Another week, another update on how the two front runners are doing in the AL and NL. Both maintain their second and third place in the MLB for home runs and get ready to hear a lot about those, because that's what these two love to do. Other than that, they also like to put their names in records that we forgot existed and that makes us even more amazed. Aaron Judge Wed., 8/2 vs. Det: 1-for-4, single 8/4 at Cle: 1-for-2, 2 walks (77, 78) and a single 8/5 at Cle: 1-for-4, single 8/6 at Cle: 1-for-2, three-run home run (35) at 396 ft. Tues., 8/8 at Tor: 0-for-3 Judge was struggling for a long time and is still on the strikeout streak at 25 games, but he's making progress this week and finally broke his home run drought of four games last Sunday. He is hitting .190 in August but he has managed to keep his season average around .297. Even though he is slumping majorly right now, he still has had a great season. His 35th home run made him one of 11 rookies to hit that many and if he hits only 4 more, he can become the second all-time for rookies. Don't be phased by this big slump because it cannot take away from the amazing season he is having. Cody Bellinger Wed., 8/2 at Atl: 2-for-4, solo home run (30) at 434 ft., RBI (71) 8/3 at Atl: 0-for-5 8/4 at NYM: 0-for-4 8/5 at NYM: 1-for-5, two-run home run (31) at 401 ft., 2 RBIs (72, 73) 8/6 at NYM: 1-for-3, two-run home run (32) at 447 ft., 2 RBIs (74, 75), 1 walk (42) Bellinger's latest home run was his longest in his career of 337 at-bats. He's already hit 4 home runs this month which ties his total for all of July. August's batting average sits at a decent .241, considering half of his hits are home runs. Another interesting fact about his home runs are that 16 out of 32 have come in the 7th inning or later, which ties Frank Robinson's rookie record. Hope to see more good things happen here!
If you've heard of some of these rookies before, then great! You can call yourself a savvy baseball fan! If not, there is no shame because there are so many rookies on teams and it would take a long time to get to know all of them! Hunter Renfroe The right fielder for the Padres has steadily improved this month and is hitting .353 in five games. All of his hits this month have come from three two-hit games. Renfroe has 20 home runs and 45 RBIs in 371 at-bats. Previously this year, he was known for landing one at the top of the roof at Petco Park, a difficult place to homer. If he hits 24 or more home runs this season, he will either tie or beat Nate Colbert's record with the Padres in 1969. Right now he ranks fourth among all MLB rookies in home runs. Trey Mancini I hope your August is going nearly as well as Mancini's is right now because he is hitting .333 so far. Part of that average includes his fifth 3-hit game of the season yesterday vs. Detroit. Mancini's three hits involved two singles and 388 ft home run (18) that gave him his 58th RBI of the season. Those three hits have boosted his average back up to .300. Improvement has already happened for the designated hitter in August, where as in July he had an On-Base Percentage of .352 in five games compared to his .429 OBP in these past five games. Ty Blach Blach is solid throughout this season and pitched more innings, 121.0, than all rookie pitchers that are not named Kyle Freeland. He also is the only to have a complete game shut out so far this season. Last Thursday, he marked off a new milestone in his career, his first home run. Madison Bumgarner is not the only Giants pitcher to launch them out in the Bay and Blach's 425 ft. smash proved that as the Giants took that game easily, 11-2, vs. Oakland. Not only did Blach provide the offense in that game, but he also allowed only 2 runs on 6 hits in eight innings. It feels to go to not only earn the win, but to also defeat the team from across the Bay. Next Start: TUESDAY, August 8 vs. Chicago Cubs (9:15 CT). Hey, Chicago, what do you say? Time to face a rookie today! Parker Bridwell Bridwell is a nice suprise this season for a struggling rotation that needed a healthy, dependable arm. Bridwell earned a no-decision on Thursday, which was better for him since he allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in 5.0 innings and did not have his best game. Back on July 29 however, Bridwell pitched a great game and allowed 1 run on only 3 hits in 7.1 innings. His ERA is at a good 3.20, which sits him at fourth in MLB rookie pitchers. Next Start: TUESDAY, vs. Baltimore Orioles (7:07 PT). Let's see if he can get his groove back and win this decision against the team that dumped him for cash! Congrats to Yulieski Gurriel (Houston) and Paul DeJong (St. Louis) on winning July Rookie of the Month!
In the last Rookie Report, I promised to update you all on Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger since they were heavily featured on there for weeks and are already the favorites to win the award. Since I do not want to make empty promises, I decided to give a weekly update on them to make it easier for you all to know how they did that week. Aaron Judge Tues. 7/25 vs. Cin: 1-for-3, 1 walk (72) and 1 run 7/27 vs. TB: 1-for-5 7/28 vs. TB: 1-for-4, 1 HR (33) at 387 ft. 7/29 vs. TB: 0-for-3, 1 walk (73) 7/30 vs. TB: 0-for-4, 1 walk (74) 7/31 vs. Det: 1-for-2, 2 runs (82, 83), 1 HR (34) at 408 ft., 1 RBI (75), 2 walks (75, 76) Tues. 8/1 vs. Det: 0-for-4 Weekly AVG.: .160 *Notes: Judge leads the AL with 76 walks and has 31 to go to at least tie Ted Williams' record of 107 walks during his rookie season. There's most definitely no place like home because Judge is about to tie and beat the rookie record for most home runs at home with his 23rd on Monday. He just needs one more to tie Walt Dropo's 24 at Fenway in 1950. A strange thing that happened on 7/27, if you didn't already know, was that Judge celebrated the walk-off win with his teammates but his tooth was chipped in the process. So much for being a nice and supportive teammate... July Batting Avg.: .230 Home Runs: 7 RBI: 13 Hits: 20 Runs: 13 Hopefully he can break out of the July slump that he had because we all enjoy seeing him do so well. Even though this would be considered a slump by his standards, I do think he is still doing well and is helping his team stay in the playoff race. Not everyone can be perfect all the time and this is a perfect learning experience that will make his successes later on feel better. Cody Bellinger Tues. 7/25 vs. Min: 1-for-3, 1 walk (39) 7/26 vs. Min: 0-for-4 7/28 vs. SF: 0-for-4, 7/29 vs. SF: 2-for-4, 2 RBIs, 7/30 vs. SF: 1-for-3, 2 walks (40, 41) Tues. 8/1 vs. Atl: 2-for-4, 1 run (85), 1 HR (29) at 414 ft., 1 RBI (70) Weekly AVG.: .285 *Notes: The Dodgers are 18-0 when Bellinger has 2+ RBIs, like he did on Saturday vs. SF. When the Dodgers' win streak was on the line on 7/24, Bellinger hit a three-run homer in the 8th to seal their third victory in a row at that time and once again was clutch for the team. July Batting Avg.: .263 Home Runs: 4 RBI: 13 Hits: 21 Runs: 9 He has not slowed down as much towards the end of July and continues to be consistent with hitting. He definitely is helping his team out by being the clutch hitter in a few of their close calls and has helped their current 9 game win streak stay intact. Who knows if August will be even better than July for him, because if it was, then the team will be even happier than they are right now and that's extremely happy. Hello and welcome to the latest news on some of the best rookies this week in the Major League! I am trying something new this week by not featuring Cody Bellinger or Aaron Judge because there are other great rookies out there as well. However, since both keep on doing things that are exciting for baseball fans, I can do an update just for them and keep their fans involved as well. Now, enough with those two and let's get on with learning some new names for some and seeing potential Rookie of the Month candidates. Kyle Freeland Freeland now is tied for first among all Major League rookies with 10 wins and the player he is tied with just happens to be teammate Antonio Senzatela. Both him and Senzatela are the first rookie teammates since 1997 to have 10+ wins before August. Freeland has the advantage in how his ERA is at a solid 3.64, second among NL rookies. He earned his tenth win this past Sunday vs. Pittsburgh and is doing great for July. In that start, him and his defence were able to hold the Pirates to two runs on six hits in his six innings pitched. His ERA for the month is at 2.78 compared to June's 4.25. Keep in mind that he pitched two more games in June but he's really cleaned up his act in July and gets lower in ERA each time he starts. Next Start: TOMORROW, at Washington Nationals (7:05 pm ET/5:05 pm MT). Let's see what that 4.12 road ERA is made of! (That's not a threat because I want him to do well!) Paul DeJong The second baseman was on fire this week, going 9-for-21 and hitting .428 in the 5 game span. I don't want to jinx him because that's the last that I want to do but he has gotten a seven-game hitting streak going on since July 21. His offense has quietly exploded in July after hitting 8 home runs this month and batting .318 for the month. Three of those eight home runs were hit in the 5 game span as well. Maybe he should be the NL rookie of the month? Season Stats include: .296 AVG, 14 HR, 31 RBIs, 186 AB. Fun Fact about this rookie since this is his first time being featured: He was a biochemistry major at Illinois State University, so he's incredibly smart. Manuel Margot The centerfielder for the Padres has a good week so far, after hitting .523 and going 11-for-21 with two home runs. His big game yesterday saw him go 3-for-4 with a leadoff home run, a double, and three RBIs. Margot is at 6 home runs, 19 RBIs, and is hitting .272. If it weren't for his calf injury in late May that saw him miss most of June, Margot could've been one of the major candidates for Rookie of the Year. Fun Fact about this rookie since this is his first time being featured: He said that becoming a dad recently gives you more 'pop', which cannot be denied with his numbers right now. Jordan Montgomery Montgomery leads all AL pitchers with 99 strike outs for the season so far; he also ranks first in wins with 7. He earned his seventh win on Tuesday vs. Cincinnati, where he only allowed one run on two hits and pitches 6.2 innings and had a no-hitter going for five innings. He reached his highest amount of strike outs for the month that day at 6. Montgomery's great performances could make him the runner-up in the AL rookie of the year race. Next Start: Sunday, in New York vs. Tampa Bay (1:05 pm ET). Let's see which rookie will win, him or Jacob Faria! Fun Fact about this rookie since this is his first time being featured: His nickname is 'Gumby', since he resembled the character in college being 6'6" and all. Ben Gamel In his past four games, Gamel is hitting .375 with one triple and two doubles. He leads all AL rookies with his .324 AVG and is tied for the lead with 3 triples. Gamel now is on his second-longest hitting streak of the season at 13 games and hoping to beat his mark of 15 games. Even though he plays right field, we could see him play first base if Danny Valencia, the current first baseman, needs a day off. He has practiced since early June and is willing to play since the Mariners would like to use him as much as they can. Jacob Faria Faria earned his fifth win on Tuesday vs. Baltimore and is now 5-1. He allowed 3 runs on 7 hits in 7.1 innings with 5 strike outs. He still holds the lowest ERA at 2.67 out of all AL rookies even after his performances in July. Part of why he is so good is due to his great composure that allows him to bounce back after losses and even in games when he gives up a home run. Next Start: Sunday, at New York (1:05 pm ET). Again, he's going against Jordan Montgomery so we will see which rookie wins this one! Fun Fact about this rookie since this is his first time being featured: Not only is Sunday his day to start, but it's also his 24th birthday! I think we know what he wants on that day. See you soon, maybe?
It's been a week since MLB action resumed, so let's get to catching up! Let's start off with the favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year and maybe MVP: Aaron Judge How can this guy become more interesting after all that he's done this season? Last week he won the Home Run Derby and lived up to the hype and now this week he's back at it again. Remember how Judge holds the longest distance for a home run at 495 ft? Yeah, well, he might have broken that but we have no idea because his latest bomb nearly left Seattle and it broke Statcast, the people who track home runs. I am not kidding about this either because I wanted to know how far it was so I checked hittrackeronline and then Statcast on the MLB app and no sign of his latest home run. I knew it had to be a mistake and then the latest news shared that Judge broke the trackers so I thought it was lost in time but it was updated to 437 ft. I'm not an expert but that looked way further than 437. I mean, it went to one of the top rows in the upper level. Who does that? So, I hope that it gets updated soon because that looked like his longest this year... Judge also leads the American League with 11 at bats per home run; he also leads in Home Runs (31), On-Base Percentage (.435), Slugging Percentage (.651), On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage (1.085), and Walks (68). And all this success has not changed him as a person. On Thursday he was seen playing catch in the outfield, during the middle of the inning, with a young Mariners fan. How often do players acknowledge the opposing fans? Just give him the Rookie of the Year already! Ben Gamel Gamel ranks first in average among AL rookies at .319, but keep in mind that Judge has had 44 more at-bats than him. He also ranks third in hits and runs with 92 and 45. Gamel is doing well against the team that drafted him this ongoing series and hitting .333 with 3 hits, including two doubles, in 9 at-bats. Before the Yankees came in, Gamel hit his fifth home run of the season against the dominant Houston Astros, which ended an almost month long drought for him. Andrew Benintendi Benintendi ranks second in runs and runs batted in with 46 and 53. One of the strangest things that happened to Benintendi after the All-Star break was how he managed to beat the rival Yankees. In his pinch-hit in the ninth, he managed to draw a walk which brought in Dustin Pedroia and won the game. Benintendi needs to continue hitting to make his July a better month than it was for him and raise his average from .269. He probably will be able to figure it out soon and help his team remain in first place over the Yankees. Kyle Freeland The rookie starter for the Rockies has something different and interesting about him and it's not just that he's a left-hander. He was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, so the altitude that normally harms the careers of numerous pitchers is what Freeland grew up with and has acclimated to. Freeland ranks second in ERA and wins with 3.67 and 9 and has logged the most innings at 110.1 out of all NL rookie pitchers. In Freeland's last time on the mound, he pitched three innings in relief and was hitless with 4 strikeouts. His next start will be tomorrow vs. Pittsburgh. Freeland's biggest moment so far was his one-hitter with a career-high 9 strikeouts in 8.1 innings right before the All-Star break. After that big game, Freeland will be hoping to do well in his first start since. Josh Bell Bell has enjoyed July more than any other month with his .317 average in 63 at-bats. Bell also leads all NL batters with 82 hits and 4 triples. Yesterday was a big day for the first baseman as he went 4-for-6 against Colorado. His day included one double, one triple, and four RBIs in Pittsburgh's 13-5 win over Colorado. Cody Bellinger In the Dodgers' long history, spanning from their move to LA back in 1958 to their years in Brooklyn that started in 1883, there has never been a rookie in their franchise to hit for the cycle. That is, until last week when Bellinger changed that narrative and collected all four types of hits against the Miami Marlins (the only team to not have a player do this).
Bellinger hit his 26th home run and could tie Piazza's franchise rookie record of 35 home runs or even beat it before the season is over. That is unless he does not allow himself to cool off, which has been going on for the power hitter. It's been a long time since the last one (so sorry about that!) but that won't stop from keeping up with your favorite rookies for the week! Hope you enjoy all the highlights from this great group of newcomers! Aaron JudgeAwards (from this week!): AL Rookie of the Month for June, AL Player of the Month, AL All-Star starter, and Home Run Derby Participant. Average (Jun. 26-Jul. 3): .291 Home Runs (Jun. 26-Jul. 3): 1, but still leads MLB with 27 Stats Fact: First Yankee Rookie to reach base in 30 straight games since Charlie Keller in 1939 (@EliasSports). Judge is continuing to do Judge things, like gather all the recognition for his already awesome season. He will fulfill dreams and participate in the Home Run Derby, which will be mentioned a lot more on this blog in the upcoming days. His team is in second place right now with 3 games behind the Red Sox but there's a lot left to be played and they will make it an interesting race. Cody BellingerAwards (from this week): NL Rookie of the Month for June, All-Star team, and Home Run Derby Participant. Average (Jun. 26-Jul. 3): .148 Avergage Slugging Percentage (Jun. 26-Jul. 3): .378 Stats Fact: Bellinger is the youngest Dodger position player to make the All Star team and the first to make it in their first true season in the Majors, meaning the year they were called up in (@Dodgers and @ESPNStatsInfo). It's been bit of a rough week for Bellinger since we expect so much from him, considering his fast start to the Majors ranks among the fastest ever. His week was rewarding for him since he got all those accolades and now that those are given out, he can focus and get even better for those competitions. Maybe his team's off day will help his performance before the All-Star Game. Sean NewcombERA (from Jun. 27 start): 1.48 Strikeouts (from Jun. 27 start): 8 Record (from four starts): 1-2 Stats Fact: Newcomb is limiting right handers to .143 (@SERCenter). Newcomb earned his first Major League win last week against San Diego after only giving up 6 hits, one walk, and no runs. He's been doing well before his first victory but he got a no-decision on his start before where he only gave up three hits. Newcomb has done well for a rotation that relies on a lot of veteran pitchers while maintaining second in the East. Make sure to watch Newcomb start on the Fourth of July vs. Houston at 7:35 pm ET! Yuli GurrielAverage (Jun. 27- Jul. 3): .200
Home Runs (Jun. 27- Jul. 3): 2 RBIs (Jun. 27- Jul. 3): 7 Stats Fact: Gurriel hit a game-winning double off of a 100.2 mph fastball by Aroldis Chapman. Imagine what the velocity for his hit would be. Gurriel is one of the older rookies here (33 years old) but he is making an impact for the league-leading Astros. This week, he hit back-to-back home runs on July 1 and July 2. His hitting has become even better for the Astros further along his time in the majors which is a good sign for the team. Guess what came to baseball now?! It's time to know how our rookies are doing in baseball right now since our time in hockey has finished (sorry for not starting earlier). Rookies like Aaron Judge will definitely make popular appearances here but other rookies that will make impacts for their teams in the future (instead of winning awards in the present) will also show up as well. Enjoy the first edition of what will be a long season of rookie success! Current Stats: Aaron JudgeMight as well start off with the best for rookies and maybe in baseball right now. Judge leads THE MLB in home runs (23), runs (60), on base percentage (.444), slugging percentage (.704), and on base plus slugging (1.148). Besides leading those categories in the AL, Judge also leads the AL in walks with 44 already. This week alone, he hit four home runs, including a two-homer game at home against Baltimore last Sunday. His average for this week is .357 after going 10-for-28 at home and on his West Coast trip. The outfielder is currently hitting at .335 with 52 RBIs so far. Did you know? As a high school senior, Judge held the single-season touchdown record with 17 TDs. He also had 54 receptions that went 969 yards that year. Ben GamelGamel's big highlight this week was a great catch that he made against the Twins where he ran into the wall, lost his hat, let his long hair flow free, and caught the ball. If you watch the video as it happened and not slowed down, you will believe that he was broken in half, but he luckily was fine after the play. Besides being good defensively, Gamel is doing great offensively in June with an average of .406 for this month alone. The outfielder also recorded his first two stolen bases of his career this month. Gamel is hitting .343 for the season. Did you know? Gamel was Yankees' property until last season when he was traded by them in late August for pitchers. Mitch HanigerAfter missing all of May and a good amount of June, Haniger is nearly back to where he was in April, offense-wise. His average for the season is .330, while his average for June is at .300. Keep in mind that Haniger has only had 30 at-bats this month while when he was healthy he had 79 at-bats for April. Once he plays the rest of the month, people can finally see how great he is and why they should not forget his name. Haniger hit his fifth home run this week against the Twins and had two RBIs in that game. His biggest feat against the Twins this week was his four hit game on Monday, which included three singles, one double, and two RBIs. Did you know? Haniger, along with Jean Segura and Zac Curtis, were the people traded to the Mariners when the Diamondbacks received Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte. Antonio SenzatelaThe current wins leader for the rookies, the Rockies, the National League, and the MLB, is 9-2 this year. Yep, that's right. This guy is tied with Kershaw and Keuchel for wins.Senzatela also leads the team in walks plus hits per inning (WHIP) at 1.21. This week, Senzatela pitched six innings against the Giants and had six strikeouts, but gave up five earned runs. Somehow, Senzatela was still able to get the win and has been 2-0 in June (one game was a no decision). His ERA is 4.10 right now but his team is giving him great run support and can help him become an even better pitcher for them as they remain in first place. Did you know? Senzatela was the NL Rookie of the Month for April, after going 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA in 32 innings pitched. Jesús AguilarThe Brewers first baseman is hitting .288 with 6 home runs and 21 RBIs with 132 at-bats for the season. Aguilar had three hits this week, including a home run, and had an average of .458 against the Cardinals and Padres. His on base percentage for June is .400, higher than the .381 from May. Did you know? Aguilar has been called up to the bigs in the past three seasons with Cleveland but was never around for too long (the longest being 19 games). I guess the saying about a new surrounding is true! Cody BellingerArguably the equivalent to Aaron Judge on the National League side, due to his power and big name club, Bellinger has been anything but silent since he came up on April 25th as a temporary call-up (that obviously changed). He came in a way that would be considered decent for rookies by getting his first hit in his first game and then he had his first home run on his fifth game. The thing with that game is that he also hit another one that night, which also made it his first multi-homer game in his career that night. Five games?! He then went on to hit three more multi-homer games and is now at 19 home runs, second in the National League and fourth in the majors. His four multi-home run games happened within a span of 45 games and is the fastest ever for a rookie. Many players take their time to start feeling good and hitting them out of the park, but Bellinger just found his power stroke right away and took the home run from his team and then nearly took over the NL as well. In his road trip to the Midwest, Bellinger hit .333 and went 9-for-27, including a multi-home run game that had the walkoff homer against Cleveland. Did you know? Bellinger was on the Chandler National Little League team (AZ) that went to the U.S. semifinals in the 2007 Little League World Series. See you very soon! Excited for the rest of the season with these rookies!
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