The Sommer Frieze

The AL ROY (Rookie of the Year) was unanimous. The “Desperate Housewife,” Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay. Longoria helped lead his team into the WS by hitting .272-27-85 in 122 games. He had an OPS+ (adjusted OPS, 100=average) of 130, was 7 for 7 in SB, and was excellent defensively.

The NL ROY was almost unanimous. Geovany Soto got all but one vote. The Cubs catcher had 1, 25 and 54 AB from 2005-2007, but played in 141 games in 2008 and had 494 at bats. He hit .285-23-86 for a 120 OPS+ in helping the Cubs make the playoffs.

The only vote that didn’t go to Soto went to Joey Votto of the Reds. .297-24-84 for the Reds 1B. OPS+ 124.

Pete Abraham has some good stuff on his blog.

Here is a list of the free agents, ranked in order.

Also, Baseball America ranks its top 10 Yankee prospects:

Baseball America’s Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player’s long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven’t exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible.

This is their list:

1. Austin Jackson OF AA, .285-9-69-19
2. Jesus Montero C/DH Low A .326-17-87
3. Andrew Brackman Starting pitcher, Righty 6′10″ In AFL now. Missed year due to TJ surgery.
4. Austin Romine C Low A. .300-10-49
5. Dellin Betances Starting pitcher, Righty 6′8″ Low A. 9-4, 3.67. 135 K in 115 1/3.
6. Zach McAllister Starting pitcher, Righty. Combined Low and High A, 14-9, 2.09. 151 IP.
7. Alfredo Aceves 8-6, 2.62 in minors. 1-0, 2.40 with Yanks in 30 innings. Righty pitcher. Started, but may be long man in 2009.
8. Phil Coke Lefty pitcher. 11-6, 2.79 in minors. 1-0, 0.61 with Yanks in 14 2/3 IP. Lefty relief?
9. Mark Melancon Righty relief pitcher. 8-1, 2.27 combined minor league record.
10. Bradley Suttle 3B .271-11-44 in Low A.

Pete doesn’t see Melancon behind Aceves and Coke, but he could not much quibble with their list otherwise.

I think Top Prospect Alert will be coming out with their list soon, and when they do, I’ll post it for comparison. I put the position after the name for your convenience, also what they did this year and where. Note some people that dropped out include Alan Horne (2-4, 8.77 in a tough, injury-plagued year), Jeff Marquez (combined 8-8, 4.47, mostly AAA), Humberto Sanchez (in AFL now, missed most of 2008 due to injury), Chase Wright (I’m surprised he dropped off the list. He was a combined 10-3, 2.80 at AA/AAA), and 1B Brandon Laird (who didn’t do badly at Low A, .273-23-86, and I’m a bit surprised he dropped off). Having Wright and Laird actually fall out of the top 10 may be a good thing. It shows depth.

Some people got enough PT in the majors to drop off the list. Hughes, Kennedy, Brett Gardner…

Well, it isn’t the Cardinals. In a bit of a shocker, Matt Holliday appears headed to the A’s.

Ooh youre a holiday , such a holiday
Ooh youre a holiday , such a holiday