May 13, 2005  

The DMBL's coveted Rookie of the Year Award is named after Pat Listach, who hit .315 with 212 hits as a rookie with the Columbia Crusaders in 1993, but that off-season was injured trying to defend Nancy Kerrigan and never played in the DMBL again.

Over its seven-year existence, the award has  gone to three batters, three starters and one reliever: Phoenix SS Nomar Garciaparra in 1998; Arkansas RP John Rocker in 1999; Vancouver 2B Homer Bush in 2000; Carolina SP Barry Zito in 2001; Hoboken SP Joel Pineiro in 2002; Phoenix SP John Lackey in 2003; and Newark 2B Marcus Giles last year.

What is a rookie? By league rule, a rookie is a player in his first year of DMBL eligibility (for batters, that's 250 MLB plate appearances for non-catchers; 200 MLB plate appearances for catchers; 10 starts for starting pitchers; and 30 games, with at least 10 in relief, for relievers).

That can produce some unusual results. For example, 28-year-old infielder Pedro Feliz has played in the MLB for five years (264 games, 608 at-bats), but he's a DMBL rookie this season because 2004 was the first in which he was eligible for an active roster. By the same token, Justin Morneau is a rookie -- even though he's been drafted in three straight seasons -- because this is the first year he's eligible for DMBL play. On the other hand, Hoboken youngster Aaron Rowand is not a rookie, even though he's never played in the DMBL before; he was first eligible two years ago.

In this edition of Rookie Watch, we're going to take a look at the current crop of rookie batters. (In a future issue, we'll look at the rookie starters and relievers.) There are 47 rookie batters in the DMBL this season. Thirty-one are currently on rosters, and 16 are free agents, including three who were released after playing in a handful of games.

For the second year in a row, Arkansas and Vancouver have the most rookie batters currently on their rosters, with six each. Columbia is next with four freshman hitters, followed by Tijuana at three; Hoboken, Phoenix and Stanhope at two; Carolina, Hillsborough, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Vancouver have one each. Newark, which produced last year's ROY winner and two other solid candidates (Hideki Matsui and Jeff DaVanon) is the only team currently without a rookie batter on its roster. 

The Cream of the Crop

These rookies have established themselves as key contributors to their squads and have to be considered the early favorites for the Listach. Note that the leaders in batting average and other statistical categories are based on a minimum of 161 PA (as of May 13), the minimum required for the DMBL leader board.

The Iron Fist have been obsessed with developing a young catcher, ever since they drafted 43-year-old Carlton Fisk with the 12th pick of the inaugural 1991 draft. The parade of rookie catchers who have marched through Vancouver includes Tony Eusebio in 1996; Scott Hatteberg in 1998; Eli Marrero in 1999; Michael Barrett and Damian Miller in 2000; Ben Petrick and Shawn Wooten in 2002; Gary Bennett, Toby Hall and Brian Schneider in 2003; and Miguel Olivo and Chad Moeller in 2004. "It is un obsession und, like all obsessions, it is becomink more pronounced over time," psychologist Sigmund Fraud said. Most of those rookies were very highly touted, but none had anything approaching a Listach-caliber season; the best was Schneider in '03 (.278, .801 OPS, 50 2B, 13 HR, 64 RBI), and he didn't finish in the top 6 in the ROY voting. As a group, Vancouver's dozen rookie catchers collectively hit .243 with a .649 OPS.

But the Iron Fist may have finally found their baby backstop in Victor Martinez. The 26-year-old switch-hitter was taken in the 9th round (#120 overall) of last year's draft and protected this off-season, a serious investment in a prospect. This year, Martinez is paying handsome dividends, leading the freshman class in doubles (14), home runs (11), runs batted in (39), runs created (37.6) and total bases (107). He's second among rookies in SLG (.512) and and OPS (.855), is third in batting average (.278) and is tied for third in OBP (.343). He's also tied for the longest hit streak of any player this year (19 games), and -- amazingly for a catcher -- is one of just four rookies to have played in every one of his team's games this season. But if there's a knock on Martinez, it's his defense; in 21 attempts, he's thrown out just four basestealers (.810 SB%), one of the worst rates in the league; he's also allowed 5 passed balls in 50 games.

But while Martinez may be one of the early favorites, he is by no means a slam dunk as this year's ROY. He's getting plenty of competition from Hillsborough's Termel Sledge, who -- as an 11th round pick (#141 overall) -- is also one of this year's biggest rookie bargains. The 28-year-old Sledge leads all rookies in batting average (.308), OBP (.353), SLG (.513), OPS (.866) and runs (35); is tied for the rookie lead in triples (6); and ranks second in RBIs (34), runs created (35.1) and total bases (100). Like Martinez, he's also played in every one of his team's games this year. Also like Martinez, he's not going to win a lot of votes with his glove; the right fielder ranks no better than mediocre in defensive categories.

Another strong contender is Carolina's Khalil Greene, a 25-year-old shortstop taken with the #10 pick in this year's draft. Long coveted by the Mudcat organization -- they also took him in the 7th round (#95 overall) last year -- Greene has lived up to the hype, ranking second among rookies in batting average (.289) and on-base percentage (.348) and is fourth in OPS (.722). He also has played in all of his team's games this year, has the second-longest hitting streak of any rookie (18 games) and has shown great range in the field, ranking third in total chances (5.21), though he's made more than his share of errors (.955 fielding percentage).

Next Best

These guys are still in the running, but they're going to have to kick it up a notch to figure in the ROY balloting this autumn.

The bar couldn't have been set any higher than it was for David Wright. The highly-touted third baseman was the consensus choice as the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, and as if that wasn't enough pressure, was taken by the Morris Division champion Golden Falcons after a last-minute draft day trade landed them the top pick. Wright, at age 22 the youngest rookie batter this season, has been solid so far this season (.255, .749 OPS, 6 HR, 24 RBI in 152 PA), but at this point can't be considered a Listach candidate... The flip side of the coin is teammate Wily Mo Pena, who was claimed off waivers during spring training. Despite having a little more than half the playing time afforded to Wright (88 plate appearances), Pena is tied for second among rookies with 10 HRs! He's hitting an amazing .347 (1.207 OPS), with 15 R and 23 RBI, and could certainly become a contender if he sees more ABs over the rest of the season... Another baby bird hoping to get a chance to fly over the last 100 games of the season is shortstop Bobby Crosby. Taken in the 5th round (#70) of last year's draft, the 25-year-old shortstop has looked terrific in limited action (.350, 1.036 OPS, 3 HR, 12 R in 44 PA) but is stuck behind ageless wonder Barry Larkin (.310, .379 OBP, 27 R, 4 SB).

Speaking of teammates, Jason Bay and Ross Gload join Martinez as bright stars in Vancouver's future. Bay, a 26-year-old outfielder taken with the #4 pick in this year's draft, is tied for second among rookies with 10 home runs and is third in RBIs (33) and runs created (27.6), but is hitting just .245 (.784 OPS) with 78 Ks in 184 ABs... Fourth-round pick Ross Gload (#55) has just 101 plate appearances -- well short of the 161 required for the leaderboard -- but, like Pena, the 29-year-old is making the most of his limited playing time, hitting .367 with a 1.013 OPS (4 2B, 5 HR, 14 RBI).

Keep an eye on Columbia's Ryan Freel, who is hitting just .251, but with a respectable .343 OBP (tied for third among rookies) thanks to a rookie-most 23 walks. Freel also ranks second in stolen bases (7) and first in stolen base percentage (.778) among rookies. The fourth-round pick (#50), who can play second, third or outfield, won the OmahaSteaks.com Batter of the Week Award in Week 4 -- he and Pena are the only rookie batters to win it so far this year.

Busts

Everyone expects rookies to go early in the draft -- after all, nine of the players taken in the first round this year were freshmen, including five of the first six players selected. And while everyone agreed that Wright was clearly the No. 1 pick, you could make a case for several players at No. 2. But a few eyebrows were raised when that selection was made, and a few glances were exchanged after the next player came off the board. Neither was considered a blue-chip prospect before break-out seasons in Triple-A; both have crashed to earth over the first third of the 2005 season.

The best thing that can be said about the second player selected in the draft, Columbia's Chone Figgins, is he's versatile. Figgins, a 27-year-old switch-hitter, can play second, third, short or outfield, though none particularly well. Figgins has played in every game this year, which gives him the distinction of being one of baseball's least productive regulars (.248 BA, .668 OPS, 3.9 RC/27). Figgins does lead all rookies with 9 SB, though he unfortunately also leads in caught stealing (5), a .643 SB%... The very next player selected has a lot in common with Figgins. Pedro Feliz, 30, can play first, third or short, though with the way he's been hitting, his best position is probably deep bench. Feliz is hitting .251 with a .671 OPS, and has grounded into 11 double plays this season -- tied for third-most in baseball. On the plus side, he ranks second among rookies in doubles (13).

Justin Morneau is one of the most talked-about minor-league hitting phenoms since, well, yours truly. He was taken #201 in the '03 draft and #225 in the '04 draft, but didn't stick either time; this year, taken with the #6 pick by the Endzone Animals, he's finally made the bigs and has been in 41 games this year as Philly's DH vs RHP. As a platoon DH, and the #6 pick, Morneau has to be regarded as one of this year's biggest busts: He's hitting just .191 with a microscopic .621 OPS.

In terms of bang-for-your-buck, an even bigger bust might be Kazuo Matsui, a Japanese superstar who has fallen flat on his face in the DMBL. Matsui was drafted by Harrison with the 16th pick of the 2004 draft -- the only ineligible player selected until the 4th round! Then, he was traded -- along with SP Vicente Padilla, 1B Derek Lee and 3B Corey Koskie -- to the Deductions, who gave up no less than OF Carlos Beltran, a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick. After giving up that much to get him, Matsui had to be protected in 2005 -- but he was inexplicably released during spring training. The Mighty Men immediately claimed him off waivers, so from their point of view, he's "free." And so far, Stanhope has gotten what they paid for -- the 29-year-old shortstop is hitting just .235 (.627 OPS) in 21 plate appearances. Even worse, when the team really needed him -- star Derek Jeter was shelved for a week with a sore shoulder -- Matsui came up empty, spraining his ankle a few days later and going on the Disabled List with an injury that several coaches hinted he could've played through.

Other disappointments: Tijuana's Lew Ford (#39) is hitting .229 with a .610 OPS... Hoboken C Adam Melhuse (#88) has one of the lowest OPS's of any player with 100+ AB (.579), with just 3.0 runs created per 27 outs... Eric Valent (#114), Westwood's only rookie batter, has struck out 50 times in 51 games (.217, .675 OPS).

Put Me In, Coach!

The jury's still out on these rookies, who have only seen limited playing time. Of course, there's still over 100 games to go.

Stanhope's Scott Hairston has one job: Lefty-masher. The 25-year-old second baseman, signed as a free agent this spring, is hitting a ho-hum .262 overall, but against southpaws, he's hitting .297 with a whopping .730 SLG -- of his 11 hits, he has 3 doubles, 2 triples and 3 home runs, for 12 RBIs in 37 AB... Luis Gonzalez is a rookie? Yes, he is! Not the 37-year-old Phoenix outfielder, but the 26-year-old utility man, taken by Honolulu in the 9th round (#124). Gonzalez is hitting .286 (.749 OPS) in 58 PA, mostly coming off the bench, and might elbow his way into an every-day role... Las Vegas's Chad Tracy, a 12th-round pick (#159), is also making a case for increased playing time (.370, .939 OPS, 4 2B in 58 PA), though he's stuck on the depth chart behind Melvin Mora, Mark Teixeira and Rafael Palmeiro... Arkansas 3B David Newhan (.333, .708 OPS in 40 PA) and Columbia OF Matt Holliday (.292, .840 OPS in 53 PA) are making the most of their limited opportunities... Just trying to hang on: Arkansas IF Jamey Carroll (.269, .686 OPS in 81 PA) and C Jose Molina (.244, .647 OPS in 84 PA); Hoboken OF Jayson Werth (.193, .693 OPS in 63 PA); Tijuana 1B Hee Seop Choi (.250, .521 OPS in 37 PA); and Vancouver's Omar Infante (0-for-7), Chase Utley (0-for-6) and Laynce Nix (0-for-1).

Still waiting to make their DMBL debut: Columbia's Tike Redman, Phoenix's Adam LaRoche and Tijuana's Alexis Rios.

Free Agents

Infielder Marco Scutaro went 2-for-4 (1 R, 1 RBI) for Carolina, but was released... Utility-man Mike Cuddyer got a cup of coffee with Hillsborough, going 0-for-6 (with a walk) before getting cut... 2B Aaron Miles came up empty in his one at-bat with Philly... Free agent rookies who have yet to make an appearance in the DMBL this season: C John Buck; 2B Jose Castillo; OF David DeJesus; 2B Nick Green; IF Bill Hall; C Robby Hammock; 2B/OF Willie Harris; IF Bobby Hill; OF Jason Michaels; OF Abraham Nunez; OF Juan Rivera; OF Luis Terrero and OF Charles Thomas.

Phil Plantier, one of the top prospects of the last decade, was picked by baseball guru Bill James in 1991 as the player most likely to lead the majors in HRs during the 1990s. In 1994, at age 24, he hit 47 round-trippers with 118 RBIs for the Charleston Chiefs, his first and last DMBL season. He's currently an analyst for Fox Sports Net. Click Here for past articles.