Braun vs. Pence
| 13
|
by Behbigben15
The NL has two phemoninal rookies this year, and it will be a tough decision when it comes time to announce the NL rookie of the year. Ryan Braun, the third baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers, may have the edge over Houston Astros' outfielder, Hunter Pence because of the fact that Braun's team has a winning record, and is only a half game back from the NL Central lead.
Out of players with a minimum of 300 AB's, Braun is 7th in NL BA (one in front of Pence), tied for 11th in HR's, tied for 28th in SB's, 24th in OBP, and 1st in SLG %. Braun is 2nd in HR's out of the 2007 NL rookies, 2nd in RBI's, 1st in BA, and 1st in OBP, and SLG %. Here is Braun's stats:
2007- 319 AB, 59 R, 106 Hits, 24 HR, 62 RBI, 10 SB, .332 BA, .378 OBP, .643 SLG %
Hunter Pence Pence is the underdog, Pence started out hot, but then cooled down a little, as did his team, the Houston Astros (currently 57-71, 5th in NL Central). Pence's Astros are, most likely, not going to catch Braun's Brewers, who are 8.5 games ahead of the Astros in the NL Central. It is not likely that Pence will catch up to hot rookie, Ryan Braun. Pence is 6th in HR's out of all NL Rookies, 5th in RBI's, 2nd in BA, 3rd in OBP, and 2nd in SLG %, in all five of those categories Pence is behind Braun.
Pence's stats:
2007- 326 AB, 45 R, 107 Hits, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 8 SB, .328 BA, .354 OBP, .561 SLG %
Other Rookies to watch out for
It may turn out that Braun and Pence end up not being 1-2 in the NL ROY voting, Troy Tulowitzki (Colorado Rockies' shortstop), and Chris B. Young (Arizona Diamondbacks' centerfielder) are also in the running of NL ROY, so watch out for them as well, here is how they fare out.
Chris .B Young- 443 AB, 68 R, 105 Hits, 26 HR, 47 RBI, 21 SB, .237 BA, .289 OBP, .470 SLG %
- Don't be fooled by his batting average, Young has power (leads NL Rookies in HR's), and speed (leads NL Rookies in SB). Young is a full-time starter for the Diamondbacks, who have a three-game lead over the second place San Diego Padres in the tough NL West.
Troy Tulowitzki- 464 AB, 72 R, 136 Hits, 17 HR, 67 RBI, 6 SB, .293 BA, .364 OBP, .463 SLG %
- Being another full-time starter in Colorado, Tulowitzki has done his part for the 64-63 Rockies (4th place in NL West), Tulowitzki leads all NL Rookies in AB's. Troy is just 7 points from reaching a .300 BA, he leads NL Rookies in runs, hits, triples, RBI's, and OBP. Tulowitzki could actually be the one to win ROY, I wouldn't be surprised if he did.
Braun, Pence, Tulowitzki, or Young? You tell me what you think.
