All-Rookie Roster, Pt. 1

Jason Michael Barker

There really isn't much to talk about these days, what with the World Series long over and the free agent bidding frenzy a week or two off. Fortunately there are some topics left over from the regular season, not the least of which is selecting an all-rookie team. Instead of just picking a starting lineup and a few pitchers, however, I've decided to choose a full roster comprised of rookies.

In the interest of brevity, the rookie roster will be split into two features, one for hitters and one for pitchers. Today, the hitters.

		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
Michael Barrett	C	126	433	53	127	32	3	8	32	39	0	2	.293	.345	.436
Einar Diaz	C	119	392	43	110	21	1	3	23	41	11	4	.281	.328	.362

Catcher is historically a fairly weak offensive position, and when you restrict your search to rookie catchers, it's slim pickings. This is to be expected, since most people feel that catchers take longer to develop into good hitters than other players, because there is so much else to worry about, not the least of which is handling pitchers and calling games.

Montreal's Michael Barrett had a very nice rookie year, splitting his time nearly 50/50 between catcher and third base. He didn't hit for much power, and like most of the Expos he could stand to draw a few more walks. He's still young though, having just turned 23 last week, and should have a good career. The Expos would be wise to choose a regular position for Barrett in the near future.

Einar Diaz gets the nod because there really weren't any other rookie catchers who got significant playing time in 1999. His offense leaves much to be desired, because other than his .281 batting average, he didn't hit for power or draw walks. Diaz has a good defensive rep and is speedy enough that he stole 11 bases this year, so he'll likely have a back-up job for years to come.

		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
Brain Daubach	1B	110	381	31	112	33	3	21	36	92	0	1	.294	.360	.562
Erubiel Durazo	1B	52	155	31	51	4	2	11	26	43	1	1	.329	.422	.594
Warren Morris	2B	147	511	65	147	20	3	15	59	88	3	7	.288	.360	.427
Corey Koskie	3B	117	342	42	106	21	0	11	40	72	4	4	.310	.387	.468
Alex Gonzalez	SS	136	560	81	155	28	8	14	15	113	3	5	.277	.308	.430
Ron Belliard	2B	124	457	60	135	29	4	8	64	59	4	5	.295	.379	.429

Brian Daubach is older than the rest of these guys, but he was a rookie in 1999 nonetheless. He also had a very nice season, comparable to what Mo Vaughn did in Anaheim but for a fraction of the price. Most of his playing time and production came against righthanded pitching, but he hit well in limited duty versus lefties and also hit them well in the minors, so there's no reason to believe he needs to be strictly platooned. Daubach's success this season is good news for some other career minor-league professional hitters, who might be able to find a job in 2000.

Arizona's Erubiel Durazo only played in 52 games this season, but he showed enough that he'll probably have a starting job next season. After ripping up the minors all year, he finally got a shot in the bigs and hit for power and average as well as posting a good walk rate. He's already 25 and unlikely to be a big star, but he should be a very good player for the next five years or so.

Coming out of college, Warren Morris was labeled as "good-hit, no-field," and wasn't taken seriously by most scouts, who said he wouldn't field well enough to play in the majors. Not only did he only make 14 errors this season (compare to Chuck Knoblauch), but his bat was as good as advertised. Morris hit for average, drew a fair number of walks, and even hit 15 home runs. His numbers would look even better if not for a rough final month of the season, probably due to the fatigue of a full season of MLB.

Used in a platoon all season, Corey Koskie had a very good year hitting right-handed pitching -- .392 OBP, .495 SLG, and all 11 of his home runs -- and had only 45 at-bats against southpaws. In all fairness to Tom Kelly, Koskie didn't hit all that well against lefties last year at AAA Salt Lake City, but at some point I think you have to give players like Koskie a chance to hit lefties, even if it's only to confirm that he'll struggle against them.

The Marlins traded Edgar Renteria to the Cardinals to make room for Alex Gonzalez, a highly regarded prospect who skeptics said had suspect plate discipline. The skeptics were right -- Gonzalez struck out 113 times in 1999 and drew just 15 walks. He did, however, hit .277 with 50 extra-base hits in good pitcher's park at the tender age of 22, so I think there's still hope. He'll probably never draw 75 walks in a season (heck, he might never draw 50), but if he can hit close to .300 and draw 30 or 40 walks while still hitting for power, he'll be one of the better shortstops in the National League.

You think the Brewers regret not trading Fernando Viña coming off his career 1998? Viña spent most of the year injured (not that he would have played if healthy), and now the Brewers have an aging, overrated second baseman who isn't likely to command much in trade. Meanwhile, Ronnie Belliard had a great rookie season, playing solid defense and getting on base at a good clip. He's 24 and should be one of the better players at his position for the next few years.

		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
Preston Wilson	OF	149	482	67	165	21	4	26	46	156	11	4	.280	.350	.502
J.D. Drew	OF	104	368	72	89	16	6	13	50	77	19	3	.242	.340	.424
Carlos Beltran	OF	156	663	112	194	27	7	22	46	123	27	8	.293	.337	.454
Trot Nixon	OF	124	381	67	103	22	5	15	53	75	3	1	.270	.357	.472
Chris Singleton	OF	133	496	72	149	31	6	17	22	45	20	5	.300	.328	.490

Most statheads didn't think Preston Wilson (yes, he's Mookie's step-son) would amount to much in the majors, but so far he's proved them wrong. Not only did he lead all rookies in homers with 26, but he hit .280 and drew enough walks to get on base at a respectable .350 clip, all the more impressive when you consider his pitcher friendly home park. The Marlins don't have much in the way of power hitting, but Wilson certainly isn't part of the problem.

J.D. Drew? Didn't he have a horribly disappointing season? Well, yes and no. It was disappointing if you were expecting the next coming of Ted Williams, but if he were any other player than who is he is, this would have been a perfectly acceptable rookie season. The only missing piece was the power, as Drew slugged only .424 with 13 homers. He did draw enough walks that his OBP was 100 points better than his batting average, and despite nagging injuries he stole 19 bases in 22 tries. I expect big numbers next year.

The Royals set a franchise record for runs scored, and Carlos Beltran was a big reason (Jermaine Dye, Johnny Damon and Mike Sweeny were key too, but work with me here for a minute). Beltran has received a ton of Rookie of the Year hype, most of which is unwarranted, but he still had a good year despite drawing fewer walks than you'd like. The good news is that's he was just 22 last season, has a ton of room to improve and could take a huge step forward next season. Given his age, I expect an increase in power from Beltran in the next year or two.

Despite a very slow start, manager Jimy Williams resisted the urge to send Trot Nixon down to AAA, and in the end it paid off -- Nixon wound up having a good little season, although he doesn't get much press. Like Koskie, Nixon performed primarily in a platoon in 1999, hitting .376/.503 (OPB/SLG) versus right-handed pitching while amassing only 43 at-bats against lefties. He was particularly effective after the All-Star Break, hitting.389/.587 with 12 of his 15 homers. It will be interesting to see if his role is expanded next season or if the Sox go out and acquire the power-hitting outfielder they were missing in 1999.

Chris Singleton had never done anything before (including a .304/.387 season at AAA last year), but all of the sudden he came out of nowhere to have a solid rookie season. He's also 27 years old, the age at which most players peak, so perhaps this isn't too surprising, but at the same time his 1999 was way out of line with everything he's done before. If you're skeptical, you should be. Singleton had good glamor stats -- .300 average, 20 steals, 17 homers, 72 RBI -- but only drew 22 walks and posted a .328 OBP. I don't think he'll ever come close to this again, but I'm not going to hold that against him for now, and he does deserve a bit of pub for his surprising season.

Well, that's all for now. Friday we'll take a look at the top rookie hurlers of 1999, a group which features a rotation of potential future aces and a very strong bullpen.

about the author

Jason Michael Barker had a great time at the Strikethree.com postseason party. Ask him how he created a new definition for the word "hurler" at jmb@strikethree.com.