A new contender in the AL ROTY race
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by user Drpatriot
As the midseason draws to a close, we begin to look at new players rising up on the rosters of various teams in baseball. One such star, rookie Jon Lester, is rising quickly in the AL East with one of the best opening records ever by a Red Sox pitcher. Lester has played excellently so far. The question is: will he continue to play well? And if he does, could he eventually earn the crown of AL ROTY?
To answer this question, I compare Lester's current stats with fellow rookie Francisco Liriano's first eight starts. (Liriano is currently considered a frontrunner for the AL ROTY candidacy.)
| Player | Record | IP | H | ER | ERA |
| Jon Lester | 5-0 | 45.1 | 36 | 12 | 2.38 |
| Francisco Liriano | 7-1 | 44.0 | 24 | 8 | 1.64 |
It appears that Liriano clearly has better stats during this time period. However, the fact remains that Lester still has not lost a game. If Liriano has a drop in stats, Lester could conceivably climb past him in ERA. Though at this point it appears that a ROTY award is unlikely, keep your eye on Jon Lester.
Date
Wed 07/19/06, 9:31 pm EST
