August NL Rookie Lookie

Jason Michael Barker

Wednesday we took a look at the top rookies in the American League, and regular readers (plus those of you who simply catch on to such things) know that means today's focus turns to the Senior Circuit. All is not well in the National League, where such prized young hurlers as Tony Armas Jr., Brad Penny, Rob Bell, and Eric Gagne have either struggled, been injured, or sent back to the minors.

One young pitcher who hasn't struggled this season is San Diego's Adam Eaton, who came over from Philadelphia in the Andy Ashby trade this off-season. Given Ashby's performance this season, you have to think the Padres are happy with what they got in return, particularly since they rid themselves of Ashby's salary and got a good young pitcher to boot.

Eaton made big strides last season, as he started the year in A-ball but wound up making three starts at AAA to finish it. His combined numbers were very good -- 3.34 ERA in 167 innings, less than one hit allowed per inning pitched, and a decent 2.2:1 walk to strikeout ratio. More impressively, his numbers (particularly his K:BB ratio) improved when he moved from A-ball to AA.

Eaton began the year at AAA Las Vegas, but the Padres called him up at the end of May to make his big league debut. His ERA currently sits at a very respectable (particularly in this day and age) 3.39, and has hovered right around three for most of the season. Like most young pitchers he's had problems with walks, but has gotten away with it by allowing very few hits (77 in 85 innings). He's also benefited from his pitcher-friendly home park, but there's nothing wrong with his 4.50 road ERA.

St. Louis' Rick Ankiel seemed a virtual lock for NL Rookie of the Year honors heading into the season, but his low win total isn't going to win him any points with the voters. That's not to say he hasn't pitched well, but voters tend to focus on wins as a general rule. Putting aside his 7-7 record, Ankiel continues to pitch well, holding opposing batters to a .235 batting average and .389 slugging percentage. His OBP allowed is closer to league average, but only because of his high walk total, which like Eaton he's getting away with because of the lack of hits he allows.

Perhaps most impressive are his strikeout numbers: 130 in 119 innings, or 9.8 per nine innings pitched. Among other regular starters, only Randy Johnson and Pedro Astacio in the NL and Pedro Martinez and Bartolo Colon in the AL have struck out better than a batter per inning. And Ankiel just turned 21! He's right on track to be an ace in the next couple of seasons, assuming Tony LaRussa doesn't pitch his arm off first -- in fairness to LaRussa, Ankiel hasn't been over 110 pitches in any start since the end of May.

One of the few bright spots in Houston this season, rookie catcher Mitch Meluskey, got a bit dimmer last week when he went on the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his right biceps. The good news is that he should be ready to come off August 15, after the minimum stay on the DL is over.

Before going down to injury, Meluskey was one of the more productive rookie hitters in baseball this season, with a .300 average, .389 OBP, and 11 homers in 244 at-bats. He had always hit in the minors, so what he's doing this season shouldn't be much of a surprise. It will be interesting to see, however, if his role expands next season to more than just a platoon starter -- a switch-hitter in name only -- Meluskey has just six hits in 38 at-bats against left-handed pitching this season.

When Bobby Cox gave Rafael Furcal a spot on the Braves' 25-man roster out of spring training, the idea was that Furcal would be something of a utility man, filling in at second base and shortstop as needed, plus performing the occasional pinch-running duty. Furcal has played so well, however, that Cox has been forced (not that it's a bad thing) to play him every day, particularly since 2B Quilvio Veras was lost for the season.

Furcal has played in almost every one of Atlanta's games since the All-Star break, and in that time he's hit a torrid .337 with a .420 OBP and 14 steals in 18 attempts, compared to just 12 steals in twice as many games before the break. It really would be nice if he'd hit for bit more power -- I say that every month -- but there's nothing wrong with a 19-year old speed demon and on-base machine.

Finally, there's Philadelphia's Pat Burrell, who would seem to have the first base job locked up in the City of Brotherly Love for years to come... Except that the Phillies seem set on moving Burrell to left field next season and the newly acquired Travis Lee from left field back to first base. It makes a bit of sense, I suppose, in that Lee is superior defensively at the position. On the other hand, while I have no doubts that Burrell will hit enough to be a regular first baseman, I'm not so sure about Lee.

Defense aside, Burrell has picked up his hitting since struggling his first month in MLB. His line currently sits at .261/.347/.506, with a pretty good walk rate. He has struck out 90 times in 241 at-bats, but I'm certainly not one to obsess over such things. He was a career .316 hitter in the minors, so he should bring up that batting average (and thus his OBP and SLG) as he gets used to the majors and major league pitching.

Have you ever seen Jason Michael Barker and Pat Burrell in the same room, together? Well, neither have we, and we're starting to wonder. Why not ask Jason if he's really the Phillies slugging rookie 1B at jmb@strikethree.com.

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