SB Nation - Garrett Jones

Winter Meetings Primer, 2009

Jesse — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:15:52 -0000

More photos » by Jennifer Simonson - AP

Sure, it's a rumor-filled week that generally leads to nothing. But it's still a rumor-filled week, and to me that equals fun.

Twins Needs

Second Base
Third Base
Starting Pitcher
Bench Depth
Joe Mauer Extension

Between LEN III and Joe C., the Twins have been tied to a few names already this off-season: Mark DeRosa, Rich Harden, Adrian Beltre, Jarrod Washburn and Orlando Hudson. There has been little speculation fueled by comments from the front office, although this has been commonplace during the Bill Smith era. Now entering his third Winter Meetings and in the best position to win since taking on the role of General Manager, it will be interesting to see if the rumors lead to anything concrete this season.

Obviously the Twins are still in the market for at least one infielder after picking up J.J. Hardy a few weeks ago, and the recent (and early) signings of Chone Figgins (four years, $36 million), Placido Polanco (three years, $18 million) and Marco Scutaro (two years, $12.5 million with an option for more) seem to set the market for starting infielders. Considering the combination of age and history I feel like all three teams overpaid, on either years or dollars or both.

Last season at this time there was a lot of talk surrounding Casey Blake and Garrett Atkins, and there's been nothing quite like that this season. This front office, and I've said it before, plays things notoriously close to the vest. Sure, it might not make for interesting discussion fodder, but it serves the best interests of the team.

A vast majority of the time all of the rumors and speculation lead to absolutely nothing during the week of the Winter Meetings. The common theme is for teams to read each other and, if possible, lay a foundation for things to happen over the following weeks. But that doesn't mean we won't hear some interesting tidbits over the next few days.

Names of Interest (after the break)

Adrian Beltre - With the Phillies signing Polanco, one of the Twins main competetors for the free agent third baseman may have just taken themselves out of the market. The biggest issue surrounding Beltre is Scott Boraas and his $10 million per year asking price. Even for his glove, I'm not sure Minnesota is going to fork out that kind of money for Beltre.

Mark DeRosa - He's also been rumored to be asking for nearly $10 million per season. Yikes.

Josh Johnson - The Marlins have said that Johnson won't be traded this off-season, but it's always hard to tell what's truth and what's posturing. If his name comes up this week, or at anytime over the next couple of months, I'll be listening.

Rich Harden - Along with Ben Sheets and Erik Bedard, it will be interesting to see how much teams are willing to gamble on these guys. Will the Twins maintain their interest in Harden?

Jed Lowrie - With the Red Sox the proud owners of a Scutaro, will he be on the block?

Carl Pavano - Will he accept arbitration?

Dan Uggla - The Marlins second baseman has been linked to about half of the teams in baseball at some point over the last couple of months, although no team has been connected more often than the Giants. His offense as a second baseman is superior, and in spite of his defense is still probably a three-win player.

In Closing

The Winter Meetings this season aren't set to be quite as interesting as they were the last couple of seasons, if only because the first thing on everyone's mind isn't really who else the front office can bring in but who can they sign to an extension. "General discussions" between the Twins and Mauer have begun, but nothing hard core so far, so stay tuned.

It's an exciting time of year. Be sure to keep checking back here for the latest rumblings and grumblings.

Poll

Make the call: what, if anything, will happen this week at the Winter Meetings for the Minnesota Twins?

Lefties, Lefties Everywhere

Charlie — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:47:35 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Would another lefty hitter like Hank Blalock, right, be the best fit for the Pirates?

Browse more photos »

Straight to the point today: one thing I find a bit strange about the idea of the Pirates pursuing Rick Ankiel and/or Hank Blalock is that both those guys are left-handed, whereas most of the Bucs' other options at first base and right field (Garrett Jones, Jeff Clement, Brandon Moss) are too. Steve Pearce is the only righty who might be in the mix right now at first and right, and I can't believe the Bucs are still taking him seriously. If the idea in pursuing an extra corner guy is to add an extra bit of upside and perhaps hope for a nice prospect at the deadline if the new player does well, I can't really fault the Pirates for not considering the player's handedness. But if the Pirates really are serious about seeing what they have in Clement, in particular, it would seem to behoove them to find someone whose skills complement his.

Admittedly, the pickings in that area are pretty slim. Two righty free agent outfielders who might make a bit of sense are Marlon Byrd and Coco Crisp. Byrd was a regular for the Rangers this year and has played pretty well for three straight seasons, so he might require the sort of multiyear contract to which the Pirates would probably rather not commit themselves.

Crisp is a subpar hitter, but he's not old, and he's an outstanding defensive player; he could certainly handle either left or center (if that were required) in PNC. Unfortunately, his throwing arm was poor even before he had surgery on both shoulders this year, so playing him in right wouldn't work. If he were added to the roster, the Pirates could work out some sort of time share where Lastings Milledge and Garrett Jones played every day but rotated between left and right (Milledge) and right and first (Jones), while Clement and Crisp formed some sort of weird semi-platoon at the other available positions.

...This is all really speculative, and Crisp obviously isn't ideal, but I'm trying to be creative here. Given the free agent market, I can see why the Pirates would be interested in Ankiel and Blalock, and I'm not opposed to signing either of them, if they'd be willing to play in Pittsburgh. But, as much as PNC is kinder to lefties than righties, it seems a bit strange to crowd the roster with lefties. Maybe a low-leverage trade or an inspired minor league free agent signing (Ernesto Mejia of the Braves, perhaps?) would be the right move here, with the righty Pearce's initial role being determined by how credible a major league option the new acquisition is.

Another Look at the Bargain Bin...or patching holes with duck tape

clack — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:39:51 -0000

Bargain shopping seems like the topic of the day for a Black Friday. Except this blog is about the Astros, and bargain shopping means something more like Goodwill, rather than Sak's or Macy's. The Astros say they are trying to improve the team and cutting the payroll at the same, all of which seems paradoxical when you realize that they have to work around the edges of a ton of sunk costs. In order to do that, the team probably has to patch some holes with duck tape in order to save money to add or keep a player with more impact.

Recently I mentioned an article at Fangraphs by Dave Cameron which referenced a few notable minor league free agents. Minor league free agents are the ultimate bargain bin; some older minor league players out there can be productive big league players; however, it's largely a gamble, since we don't know for sure who will succeed. OremLK has been looking at Rule 5 draft candidates, which is interesting and helpful. However, minor league free agents hold one advantage over Rule 5 picks, in that they do not have to be kept on the roster for a full season, and can be sent to AAA, if they are agreeable to doing so. The disadvantage is that many of the minor league free agents are older than Rule 5 picks---sometimes a lot older. However, it is a fairly low risk investment to sign several minor league free agents and allow them to compete for a big league job in spring training.

I took another look at the players on Baseball America's minor league free agent list. I'll talk about some interesting players on that list after the jump.

Shelley Duncan, OF, 1B.

He isn't even on the list, because he wasn't made available until last Friday as the Yankees finaiized their 40 man roster, by outrighting Duncan to the Yankees' AAA club. Duncan has rejected his assignment, and plans to look for a major league job. At the age of 29, Duncan is more likely to get offers for pinch hit / reserve outfielder jobs. I've previously mentioned his name in my comments at TCB, because I think he would be a good candidate for a reserve outfielder position with the Astros, with the ability to provide inexpensive power off the bench. Duncan has consistently exhibited offense and power in AAA, and was named MVP of the International League this year. I wouldn't be suprised if the Cardinals invite him to spring training, since his father is pitching coach Dave Duncan. Duncan is well liked by Yankees fans for his aggressiveness and enthusiasm, earning him the nickname "Slam" for his celebrations and high fives on the bench. A number of New York blog and media pieces have recently wished him the best in finding a major league job. LoHud reporter Craig Jennings says:

I keep thinking of Garrett Jones, who I watched rake in the International League for years without getting a shot with the Twins. Then the Pirates picked him up and he became a Rookie of the Year candidate. I have no idea whether Duncan can do something similar, but I know he put up Triple-A numbers as good as or better than Jones. He just wasn’t a match for the Yankees organization.

Ready Made Third Base Platoon?

Okay, I'm joking--a little bit anyway--when I suggest that two minor league free agents could form an effective third base platoon. But my point is that both of these 3d basemen in AAA were very productive, and you would think that one of them might turn out to form one end of a platoon for the Astros; and at the least could be more productive than Chris Johnson.

I previously discussed Reuben Gotay, who was highlighted in Dave Cameron's article. The 26 year old former second baseman posted a .877 OPS for the D-Backs' AAA team, with superb plate discipline that led to .427 OBP. Hector Luna, a 29 year old former major league utility infielder, posted huge numbers at 3d base for the Dodgers' AAA affiliate last year. Here is his triple slash:.351, .415, .610, 1.025. Yes, that's an OPS over a 1.0. And, yes, Albuquerque is an offensive oriented ballpark---but even neutralizing his stats puts his OPS well over .900. Late last season, the SBN blog True Blue LA pleaded with the Dodgers to call up Luna:

For those who want to just attribute what Luna is doing to the PCL fine, but they were saying the same thing about Jake Fox back in June. The difference is that Fox is a lousy catcher trying to play 3rd base, while Luna is an ex major league middle infielder playing 3rd base. When we tried to find a RHH who could punish LHP we found very few major league bench players who fit the bill. Luna is crushing LHP with an OPS against them sitting at 1.399. He's also produced an OPS over 1.000 at both home and away. I recently read a comment attributing his excellent season to playing at home for the Isotopes but the splits would seem to negate that argument. The man is simply hitting wherever he plays against both Left and Right handed pitchers...I'm saying that Hector Luna deserves a shot to strengthen our bench. Just because a man is 29 years old does not mean he can't resume his major league career. It doesn't happen often but history is peppered with players like Olmedo Saenz and Geronimo Berroa who got late starts and became excellent part time players into their 30's.

Why did I start off calling these two guys a ready made platoon? The switch hitter Gotay has .304 batting average and .904 OPS versus RHP. Hector Luna hit .398 with a 1.248 OPS versus LHP. Both guys show some power, and lots of on base ability...at least against AAA pitchers.

Pitchers

Fernando Hernandez is a 25 year old righthanded relief pitcher in the White Sox organization. He was previously picked up by Oakland in the Rule 5 draft several years ago, made the A's opening day roster, but was returned to the White Sox after pitching only a few innings at the major league level. Hernandez started the year in AA, and then moved up to AAA, where he was equally effective. His combined 2009 stats: 2.91 FIP, 1.71 ERA in AA and 1.59 ERA in AAA, 0.99 WHIP, 8.79 K/9, 3.18 BB/9.. He strikes out 1 in 4 batters he faces, and walks only about 1 in 10 batters. He generates a good groundball rate, reaching 60% in AAA. The diminutive (5-11) reliever has been effective against both RHB and LHB, with a .190 batting average by lefties and a .179 batting average by righties. Based on his stats, there is little not to like about this relief pitcher.

Erick Threets is a 29 year old lefthanded relief pitcher in the Dodgers' organization. The Astros probably will be in the market for another LH relief pitcher, particularly if Wesley Wright is converted to a starting pitcher. Threets previously pitched in the Giants system, including a brief but successful major league stint with the Giants in 2008. His 3.81 FIP and 1.52 ERA in AAA was particularly impressive when you take into account that he pitched at an offense-friendly ballpark in Albuquerque. His 63% groundball rate is very good, and somewhat unusual for a lefthander. He strikes out 17% of the batters he faces and walks only 9%.

Hyang-Nam Choi is another relief pitcher for the Dodgers' AAA affiliate last year. Normally I wouldn't mention a 38 year old minor leaguer, but Choi is an unusual case, since he has experience pitching professionally in both Korea and Japan. His stats at Albuquerque are quite impressive. In 61 innings, he had a 3.25 FIP, a 2.34 ERA, a 2.81 RA/9, with a 12 K/9 rate and a 3.06 BB rate, which looks even better when we consider that he pitched in Albuquerque. He struck out 32% of the batters he faced and walked only 8%. He is more effective against RHB. The Cardinals invited him to spring training last year, but he didn't make the big league team, and then was signed by the Dodgers for pitching depth.

Arizona Fall League: Jose Tabata Goes 6-for-7, Posey Drives in 4

raygu — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:30:11 -0000

by Chris Carlson - AP

2 months ago: San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey gets his first major league hit against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

View full size photo »

The Arizona Fall League regular season came to a close on Thursday. Highlighting the day was the Pirates outfield prospect Jose Tabata going 6 for 7 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBI. Quite a day for a prospect I just traded for in the UBA league. I am just curious if he will make it to Pittsburgh in 2010.

Here is what ESPN's Keith Law had to say when I asked this question in a recent chat:

rayg (burlington, nj)
Will Tabata take over RF in Pitt over Garrett Jones in 2010?

Klaw (2:03 PM)

No. I think that's a year early.

I am not so sure since the Pirates could move Jones to 1B should he duplicate his 2009 season. But, Tabata is not your typical corner outfielder either, as he has not show much power in his minor league career. He is only 22 so the power could develop, but we've heard that about James Loney in the past, haven't we?

Let's take a look at the top performances on the last day of the AFL after the jump:

Jose Tabata-6-7, 4 RS, 2 2B, 3 RBI (.392)

Chase D'arnaud-2-4, 4 RS, 2 SB (13), 3 BB, 2 K (.292)

Brandon Allen-2-5, 2 RS, RBI, SB, 2 BB, 2 K (.177)

Thomas Neal 2-5, 2 RS, 2 SB (12), RBI, (.284)

Buster Posey-2-4, 4 RBI (.225)

Wilin Rosario-2-5, 5 RBI (.304)

Dustin Ackley 2-5, RS (.315)

Jordan Danks-2-4, 3 RS, HR, 3 RBI (.343)

Brent Morel-3-4, 2 RS, 3 RBI (.435)

Andrew Lambo-2-5, 2B, 2 RBI (.330)

Danny Espinosa-0-2 (.345)

Josh Bell-1-3, RS, 2B, RBI (.319)

Chris Marrero-2-4, 2B, RBI (.349)

Marcus Lemon-2-5, RS, HR, RBI (.343)

Reese Havens-3-4, 2 RS, HR, 2 RBI (.368)

Ike Davis-2-4, RS (.341)

Taylor Teagarden-1-4, RS, HR, 3 RBI (.212)

Mike Moustakas-1-4 (.267)

Daryl Jones-1-3, RS, 2B (.205)

Lance Zawadzki-3-5, 3 RS, 2B, HR, 3 RBI (.324)

Matt McBride-2-4, RS, RBI, SB, BB (.378)

Yonder Alonso-1-5, RS, 2B, 2 RBI (.267)

Brandon Hicks-3-5, 2B, RBI (.310)

Bryan Peterson-0-3 (.379)

Starlin Castro-0-3 (.376)

Josh Vitter-1-4 (.353)

Mike Leake-4 Inn, 2 H, 4 K (1.37)

Craig Kimbrel-1 Inn, 2 BB, 3 K (10.45)

Andrew Miller-4 Inn, 3 H. 1 ER, 3 K (5.28)

BBWAA Awards

craig — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:44:48 -0000

The Baseball Writers Association of America awards announcements begin today and first up is Rookie of the Year for the NL and AL.

The announcement comes at 2:00 p.m.

And the Marlins have a dog in the hunt.

The folks at ESPN has made their picks and they ended up as follows.

VOTING TOTALS: Coghlan (12), Tommy Hanson (3), Andrew McCutchen (3), J.A. Happ (1), Garrett Jones (1).

Of course, they were only selecting the winner of the award which means down the ballot scores didn't count. Not that it would have much of a difference with Coghlan getting so many first place votes. Click on the link to see who voted for whom.

But all of that doesn't matter, what does matter is the announcement of the vote in a few hours and whether or not the Marlins have their third Rookie of the Year in franchise history.

Stay tuned.

A boatload of postseason awards

KLSnow — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:41:50 -0000

Because I've been away for a few days I've fallen behind on a couple of things, including the unveiling of the SBN and IBWAA postseason awards. My apologies. Let's start with the SBN Awards:

If you read any of the other SBN baseball sites, you may have seen some of these, but if you don't, they're new to you. Two BCB writers contributed to each of the NL awards: I had one vote, and TheJay had the other. I'll publish my ballot below the results, and leave it up to TheJay to decide if he wants to post his.

SBN NL Manager of the Year:

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Jim Tracy	Colorado Rockies	24	1	2	125
2	Tony LaRussa	St. Louis Cardinals	3	7	10	46
3	Fredi Gonzalez	Florida Marlins	2	6	5	33
4	Joe Torre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	9	2	29
5	Charlie Manuel	Philadelphia Phillies	-	3	5	14
6	Bruce Bochy	San Francisco Giants	1	1	1	9
7	Bobby Cox	Atlanta Braves	-	1	4	7
8	Bud Black	San Diego Padres	-	1	1	4
9	John Russell	Pittsburgh Pirates	-	1	-	3

My ballot:
1. Jim Tracy
2. Fredi Gonzalez
3. Joe Torre

I have no other comment on this award, except this side note: Nine of sixteen NL Managers received at least one vote, meaning more NL managers were acknowledged than not, and yet Ken Macha didn't appear on a single ballot.

SBN NL Rookie of the Year:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

My ballot:
1. Tommy Hanson
2. J.A. Happ
3. Casey McGehee

It was a tough year to be an NL Rookie - McGehee's performance might have rated higher in other years, but this season he was overshadowed by a bunch of high-impact players.

SBN NL Cy Young:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	18	13	-	129
2	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	9	4	7	64
3	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	4	4	10	42
4	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	5	7	22
5	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	3	4	13
6	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	1	1	4
7	Cliff Lee	Philadephia Phillies	-	-	1	1
8	Jair Jurrjens	Atlanta Braves	-	-	1	1

My ballot:
1. Tim Lincecum
2. Javier Vazquez
3. Adam Wainwright
4. Chris Carpenter
5. Dan Haren

The SBN ballot only asked for three pitchers, but I also voted in the IBWAA awards, which required five. The IBWAA completed their slate of awards today, naming their MVP and Cy Young Award winners for both leagues. Here are their results:

IBWAA NL Manager of the Year:

1. Jim Tracy, Colorado Rockies
2. Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers
3 (tie). Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants
3 (tie). Fredi Gonzalez, Florida Marlins

IBWAA NL Rookie of the Year:

1. Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves
2. Chris Coghlan, Florida Marlins
3. J.A. Happ, Philadelphia Phillies

IBWAA NL Comeback Player of the Year:

1. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
2. Troy Tulowitzski, Colorado Rockies
3. Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers

IBWAA NL Executive of the Year:

1. Dan O'Dowd, Colorado Rockies
2. John Mozeliak, St. Louis Cardinals
3. Ned Colletti, Los Angeles Dodgers

IBWAA NL Cy Young:

1. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
2. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
3. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
4. Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
5. Javier Vazquez, Atlanta Braves

IBWAA NL Most Valuable Player:

1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
2. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
3. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
4. (tie) Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
4. (tie) Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
6. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
7. Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
8. Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
10. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

The SBN MVP award balloting will be unveiled tomorrow. Follow the jump for the AL awards for both SBN and the IBWAA.

IBWAA Cy Young and MVP Awards have yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, in the AL:

SBN AL Manager of the Year:

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Mike Scioscia	Los Angeles Angels	9	8	3	72
2	Ron Gardenhire	Minnesota Twins	9	5	1	61
3	Don Wakamatsu	Seattle Mariners	6	3	8	47
4	Joe Girardi	New York Yankees	2	4	2	24
5	Ron Washington	Texas Rangers	1	4	4	21
6	Terry Francona	Boston Red Sox	1	1	3	11
7	Jim Leyland	Detroit Tigers	-	2	4	10
8	Joe Maddon	Tampa Bay Rays	-	1	1	4
9	Ozzie Guillen	Chicago White Sox	-	-	1	1
10	Trey Hillman	Kansas City Royals	-	-	1	1

SBN AL Rookie of the Year:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3

SBN AL Cy Young:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	28	1	-	143
2	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	17	6	57
3	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	8	9	33
4	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	1	2	11	22
5	C.C. Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	1	2	5
6	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	1	1

IBWAA AL Manager of the Year:
1. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
2. Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Joe Girardi (New York Yankees)

IBWAA AL Rookie of the Year:
1. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers
2. Andrew Bailey, Oakland Athletics
3. Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay Rays

IBWAA AL Comeback Player of the Year:
1. Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays
2. Russell Branyan, Seattle Mariners
3. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

IBWAA AL Executive of the Year:
1. Brian Cashman, New York Yankees
2. Tony Reagins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Jon Daniels, Texas Rangers

IBWAA AL Cy Young:
1. Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
3. CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
4. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
5. Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays

IBWAA AL Most Valuable Player:
1. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
2. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
3. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
4. Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
5. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
6. Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
7. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
8. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
9. (tie) Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays
9. (tie) Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

2009 SBN Baseball Awards - NL Rookie Of The Year.

Ed Chigliak — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:12:00 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Is Andrew McCutchen the SB Nation's '09 NL Rookie of the Year? (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Browse more photos »

In 2008, the voting members of the SB Nation's baseball sites elected Cubs' catcher Geovany Soto as the NL Rookie of the year after the then-25-year-old catcher had hit .285 with 35 doubles, 23 HR's and 86 RBI's in 141 games behind the plate in Chicago. The only other player to receive a 1st place vote last season was Braves' right-hander Jair Jurrjens, who finished his rookie campaign with a (13-10) record, a 3.68 ERA, 139 K's, (6.4 K/9) and a 1.37 WHIP in 31 starts and 188.1 IP, but Jurrjens finished 3rd overall in the voting behind the Reds' Joey Votto, whose 10 2nd place votes allowed him to take second overall, but made him a distant runner-up to the SB Nation's top choice. Over a week later, the Baseball Writers Association of America awarded their NL Rookie of the Year Award to the same Cubs' catcher, with Votto and Jurrjens finishing second and third...

Who will the SB Nation's Baseball writers pick as the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year? The answer is only a jump away...but before you click through, register your own choice for ROY in the Poll below...

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

• Atlanta Braves' right-hander Tommy Hanson ended 2008 by winning the Arizona Fall League's MVP award, (the first time a pitcher in the hitter-friendly league had done so), and though he started the '09 season in the minors he was up by June and able to win 11 of the 21 starts he made, going (11-4) and allowing just 41 ER in 127.2 IP for a 2.89 ERA with 116 K's (8.2 K/9) and a 1.18 WHIP. (ed. note - "When's the first Strasburg v Hanson matchup?")

• J.A. Happ finished the 2009 season with 2 appearances in the World Series for the Phillies, giving up a run on 2 hits in 2.2 IP against the eventual-"World Champion" Yankees. In 23 starts and 35 overall appearances during the regular season, Happ was (12-3) with a 2.93 ERA, 3 complete games, 2 shutouts and a 1.23 WHIP in 166.0 IP, in which he struck out 166 (6.5 K/9) and walked just 56 (3.0 BB/9).

• Washington, DC fans saw the best Andrew McCutchen had to offer this season, when the then-22-year-old outfielder hit 3 HR's in 5 at bats in one game at PNC Park to help Pittsburgh to an 11-6 win over the Nationals. The former 1st Round pick, taken 11th overall by the Pirates in 2005, finally arrived in the majors in early June, giving him enough time to get in 433 at bats, over which he accumulated 124 hits, (26 doubles, 9 triples, 12 HR's), for a .286 AVG with a .365 OBP, .471 SLG, .836 OPS, (122 OPS+), 22 steals and 54 RBI's.

?'s For The DC Faithful...

• Would Jordan Zimmermann have competed for the ROY award if he'd been able to go all season?

• Is Strasburg a lock for next year's award?

• Did I give Chris Coghlan too much credit with a third-place vote because of what he was able to do against the Nationals? Clearly, I wasn't the only one he impressed, but I wonder if the Marlins' early dominance of DC influenced my decision?

• Will the Pirates' OF of Lastings Milledge, McCutchen and (Jose Tabata?) be the envy of the NL in a few seasons? Did I tell you what Former DC GM Jim Bowden said about Milledge? No? Eh, some other time....

• Strasburg v Hanson Pt. 1? Who's going to miss that?

Poll

Who is your 2009 NL Rookie of the Year?

Tommy Hanson (ATL)

41 votes

Andrew McCutchen (PIT)

25 votes

J.A. Happ (PHI)

22 votes

Dexter Fowler (COL)

1 votes

Chris Coghlan (FLA)

24 votes

113 votes | Poll has closed

SB Nation NL Rookie of the Year

Eric Stephen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

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In a very close vote, Tommy Hanson of the Braves won the SB Nation NL Rookie of the Year award, over J.A. Happ, Andrew McCutchen, and Chris Coghlan. Here are the results:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

Hanson faced the Dodgers once this season and pitched decently enough, not allowing a run until the fifth inning. However, he had the misfortune of running into the buzz saw that was Jason Schmidt's turn back the clock game, where Schmidt allowed just one hit (and five walks!) in six scoreless innings. That game also marked George Sherrill's debut as a Dodger.

Here are the ballots that Phil & I submitted:

Phil: Hanson, Happ, McCutchen

Eric: Garrett Jones (yes, I was the one!), Hanson, Casey McGehee

I don't really have a legitimate excuse for not having Andrew McCutchen in my top three. I whiffed on that one.

Elvis Andrus of the Rangers won the SB Nation AL ROY award.

SBN Awards: NL ROY

DyingQuail — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:54 -0000

by Tony Tribble - AP

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This was, by far, the most difficult category for me to make my selections and I believe it was the same for HLP. Although we ended up texting out a resolution, I know that we ended up with different picks.

At some point during that insanely depressing text conversation, I realized that I didn't have as firm of grasp of the ROY pulse because there were no Astros with possible hopes of claiming the title. Apathy really got the best of me in this incident. I guess next year we could have Gervacio, Jason Castro, and someone I'm not thinking of at this second.

The fun part of this vote is playing: can you spot the homer-ism? Not that I'm lambasting anyone for it, but there a couple that jumped out at me and made me snicker a little.

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

2009 SBNation Awards: Rookie Of The Year

Al — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:40 -0000

by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Randy Wells had a fine rookie year and finished sixth in SBN rookie balloting.

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Count me as one of those surprised at the SBN Rookie of the Year balloting. Neither J.A. Happ nor Chris Coghlan, the two players named at the top of the BCB ballots, won. Tommy Hanson is a deserving recipient, no doubt, but I was sure that Happ was going to win. The third-place vote I gave Randy Wells is, admittely, a homer pick.

The AL balloting, for which BCB had no vote, was very close, with only two points separating the top two. If I did have a vote for the AL ROY, it would have gone to Gordon Beckham.

BCB ballots:

Al: 1) J.A. Happ 2) Tommy Hanson 3) Randy Wells      
Mike: 1) Chris Coghlan 2) J.A. Happ 3) Tommy Hanson

National League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

American League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3

SB Nation - Garrett Jones

Winter Meetings Primer, 2009

Sure, it's a rumor-filled week that generally leads to nothing. But it's still a rumor-filled week, and to me that equals fun.

Make the call: what, if anything, will happen this week at the Winter Meetings for the Minnesota Twins?

Lefties, Lefties Everywhere

Another Look at the Bargain Bin...or patching holes with duck tape

Arizona Fall League: Jose Tabata Goes 6-for-7, Posey Drives in 4

rayg (burlington, nj) Will Tabata take over RF in Pitt over Garrett Jones in 2010?

Klaw (2:03 PM)

BBWAA Awards

A boatload of postseason awards

2009 SBN Baseball Awards - NL Rookie Of The Year.

Who is your 2009 NL Rookie of the Year?

Tommy Hanson (ATL)

Andrew McCutchen (PIT)

J.A. Happ (PHI)

Dexter Fowler (COL)

Chris Coghlan (FLA)

SB Nation NL Rookie of the Year

SBN Awards: NL ROY

2009 SBNation Awards: Rookie Of The Year

National League

American League

rayg (burlington, nj)
Will Tabata take over RF in Pitt over Garrett Jones in 2010?