American League: And the 2008 Rookie of the Year Is...

    As the 2008 MLB season begins we all wonder who will be the next Ryan Braun to come up and make a splash. Who will be the next Tim Salmon and be a big time player for one MLB franchise? Who will be the next Ben Grieve who makes a splash one year and now he is the answer to a trivia question? Who will be a Rookie of the Year and future Hall of Fame Player? I will leave Hiroki Kuroda, Kosuke Fukodome, Yasuhiko Yabuta, and other Japanese players off this list because I feel they should not be eligible for the Rookie of the Year award but that is for a different argument and article. And now for the list of candidates:

 AL:

     Obvious choices:

        Evan Longoria: The man who will supposedly save the Rays and propel them into contention for the future. Coupled along with him and David Price the Rays will be looking good in 2 years. But that is the Rays, this is about Evan Longoria. He does not have the power Braun has but what he lacks in power he makes up for more than enough in defensive abilities. Longoria is projected to be a gold glover and will make some top ten plays and web gems. This will boost his popularity as well. The only thing that can hurt his chances for Rookie of the Year will be the fact that he plays for the Rays.

        Jacoby Ellsbury: Looking to make repeat Rookie of the Year awards for the Red Sox, Ellsbury comes in with high expectations. A speedster and defensive stud, he can make a run at the R.O.Y. He plays for Boston and a playoff team always improves ones chances of winning awards. However, this year is full of candidates and he may lose some votes due to lack of power. After all according to Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, "Chicks Dig the Long Ball" 

        Joba Chamberlain: Joba the Hut was untouchable against the hitter he faced. The Indians needed a swarm of of gnats or whatever it was to throw him off finally. If God needs to send a plague of locust to stop a player then the player must be doing something correct. What will hurt Joba will be the Joba Rules. Yankees have him starting in the bullpen being set-up man to Rivera. He will eventually be settled into the roation but is lack of solid role could prove devastating to his campaign.

        Clay Buchholz: Clay is working in a deep rotation that helps cover up any mistakes he makes. The line-up behind him will give him solid run support, but with or without it this kid can pitch. He would be on this list if he was on the Orioles, O.K. maybe not the Orioles. The kid can pitch but I just do not believe he has the star power to push the vote for R.O.Y. But you never know, he does play for Boston and might run on Pedroia's power and fight with teammate Ellsbury for the award.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?