The Nationals-Cubs series at Nationals Park this week has presented a chance to see dueling second basemen and rookie of the year candidates Danny Espinosa and Darwin Barney. But how do they stack up against the top first-year players in the National League? We rank them with perhaps a touch of home bias.
6. Darwin Barney (Cubs) » He has the best batting average (.290) among rookies, but he’s not a big run producer with one home run, 37 runs and 27 RBI in 277 at bats.
5. Freddie Freeman (Braves) » He struggled after plenty of spring hype, but the first baseman has settled into a nice groove, hitting .273 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI.
4. Brandon Beachy (Braves) » He has only a 3-1 record in 11 starts, but his numbers suggest a future star. In 61 1/3 innings, he has fanned 72 and has a 1.06 WHIP.
3. Dillon Gee (Mets) » Hardly overpowering, but with an 8-2 record, the right-hander has more wins than any NL rookie to go along with a solid ERA (3.27) and WHIP (1.21).
2. Craig Kimbrel (Braves) » He has already shattered the NL rookie record for saves with 26 and has struck out 69 and allowed just 30 hits in 44 innings.
1. Danny Espinosa (Nats) » Espinosa leads all MLB rookies in home runs (16), RBI (50), runs (44) and steals (10). He is poised to become Washington’s first rookie of the year since Bob Allison two franchises and 52 years ago.
