AL Rookie of the Year: Ranking the Top 5 Contenders After One Month

The first full month of the 2012 Major League Baseball season has been a thing of the past for a few days now. The process of deciphering what we learned during that first month is ongoing.

One thing we learned during the first month of the season is that this year's class of rookies is pretty good. And with all respect to the kids in the Senior Circuit, the rookie crop in the American League is considerably more intriguing.

In Detroit, we saw the Tigers call up Drew Smyly, simply hoping he would contribute, and he managed to maintain an ERA well under 2.00 in four starts. In Seattle, Jesus Montero has lived up to the hype after the Mariners acquired him in a big offseason trade with the New York Yankees.

They aren't the only rookies who have shined so far this season. Here's a look at the top five AL Rookie of the Year candidates at this moment.

5. Addison Reed, RP, Chicago White Sox

If there's one rookie reliever who belongs in the AL Rookie of the Year discussion, it's Addison Reed. He's been excellent. 

In 11 appearances, Reed has pitched 8.2 innings and allowed exactly no earned runs. To boot, he's given up just five hits and issued three walks, bringing his WHIP to a solid 0.92. 

The best thing about Reed's season so far is his 11 strikeouts. His K/9 is 11.42, one of the top marks in the American League among relievers with at least eight innings pitched.

Reed's stuff is filthy, and American League hitters haven't quite solved it yet. It may be some time before they do.

Among AL rookie relievers, Reed's 0.4 WAR ties him for first with Tom Wilhelmson of the Seattle Mariners and Robbie Ross of the Texas Rangers. Both have been very good, but Reed has been just as valuable as either of them in fewer innings pitched.

4. Jesus Montero, C/DH, Seattle Mariners

The Mariners were hoping for big things when they traded Michael Pineda for Jesus Montero, and so far, he's delivered.

It took a little bit of time for Montero to get into the swing of things, but he's been keeping the hits coming for the better part of the last three weeks or so. His batting average is up to .292 on the season to go along with four home runs and 13 RBI.

At the moment, Montero leads all AL rookies in hits with 26, and his .292 batting average is tops among rookies with at least 14 games under their belts.

Montero's WAR is 0.1, which ranks fourth among AL rookies. However, only one of the guys ahead of him on the list has played in more games than he has. 

More on that guy in a moment.

3. Yoenis Cespedes, OF, Oakland Athletics

This is when we get into an argument over which players truly qualify as "rookies."

That's for the writers with the votes to decide. Technically, Yoenis Cespedes is a rookie, and the simple truth is that he's done too much in his first season to be left off the list completely. 

Cespedes has been better than a lot of people expected him to be. He strikes out a lot, but he's maintaining a .250 batting average, and he leads all major league rookies with five home runs.

On April 6, Cespedes hit a home run (see MLB.com) that HitTrackerOnline.com measured at 462 feet, the third-longest home run hit in the majors this season. Rumors of his power were not exaggerated.

The one complaint that can be made about Cespedes is that he hasn't been great in the field. His UZR is -2.7 this season, one of the worst marks in the majors among centerfielders.

Nonetheless, he leads all AL rookies with a 0.5 WAR.

2. Drew Smyly, SP, Detroit Tigers

When Drew Smyly was first called up, all anyone wanted to do was make jokes about his last name (I'm looking in your direction, ESPN).

It didn't take long for Smyly to prove that he's no joke. He settled down after some early struggles in his first start, and since then, he's allowed two earned runs in 18 innings over his last three starts.

For the season, Smyly's ERA is 1.23, which ranks first in the AL among starters with at least 20 innings pitched.

Just as important as the numbers is what Smyly has meant to the Tigers. Their starting pitching has been an adventure this season, and there was no guarantee he was going to make things better after he was moved into the rotation.

Smyly hasn't really made things better, but he has helped Detroit's rotation avoid falling apart completely. That's worth a little extra consideration.

1. Yu Darvish, SP, Texas Rangers

Here we go with the whole "rookies" argument again. But if Cespedes is on this list, Yu Darvish has to be on this list. He also deserves to be No. 1.

Darvish's 2012 season consists of one brutal inning against the Seattle Mariners, and then 32 brilliant innings. He allowed four earned runs in his first professional inning and four earned runs ever since.

Darvish's last two starts were particularly brilliant. He pitched 8.1 shutout innings against the New York Yankees and then held the Toronto Blue Jays to one run over seven innings. In the two starts, he racked up 19 strikeouts. 

For the season, Darvish is a perfect 4-0 with a 2.18 ERA and 33 strikeouts. 

Darvish's WAR is 0.8. That's tops among AL rookie pitchers, and tops among all AL rookies in general. If we can accept that Darvish is a rookie, there's no denying that he's been the best rookie in the American League to this point.

If you follow me on Twitter, we can debate rookie qualifications in 140 characters or less.