL) and Jeff Kent (2B, NL). Giambi held a slim lead heading into the final week of voting, while Kent sat third.

Not only was Giambi able to hold off Cleveland's Jim Thome, but Kent came from 150,000 votes back to beat out Craig Biggio for the starting spot. I don't want to take too much credit for all this, but I have to think the results have something to do with our collective effort -- way to go. Isn't the Internet great?

Now to the rookies.

First up is Anaheim 2B Adam Kennedy, who just moments ago (as I type this) hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth off Jose Mesa to give the Angels a 7-6 lead over my beloved Mariners. I promise not to let that bias my opinion. Kennedy opened the season with a fabulous April, then followed that up with a horrific May that lost him the number two slot in the batting order. So what of June? Kennedy found the magic beans he had misplaced in May, rebounding to hit .352/.402/.489 (that's AVG/OBP/SLG for those of you scoring at home).

While it's convenient to look at his monthly splits and draw conclusions, in reality such samples are both arbitrary and small enough that they aren't worth very much. His season numbers, .280/.324/.405, are a much better indication of what sort of player he is. And what sort of player is that? One who, because of his low walk rate, needs to hit for a higher batting average to really be helping his team.

In Oakland, CF Terrance Long has gotten better each month he's played this season. He was particularly good in June, hitting for average (.306) and drawing walks. As an aside, the one knock on Long when he came over to the A's was that he didn't do a good job controlling the strikezone. On the season, Long now has 29 walks to go against 28 strikeouts -- do we need any more proof that the A's know what they're doing when it comes to the importance they place on plate discipline?

Long and his .347 on-base percentage still aren't suited for the top of the batting order, but he's the best thing the A's have going at the moment.

Long's teammate, LHP Mark Mulder, has been wildly inconsistent this season, as is to be expected from rookie hurlers. In his last start, Mulder allowed six runs and ten hits in 5.1 innings against Anaheim. The start before that, he allowed just one run and four hits in seven innings against the Royals. In fact, his last six starts have followed this "good start, bad start" pattern.

For the season, he's 3-3 with a 5.27 ERA in 14 starts. On a positive note, Mulder has been held under 100 pitches each of his last seven starts, and has been over 103 just twice all year (112 pitches, twice). Kudos to Art Howe for his handling of Mulder, who could break out with a big year as soon as next season.

The bullpen, and in particular the closer, has long been a sore subject in Seattle. Japanese import Kazuhiro Sasaki seems to have solved that problem this season, however, with 17 saves in 19 chances so far for the Mariners.

Sasaki blew a save in Oakland back on May 12, and after the game, his ERA stood at 7.36. Since that game, he has a 1.74 ERA and has converted 13 of his 14 save opportunities. Opposing batters are hitting just .180 over that span with just one homer, the latter of which were a big problem earlier in the year. The biggest reason for his success recently has been getting ahead of hitters -- he relies on a forkball, which is generally in the dirt, as his strikeout pitch, and in order for it to be effective he must set it up with a fastball.

Texas 3B Mike Lamb continues to put up solid, but not spectacular, rookie numbers. He's hitting .285/.340/.435 as of this writing, and like Kennedy could stand to draw a few more walks. With just four home runs on the season, Lamb gets most of his slugging from his 18 doubles in 214 at-bats. He's also been helped quite a bit by his home park -- Lamb has a .949 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) at the Ballpark at Arlington, over 300 points better than his .618 mark on the road.

Staying at the hot corner, Cleveland's Russ Branyan has been exactly the sort of "three true outcomes" (he either walks, whiffs, or homers) player his minor league numbers predicted. In 82 plate appearances this year, he's walked 10 times, homered eight and struck out 29 for a 57.3 "true outcomes" percentage.

Despite his low batting average, Branyan walks enough that his on-base percentage stands at .352, which certainly isn't stellar but also isn't a problem when you're slugging over .600 on the season. He should see a good deal of playing time the rest of the year with Manny Ramirez still out and David Justice now toiling in Yankee pinstripes, and could see even more if the Tribe decides to pack it in early this season.

about the author

Jason Michael Barker tried to bake cookies last night, but kept mis-measuring the ingredients when he got distracted by baseball games on TV. Whatever you do, don't call him "Cookie Man" when you write him at jmb@strikethree.com.

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