The 2009 MLB RoY Candidates

The Best Young Players in Baseball This Season

Oct 2, 2009

As the 2009 MLB season winds down some very promising young players continue to make their case as top rookie.

The Rookie of the Year award celebrates its 50 year anniversary this season. And while it is by no means an indicator of future success (Ben Grieve, Marty Cordova, and Jason Jennings are all RoY winners who went on to unspectacular careers), it does provide some barometer of how well a prospect "projected" their talents at the major league level.

Hanson made his 2009 debut on June 7 (replacing Tom Glavine's spot on the roster, much to his chagrin) and promptly gave up 6 earned runs. He settled down and gave up just 2 earned runs in his next four starts and has yet to give up more than 4 runs in a start. He still seems to be working on some control issues (5 HBPs and 2 WPs in 2009) but overall a very promising start to what many believe will be a long career.

Pittsburgh fans had little to be excited about during a 2009 season where the team was dismantled and rebuilt with a roster of mostly untested prospects. But McCutchen, a former 1st round draft pick, has proven to the doubters why he was ready to supplant Nate McLouth in CF. His great range in the outfield, fast legs on the basepaths, and some surprising HR power has carried his team through some rough spots in the season and will be one of the few legitimate youngsters the Pirates management can build around.

A few rough outings in late June and early July inflated his stats, but Porcello has kept Detroit in games and was a piece of the puzzle for a playoff-bound franchise. Just 20 years old, Porcello has plenty of growing and developing ahead of him, but the fact that he's holding his own under the spot light is a good sign that he'll become the all-star pitcher the Tigers imagined when they drafted him.

Drafted just one year ago, Beckham started off slow, hitting just .200 after his first 20 games, but exploded for a .908 OPS in July. He tailed off a little again in August but has hit 9 HRs in September and October. If he can hit for more consistency throughout the season look for Beckham to be a mainstay at 3B for Chicago for years to come.

#5 Chris Coghlan, Florida Marlins

Coghlan's power numbers are pedestrian but figure to improve with age. He made his debut on May 8th and has appeared in every Marlins game since. Interestingly he spent most of his minor league career at 2B and 3B only to play LF almost exclusively with Florida. If he can maintain his current numbers and add some pop that versatility will benefit the Marlins greatly down the road.

With the season wrapping up many of these players have already shown their teams what they can do if given the chance to play. All of them have the statistics and the ability to be named the most outstanding rookie in their league.

The copyright of the article The 2009 MLB RoY Candidates in Major League Baseball is owned by Timothy Piper. Permission to republish The 2009 MLB RoY Candidates in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.