Sunday, September 16, 2012

Rookie Of The Year - Joe Avg Collector Picks : 2012

What a great year for rookies this year, now the AL may be a no brain choice, the NL could be a much tighter race for the award.  The AL has a bunch of players who any other year would run away with the voting, though their is one player who stands in their way, Mike Trout of the Angles.  I wanted to look at my collection and evaluate on who I expected and didn't expect to be in the running.  Cards shown are just a few I have of the players listed below.

My Top Three AL Rookies (Stats as of 9/15/12)
  1. Mike Trout (.329/27/77) LA Angles - During the Angles early season hitting woes, no body on the team was hitting well, and the Angles fired their hitting coach Mickey Hatcher.  LA brought up Mike Trout in April and the rest is history!  I collected as many cards I could of him in 2011, and he hasn't disappointed!
  2. Yoenis Cespedes (.290/19/71) Oakland A's - Cespedes was injured earlier in the summer and it impacted the teams ability to score runs.  Cespedes is one of the main reasons why we are talking about Oakland possibly making the playoffs this year.  I tried to find as many cards as I could, but mostly all my cards I have are from 2012. 
  3. Jarrod Parker (11-8/3.51) Oakland A's - The Oakland A's coming out of nowhere and having a strong season is mostly due to their pitching.  Parker has been rock solid all season.  Going into the season I had no key cards from him, so he was a surprise for me.
- Pre Season Favorite: Yu Darvish - I have seen dominate games and I have seen him getting hit hard.  His win loss record is more because he has a high run producing team.  With an ERA over 4.00 he hasn't shown true consistency. I have some base rookie cards, but never tried to get any high end cards.



My Top Three NL Rookies (Stats as of 9/15/12)
  1. Wilin Rosario (.260/24/64) Colorado Rockies - This is a wild pick to most because Rosario wasn't a starter till near the end of May.  As a catcher he has monster power and after a slow start hitting near .200.  Before the All Star Game he was hitting .247 and since he is hitting .274.  Rosario has been filling in the clean up role recently due to Tulowitzki's injury.  Rosario has the ability to be a big time catcher compatible to Mike Piazza. I have all season getting more autos and relics of Rosario.
  2. Todd Frazier (.287/18/62) Cincinnati Reds - When Scott Rolen went down the Reds were able to find Frazier to step up and help the Reds keep their run into the playoffs.  If there is no offense from the 3B position with Rolen down, the Reds may not be in the position they are now on top of the NL Central.  With Rolen at 3B I really didn't expect Frazier being more than a bench player, so he was a surprise to collect.
  3. Jordan Pacheco (.301/4/45) Colorado Rockies - With Colorado having so many injuries to key players this year it really gave a good chance for many players to step into a full time roll.  Pacheco has not had the power that Colorado has hoped from their 3B position, but he has a way to get on base and get those key hits.  Also he is also the Rockies back up catcher, so he has the ability to play in various positions, which is great tool for a player.  He was always a great player in the minors and with the injuries I knew that collecting him would a good investment. 
-  Pre Season Favorite: Bryce Harper - He is 19 but the hype is bigger than what we have seen on the field so far.  He was a controversial pick for the All Star Game but his on base percentage and batting averages are way below than what most expected.  He is playing on a contending team, and without him they may not be as good as they have been this year.  Other than my rookie auto, I haven't really seeked out getting more Harper hits.

Honorable Mentions and Ones To Watch In the Future: Anthony Rizzo, Norichika Aoki, Tommy Milone



I am looking looking for any of the current Rockies rookies, and any of the Oakland A's pitching staff.  

Who is your tops of the AL and NL?  There maybe players on teams you follow that aren't nationally known that deserve more love in the hobby and in the sporting world.  Thanks for reading and let the discussion begin!

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No negative comments please, this blog is for fun and not intended as a business...just a collector giving some views.