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. |
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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 |
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