May
The arrival of much anticipated rookies Jay Bruce and Clayton Kershaw has shaken up the top 10 rookie rankings. The two phenoms join an already impressive class of rookies that includes: early Cy Young contender Edinson Volquez, Red Sox sparkplug Jacoby Ellsbury, and one of the game’s most productive catchers in Chicago’s Geovany Soto.
Here are the top rookies that have and will continue to make huge fantasy impacts.
1. Edinson Vólquez, Cincinnati Reds- The Reds rookie phenom received the loss in an 18 inning game against the Padres on May 25th. Relief appearances aside, Volquez is 7-1 with a 1.34 ERA. He looks to be a true fantasy ace.
2. Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs- Over the last week Soto has only hit .182 with two RBIs. Soto may have been playing over his head in the first month and a half of the season, but still expect very solid numbers from him at the catcher position.
3. Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox- The Red Sox rookie has a very good contact percentage, only striking out 16 times in 158 at bats. He has also been very effective in stolen base attempts, being caught only twice in 21 tries.
4. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds- Votto has been consistently producing for the Reds all season.
5. Blake DeWitt, Los Angeles Dodgers- Over the last month the rookie third baseman has been a steady fantasy producer. All four of his homers have come in that span, as well as 16 of his 23 RBIs and 14 of his 22 runs. He has also batted .329 over that span.
6. Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs- Only two for his last 20 at bats, the Japanese import true fantasy values comes from his run scoring. He is still batting around .300 with his latest slump.
7. Max Scherzer, Arizona Diamondbacks- Even though it’s unclear if he will start or relieve over the long haul, the Arizona flame thrower will get tons of strikeouts and have a miniscule ERA (currently 1.96).
8. Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds- He will make his much anticipated start for the Reds tonight. He was tearing minor league pitching apart before the promotion.
9. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers- The hyped lefty had a strong debut going six innings, allowing two runs with seven strikeouts against St. Louis. If he’s still available in your league, grab him.
10. Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees- A holds machine, Chamberlain is soon headed to the Yankees rotation. He will continue to give you great ratios and strong strikeout totals, but over more innings and with more wins.
