Imaginary Diamond

In fantasy, rookies come in all positions and prices. Some of them enter the majors with much fanfare and expectations, while others are well-kept secrets until they drop big stats into a smart owner’s lap. This year, however, untested superprospects such as Evan Longoria and Jay Bruce have failed to take off; Bruce hasn’t even made the majors yet for Cincinnati, who have a fairly promising crop of rookies even without him.

So which rookies and other first-time starters are making a big splash at their positions after over a month of play? The all-freshman (and some sophomores) team from both leagues includes:

Catcher - Geovany Soto (Chicago Cubs)
No-brainer for this one. Soto has lived up to all the hype so far this season, and then some; projected to hit for a healthy average and not much else this season, Soto has been providing a run-producing threat from the bottom of the Cubs lineup, hitting six homers with 24 RBI. Owners who were chastised for taking him in the 10th round range in pre-season drafts are having a hearty laugh right about now.

1B - Joey Votto (Cincinnati Reds)
This year has seen some breakout preformances at first base from young bucks Conor Jackson and James Loney, but Votto has jumped straight into the fray with guns blazing. Heading into today’s round of games, Toronto native Votto is batting over .300 with seven home runs to boot. Votto is still available on waivers in some leagues and would make a fantastic pickup.

2B - Yunel Escobar (Atlanta Braves)
Despite repeated praise during the offseason from multiple sources, Escobar’s trade stock never jumped during the preseason. He has proven himself worthy so far, batting .333 with 14 RBI for the Braves. The expected power increase, however, has not materialized yet; he has only three homers going into todays round of games.

3B - Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay Rays)
Preseason darling Longoria is picked by default, as no viable rookie besides Votto has made a name for himself so far. Longoria, called up after spending a week or two in the minors to start the season, has cooled off after a hot start to his major league career, but could pick up the pace again after he adjusts to major league pitching.

SS - Jeff Keppinger (Cincinnati Reds)
Since no true rookie has been even average so far this term, I award this spot to first-time starter Keppinger, who has been hitting .444 with runners in scoring position. He has 16 RBI so far, and looks to be able to get some more sooner rather than later.

Outfield - Nate McLouth (Pittsburgh Pirates), Jacoby Ellsbury (Boston Red Sox), Justin Upton (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Nobody will be suprised that sparkplug Ellsbury or the highly-touted Upton are on this list, but Pirates outfielder McLouth, who has 9 homers and 29 RBI with a .324 average, has come out of nowhere to become the second-ranked fantasy player in Yahoo! Sports. Preseason rankings of outfielders had McLouth in between Nos. 90-100. His amazing jump up the boards means that Minnesota’s Carlos Gomez and Chicago’s Kosuke Fukudome are relegated to hitting DH for this particular team.

Rotation:

#1- Edinson Vólquez (Cincinnati Reds)
Vólquez has been borderline-dominant in all seven of his starts this year, and his ERA of 1.06 is a testament to how effective he has been. At 5-1 and leading the majors with 52 K’s, Vólquez looks to be a star in the making in Cincy.

#2 - Jair Jurrjens (Atlanta Braves)
Jurrjens has electrifying stuff and an unpronounceable name, and he is still available in some leagues. The player the Braves got for Edgar Renteria is near the top of every statistic as far as rookie starters go, and could be on track to be Atlanta’s ace of the future.

#3 - Greg Smith (Oakland Athletics)
LIke Jurrjens, not all leagues have caught up to Smith yet, making him a great value pickup out there somewhere. The success of Smith and Dana Eveland have made the loss of Dan Haren very bearable for the streaking Athletics.

#4 Dana Eveland (Oakland Athletics)
Eveland has been as impressive, if not more, than Smith; his ERA of 3.05, which is already great by rookie standards, would be much lower had it not been for two so-so starts at the end of April. Suprisingly, fantasy owners have snapped up Eveland fairly quickly while passing over Smith in some cases.

#5 Johnny Cueto (Cincinnati Reds)
Cueto crashed back to earth after two phenomenal starts, but still leads all rookies in K’s with 41, with only 8 walks to boot. However, he tends to give up costly home runs and will need to work on his composure before he can be a legitamate fantasy force. Many owners dropped him after his rough April, making him a good value toss-up pick off of waivers.

Closer - Kyle McClellan (St. Louis Cardinals)
McClellan has been a pleasant suprise for the NL Central-leading Cardinals; he’s already notched one save out of the bullpen, and while he won’t supplant Jason Ishringhausen right now, he’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.