Just like with Matt Duffy, for most of the season I’ve been thinking Randal Grichuk wasn’t a rookie. That’s probably because he played in 47 games in last year’s regular season and then started all nine St. Louis postseason games. He also debuted in April of last year, so he’s

Chris Heston Continues Strong Season Heston is tied for the rookie lead in starts with 20 and he’s behind only Noah Syndergaard in rookie pitcher WAR. Heston’s 3.14 ERA ranks 24th among all qualified starts, and his 56.5 percent ground ball rate ranks fifth among all starters. Heston’s only had

Somehow, I’ve missed Matt Duffy being a rookie this year. Even after perusing the Fangraphs rookie leaderboards and the MLB.com rookie stats pages I missed his name…every…single…time. I don’t get it. So let’s fix that.

Andrew Heaney – Heaney debuted in the Majors last year for the Marlins, but he struggled in his 29.1 innings, allowing six home runs. So he was traded twice this offseason and ended up an Angel after being dealt to the Dodgers from Miami. Heaney’s 4.71 ERA in Triple-A this

View image | gettyimages.com The rookie pitcher crop hasn’t been as wildly successful or as hype-worthy as the rookie hitter crop. There have been several outstanding performances, whether one game (Heston) or through several starts (McCullers, Syndergaard). The following rookie pitchers are the only ones I feel comfortable – and

There have been so many high-profile prospects called up to the Majors recently let’s take stock of where they stand amongst each other. 1. Joc Pederson – You could place the second guy on this list here and I don’t think anyone would quibble with it, but Pederson has outproduced

View image | gettyimages.com In today’s MLB it seems like anyone can have a successful stint as a starting pitcher. For example, Chris Heston and his no-hitter. Heston, never a top prospect, started strong this year in his first three starts, but in five of his 12 starts this season he’s

Trevor May – May debuted in Minnesota last season starting nine games to the tune of a 7.88 ERA. His FIP and xFIP were in the middle- and high-4s thanks to a ton of home runs and walks, which had been problematic to some degree in the minors. This year

View image | gettyimages.com Noah Syndergaard, the Mets’ top prospect, made his MLB debut Tuesday against the Cubs. Syndergaard was in the top 10 of many prospect lists this offseason, and that praise was well-warranted. He averaged almost 98 mph with his fastball against Chicago, and he has a quality

View image | gettyimages.com Joc Pederson is surely surpassing all expectations even the most homerific Dodgers fans had for him coming into the season. The freshly turned 23-year-old leads all rookies in Wins Above Replacement as of May 8. He also leads in home runs, runs and walk rate. Pederson’s