Rookies, despite all their inexperience, can make even a novice fantasy baseball manager look like a serious veteran. These are the top 10 rookies so far this season in the fantasy landscape. And yes, the Cincinnati Reds do have an incredible group of young players.

1. Edinson Vólquez, Cincinnati Reds- Even though the Rangers received super slugger Josh Hamilton for Volquez before the season started, they have to be kicking themselves. The Reds received an ace that is dazzling the NL with a 1.12 ERA and is carrying fantasy teams.
2. Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs- Anytime a fantasy team can get this type of production out of a catcher, it seems borderline unfair. Soto is raking so far with a .317 average, nine homers and 33 RBIs.
3. Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox- It seems ridiculous when a team that buys most of its talent is able to develop a fantasy stud like Ellsbury. So far Boston’s new center fielder has stolen 17 bases and been caught just once. Lots of runs are almost mandatory when in that lineup.
4. Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs- He may be a 31-year old rookie from Japan, but fantasy owners who drafted Fukudome are still reaping nice benefits in runs and average. He should flash a little more power and speed, too.
5. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds- Even though three of his nine homers on the season came in one game on May 7th, Votto has been consistently producing all season. Expect 30 homers and 85 RBIs.
6. Blake DeWitt, Los Angeles Dodgers- The 2004 first rounder is lighting up American League and National League pitching alike. DeWitt is demonstrating better-than-expected power with four homers in his last 10 games , and he’s batting a clean .327 average on the season.
7. Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds- If anyone in your league dropped Cueto, he should probably quit and start searching for fantasy softball leagues. Cueto’s very strong strikeout-to-walk ratio of 53:13 points to his settling down and regaining the form he had in the early part of the season.
8. Max Scherzer, Arizona Diamondbacks- The flamethrower might be 0-2 so far, but his ratios and strikeout totals are fantastic. Arizona supports a phenomenal record this season, so look for Scherzer to start racking in the wins once he gets some run support. Jury is still out on what his role will be when Doug Davis returns from the DL, but he can pitch his way into more certainty.
9. Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees- If your league counts holds, the Yankees’ setup man has comparable value to some of the top closers in the league. Chamberlain gets your fantasy team all the lowest ratios possible, plus big-time strikeout potential.
10. Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds- Who cares if he hasn’t even got the call up yet? Bruce is tearing up minor league hitting and could very well be this year’s Ryan Braun, an addition off the waiver wire that makes fantasy teams champions.

More rookie thoughts …
While we issue rookie rankings, Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame hands out The Chris Sabo Awards.

Up and In With Kate talks about fantasy pitchers to target.

The UPL Blog compares Jay Bruce to Ryan Braun.

Brian Pempus will be a senior at Penn State University’s School of Journalism. He can be contacted at bjp5026[at]psu.edu.