BBA AL Willie Mays Award Ballot 2011

After a full year of writing nonsense, the Baseball Blogger Alliance has yet to kick us out and still encourages us to vote on stuff. And not just things we know like "how drunk was I last night." Which, of course, the answer is always "very." Up next is the Willie Mays award for rookie of the year.

1. Michael Pineda, Seattle
Pineda looked every bit like 1A to Felix Hernandez's 1 in the Mariners rotation this season. In 171 innings, Pineda threw a 3.74/3.42/3.53 (ERA/FIP/xFIP) pitching line. Pineda also struck out a very impressive 9.11 hitters for every nine innings. If only the Mariners would have kept Doug Fister in that rotation. Is a sentence I never thought I'd write.

2. Dustin Ackley, Seattle
The second Mariner on this ballot was their best hitter. Ackley led the M's with a 2.7 fWAR (Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement) which was good for over half of their total 5.1 fWAR for position players. Oh, I see why they were so terrible now.

3. Eric Hosmer, Kansas City
Hosmer took a hit on his 1.6 fWAR because UZR didn't like his defense at first base. I have no problem throwing that right out the window. He hit 16 home runs and a .293/.334/.465 line. In roughly the same amount of plate appearances, Mark Trumbo hit 29 home runs and will surely get some votes. Even as an Angels fan, I can't vote for his .291 OBP.

Also Rans...

Brett Lawrie, Toronto
Lawrie is the AL rookie of the year. He posted an identical 2.7 fWAR as Ackley in 205 fewer plate appearances. That friends, is insane. If he'd carried a .293/.373/.580 line of a full season instead of just 43 games, Lawrie would be getting MVP votes.

Desmond Jennings, Tampa Bay
Jennings suffered the same fate as Lawrie in time it took to get called up. Jennings did acquire 287 PA's and just hit 10 home runs and a .259/.356/.449 line to go with 20 stolen bases.

Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay
Hellickson could easily win this thing with a 13-10 record and a 2.94 ERA. But his 4.44 FIP (fielding independent pitching) and .223 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) suggest Hellickson's ERA was a product of Tampa's great defense.

He's Coming... Eric Hosmer Edition

I have a tendency to get a little overexcited when it comes to prospect call-ups but Eric Hosmer is kind of a big deal. Hosmer ranked fifth on Keith Law's Top 100 list coming into the 2011 season. Law's top two (Mike Trout, Bryce Harper) won't play in the majors this season, number three Domonic Brown was a little exposed during his time in Philadelphia last season and is currently hurt and number four Jesus Montero's bat is ready but there is no spot for him in the Yankees lineup. So Hosmer is basically the top prospect we can expect to make his major league debut this year and have a chance to contribute.

The timing is a little curious unless the Royals have decided the Indians aren't for real (which very well might be) and think they can make a run for the AL Central this season. Otherwise, the Royals could have left Hosmer raking in AAA for another month to prevent him from becoming a Super Two. Which he is almost guaranteed to be unless he doesn't hit for some reason and doesn't stick on the MLB roster. For the Royals, this means Hosmer would be eligible for a fourth year of arbitration which would/could cost the Royals upwards of $10M before he hits free agency.

But the move was made and it's not hard to see why the Royals swapped out Kila Ka'aihue for Hosmer. In 118 plate appearances at AAA, Hosmer is hitting .439/.525/.582 with three home runs. He's not exactly crushing the ball though. The kid is hitting a ton of singles. He has only eight extra base hits and a .143 ISO. His BABIP is also .500 so that .439 BA might not be an accurate representation. Everyone still expects Hosmer to hit and hit right away and who am I to argue with everyone?

There are exciting time ahead in Kansas City. With the Royals only 4.5 games out of first, who's to say that 2011 isn't as good a year as any to be hopeful? The division isn't very good and they have more help on the way. Which is good because I do think it's just a matter of time before Jeff Francoeur turns back into a pumpkin.

Futures Game, Chun Chen and the 9,107th-best Fun Runner in Anaheim

Derwood is headed to Anaheim with his Jorge Posada batting practice shirt and 17 pens. Stay with Offbase over the next three days for All-Star coverage from a career .180 hitter.


ANAHEIM - A lot to get to after day one of the all-star festivities wrapped up from Angel Stadium. I thought the Futures Game, a team of some of the top American minor leaguers against a team of the foreign minor leaguers, was an excellent idea from its inception in 1999 when Alfonso Soriano was the MVP in the World's 7-0 victory over the USA. I also thought it was excellent idea for the Yankees to trade Soriano for Alex Rodriguez after the 2003 season. Both dreams came true, and the Futures Game is alive and well with the 12th installment taking place Sunday afternoon.

Hometown boys make good

MTD has been cheating on Chase Utley while the Philly second baseman spends time on the DL. Some called it puppy love, but now MTD is seeing Angels' prospect Mike Trout. The Anaheim faithful love the kid, too, and after pinch-running in the first, he had an infield single, reached on an error and later had a hustle double in the eighth off Mets' prospect Jeurys Familia. Trout was over-shadowed by another Anaheim product, catcher Hank Conger, who snuck a three-run home run into the first row of seats in right field in the fifth inning, and picked up MVP honors.



Should've been you, Eric

Conger had a big home run, but KC minor leaguer Eric Hosmer was the best hitter on the field Sunday. Hosmer, who is having a huge season for the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class A Advanced Carolina League (.349/.424/.540), went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs hitting in between Trout and Conger.

No runs for you

After US starter Jeremy Hellickson gave up a run in the second on an fielder's choice RBI by Wilin Rosario (Colorado Rockies), nine pitchers combined to hold the World team to eight hits (seven singles) in seven scoreless innings of work. That was like the time in RBI Baseball when Jack Clark took me deep for a two-run home run in the first, then Fernando Valuenzela, John Franco and Steve Bedrosian shut the Cards down the rest of the way. I poured Diet Coke on myself in celebration.

Chun Chen!

Best name in baseball. During the late innings, the PA announcer at Angel Stadium started calling him Chun-Hsiu Chen, which I guess is his real name. But I can't accept that. He'll always be Chun Chen to me.

Chun Chen?

Chen used a red catcher's mitt. I also can't accept that.


Around the ballpark...

* The PA announcer started the top of the first with: "Leading off for the World, the second baseman, No. 13, Brett Lawrie." That's a lot of pressure to put on Brett Lawrie.

* NIKE, some floundering shoe company, sponsored a 5K & Fun Run early Sunday morning. Each runner received a number, but this guy was the only one that wore his during the Futures Game.



No. 9,197 in your programs, No. 9,197 in your hearts.

* It got worse for the Red Gloved Menace. In the sixth, Chen's battery mate on the mound was Boston minor leaguer Stolmy Pimentel, who also wore a red glove. It was the first time in Futures Game history that a Chun and a Stolmy each used a red glove and a Derwood in section 426, row D, seat 8 choked on sunflower seeds simultaneously.



Fransisco Peguero's girlfriend always brings a book to the Giants prospect's games, so they agreed that Francisco can bring his unicycle when she wants to go shoe shopping.



Not actually Brian Downing. I asked.