PERFECT GAME CROSSCHECKER'S TOP TEN LIST
WEEK 23: 9/24/07 - 9/30/07
 
Thursday, September 27, 2007
PEDROIA EARNS THE NOD
The 2007 major league regular season is in its final week, and voters in both the American and National Leagues are expected to have a difficult time deciding on some of the major award winners. Among the most hotly-contested awards will be for Rookie of the Year.

We’ll take a stab at picking the winners in each league over the next couple of days, as well as identifying a representative list of the top 10 rookies. We chose our 10 best N.L. rookie candidates this past Wednesday; today we’ll focus on the A.L.

No American League rookie created quite the buzz or intrigue that New York Yankees set-up man Joba Chamberlain (2-0, 0.42, 22 innings/31 strikeouts) did in the final six weeks of the season, but his short-term impact didn’t stand up when measured against the season-long contributions of Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia and Tampa Bay outfielder Delmon Young—or even some of the other top rookie pitchers in the A.L. Pedroia, our top choice, was extremely steady on both offense and defense for a team that maintained a season-long grip on first place in the A.L. East.

Here’s our look at the A.L.’s 10 best rookies for 2007:
 
  Player, Pos., Team Performance
1. Dustin Pedroia, 2b, Red Sox .315-7-49, 35 2B, 46 BB/42 SO
2. Delmon Young, of, Devil Rays .294-13-93, 35 2B
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka, rhp, Red Sox 14-12, 4.48, 197 IP/193 SO
4. Brian Bannister, rhp, Royals 12-9, 3.61
5. Jeremy Guthrie, rhp, Orioles 7-5, 3.65
6. Reggie Willits, of, Angels .294-0-34, 26 SB
7. Joakim Soria, rhp, Royals 1-3, 2.59, 17 SV, 66 IP/72 SO
8. Alex Gordon, 3b, Royals .253-15-59, 36 2B
9. Hideki Okajima, lhp, Red Sox 3-2, 2.28, 4 SV, 67 IP/60 SO
10. Josh Fields, 3b-of, White Sox .249-22-65
--ALLAN SIMPSON
 
TULOWITZKI’S THE CHOICE
The 2007 major league regular season is in its final week, and voters in both the American and National Leagues are expected to have a difficult time deciding on some of the major award winners. Among the most hotly-contested awards will be for Rookie of the Year.

We’ll take a stab at picking the winners in each league over the next couple of days, as well as identifying a representative top 10 rookies.

Our choice in the N.L. is Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who has played a major role in his team’s spirited, late-season run to a playoff berth. Tulowitzki has been a factor on both sides of the ball for the Rockies, contributing a .292 average and 92 RBIs on offense while playing near-Gold Glove caliber defense at shortstop. He leads N.L. shortstops in fielding at .986 and had committed just 11 errors. His main competition would appear to be Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Ryan Braun, who has hit .321 with 32 homers but brings up the rear among N.L. third baseman with a .904 fielding average.

Here’s our look at the N.L.’s 10 best rookies for 2007. We’ll look at the A.L.’s 10 best Thursday.
 
  Player, Pos., Team Performance
1. Troy Tulowitzki, ss, Rockies .292-22-91, .986 FLD AVG
2. Ryan Braun, 3b, Brewers .321-22-88
3. Hunter Pence, of, Astros .322-15-63
4. Chris Young, of, D'backs .239-32-67, 26 SB
5. James Loney, 1b, Dodgers .321-13-60
6. Yovani Gallardo, rhp, Brewers 9-4, 3.59, 105 IP/94 SO
7. Tim Lincecum, rhp, Giants 7-5, 4.00, 146 IP/150 SO
8. Josh Hamilton, of, Reds .292-19-47
9. Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3b, Padres .275-17-69
10. Mark Reynolds, 3b, D'backs .283-17-62
--ALLAN SIMPSON