by James B. Terry
Red Sox infielder Xander Bogaerts entered the season as one of the favorites to win the American League Rookie of the Year, but now finds himself in the back of a large pack which includes a number of deserving rookies.
At the beginning of the season, three of the five Beantown Shakedown writers picked Bogaerts to win the award. I picked New York pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. Brendan picked Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker.
His .283 batting average is second among all rookies regardless of league, which is a mark that could win a lot of people the award if they were an everyday player like Bogaerts is, but there are a few more rookies who are stealing headlines in the American League this year.
Bogaerts is among the top rookies in the league this year, but there are others who are among the top players in the entire league in 2014. Yankees third baseman Yangervis Solarte is fifth in the American League in batting average and is batting .317. White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu is leading the American League in both home runs and RBI’s. Both of these players are putting up All-Star caliber numbers while Bogaerts is only putting up top rookie numbers so far.
Meanwhile, Yankees starting pitcher Mashiro Tanaka, my preseason prediction to win the award, is 6-1 with an impressive 2.39 ERA. Six wins on the season puts him just one behind the league lead. He is top five in the American League in wins, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP and complete games. Just like Abreu and Solarte, Tanaka is putting up an All-Star caliber season and not just a Rookie of the Year worthy season.
Most years, Bogaerts is easily in the discussion for Rookie of the Year, but this isn’t most years. He is shaping up to be an afterthought for the award but that is no reflection on his play, baseball’s young talent is just at one of its highest points this season.
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