AL Rookie of the Year Rankings: Detroit Tigers OF Quintin Berry Cracks Top 5

No rookie in the American League has energized his team quite like Mike Trout has energized the Los Angeles Angels. He's been a rock at the plate and in the field for them since being called up in late April, and the Angels have been one of the best teams in baseball since then.

With Trout doing so well in Anaheim, it's kinda easy to overlook what Quintin Berry has done in Detroit. He hasn't put up the same kind of numbers or had the same kind of effect on the Tigers that Trout has had on the Angels, but Berry has definitely brought energy to a club that sorely needed some.

The Tigers are now starting to make their move in the AL Central. Despite all their struggles this season, they're only two games out of first place after winning seven of their last 10 games.

All Berry's doing? Not exactly, but he's definitely helped. It's time he got some love in the American League Rookie of the Year race.

Here are this week's rankings.

Note: Feel free to check out last week's rankings.

Honorable Mentions

Yoenis Cespedes, OF, Oakland A's

He got off to a really good start and is currently sitting on six home runs and 26 RBI, but he just hasn't been able to stay healthy. He'll be a candidate for the top five once he returns to Oakland's lineup, but he has to stay in it for more than a few days at a time.

Ryan Cook, RP, Oakland A's

Bob Melvin has started using Cook in save situations, and he's responded very well. He's saved four games since June 12, so he's definitely a guy to keep an eye on moving forward.

Jake McGee, RP, Tampa Bay Rays

He's appeared in 30 games, and he has a 1.57 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP. He's only allowed two hits in the month of June. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Will Middlebrooks, 3B, Boston Red Sox

He's been in my top five for weeks, but I had to take him out this week. His inconsistent playing time has done a number on his, um, numbers.

Jesus Montero, C/DH, Seattle Mariners

The eight home runs and the 28 RBI are great. What I don't like is the .301 on-base percentage. Montero needs to learn how to take his walks.

Jarrod Parker, SP, Oakland A's

Parker was in the top five a couple weeks ago, and I considered putting him back in this week after his recent domination of the Colorado Rockies. If this was a top-10 list, he'd be No. 6.

Robbie Ross, RP, Texas Rangers

Ross is yet another rookie reliever who's flying under the radar. He has six wins in relief for the Rangers, not to mention a 1.18 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He's been money.

Tom Wilhelmsen, RP, Seattle Mariners

Wilhelmsen has an 11.00 K/9, one of the top marks among rookie relievers. He also has a solid 3.00 ERA.

5. Quintin Berry, OF, Detroit Tigers

Last Week: Unranked (honorable mention)

Quintin Berry's call-up in late May didn't exactly grab headlines. In fact, I doubt anybody outside the city of Detroit even cared to notice that Berry had been called up.

It didn't take long for Berry to make his presence felt. He hit .333 with five stolen bases in his first nine games, and he made some highlight-reel plays in the outfield as well.

Berry has had his ups and downs, and his playing time has been cut down a little, but he's still going strong nearly a full month after his call-up. He's hitting .341 in June, and he had his first career five-hit game against the Rockies on Sunday.

For the season, Berry is hitting .337, which ties him with Mike Trout for the highest batting average among AL rookies. He also has nine stolen bases and 19 runs scored in just 24 games.

According to FanGraphs, the only rookie in the AL with a higher WAR than Berry's 0.8 is none other than Trout. He's been a legitimate difference-maker on a team that has had a very hard time living up to its billing this season.

With the Tigers finally starting to get on a roll, it's looking like that's about to change. 

So in the span of just about a month, Berry has gone from being a minor league scrub to being a key player on a postseason contender. Not bad for a 27-year-old rookie.

4. Felix Doubront, SP, Boston Red Sox

Last Week: Unranked (honorable mention)

Felix Doubront ran into a bit of adversity earlier this month against the Washington Nationals. He was working on a string of three straight quality starts, but the Nats knocked him around for eight hits and six earned runs in just four innings.

Doubront responded by doing something he had yet to do this season. He pitched seven innings, and they were seven really good innings against the Miami Marlins. Doubront allowed just two earned runs on three hits and a walk, striking out nine.

Doubront got his seventh win in that start, and he now has a respectable 4.17 ERA. What's most impressive is the fact that he has 81 strikeouts in just 73.1 innings pitched, good for a K/9 of 9.94.

The only qualified pitcher in the AL with a higher K/9 is Max Scherzer. Doubront ranks ahead of guys like Chris Sale, CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander.

Doubront obviously won't be winning a Cy Young Award anytime soon, but he's been a godsend for the Boston Red Sox this season. They've had all sorts of issues with their starting pitching, but he's been consistently good all season.

There are only two AL rookie pitchers having better seasons than him, and they're coming up next.

3. Wei-Yin Chen, SP, Baltimore Orioles

Last Week: No. 2

The last time Wei-Yin Chen took the mound, he was excellent. He fired seven shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves, allowing six hits and just one walk.

The start before that, the Pittsburgh Pirates knocked him around for four earned runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings of work.

This is par for the course for Chen. He'll look brilliant in one start and wildly mediocre in the next. He's a hard guy to get a read on.

Nonetheless, Chen's numbers are solid across the board. He has a 7-2 record in his 13 starts to go along with a highly respectable 3.36 ERA. He doesn't have overpowering stuff, as evidenced by his merely decent 6.39 K/9, but he does an excellent job of keeping hitters off-balance and making it tough for them to square pitches up. He's one of the most boringly effective pitchers in the American League.

So why bump Chen down a spot this week?

It's complicated. He's been more consistent than the next guy on this list, but the deciding factor for me was overall dominance, and that's an area where Chen falls short.

I'll explain in the next slide.

2. Yu Darvish, SP, Texas Rangers

Last Week: No. 3

Yu Darvish went through a really tough stretch of games for a while there, but he got back on the right track in his last start against the Houston Astros.

In that game, Darvish lasted eight innings for the first time since he dominated the New York Yankees in late April, and he struck out 11 while allowing seven hits and two walks. He allowed just two earned runs.

Darvish's command looked way better than it had in his previous starts. He was able to throw his fastball in the zone consistently, and because of that, he didn't have to resort to his breaking stuff to finish hitters off. A good portion of his strikeouts came on the heater.

It was a big step forward for Darvish. If he can command his fastball on a consistent basis, he should be able to put his nasty slump behind him in a hurry.

Even despite that slump, Darvish's numbers for the season are still solid. He leads all AL rookies with eight wins, and he has a 3.57 ERA and a 9.82 K/9.

I have Darvish ranked ahead of Chen for two main reasons. The first is because Darvish has a higher WAR, according to FanGraphs. The second is because he's had more games this season in which he's been truly dominant. Per Baseball-Reference.com, Darvish has achieved a game score of at least 69 four times this season.

Chen has yet to do that once.

1. Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels

Last Week: No. 1

Mike Trout is running away with the American League Rookie of the Year award. He's not just one of the American League's best rookies. He's one of the American League's best players. Period.

Trout's numbers are worthy of an All-Star appearance. He's hitting .337, which ranks second in the AL now that he has enough plate appearances to qualify. He also leads the AL with 19 stolen bases, putting him on pace to swipe about 45 bags this year.

He also has six home runs, 27 RBI and 40 runs scored in just 47 games.

Per FanGraphs, Trout's WAR is 3.4—by far the best among AL rookies. Moreover, his WAR ranks third among all AL players behind Josh Hamilton and Adam Jones.

It's absurd how good he's been, and it's scary to think that this is just the beginning.

Last Week's Rankings

5. Scott Diamond, SP, Minnesota Twins

He's been pretty hittable in his last two starts, allowing eight earned runs in just 11.1 innings of work. Diamond still has solid numbers, but he's coming back down to earth.

4. Will Middlebrooks, 3B, Boston Red Sox

He's hitting .298 with six homers and 25 RBI, but it feels like he's been stuck on those numbers for a while. He won't be able to take off again until Kevin Youkilis is out of the picture.

3. Yu Darvish, SP, Texas Rangers

Movin' on up.

2. Wei-Yin Chen, SP, Baltimore Orioles

Down one spot, but still going strong.

1. Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels

I heart Mike Trout, you guys.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.