Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

Okay, the season is more than two weeks over, and the Championship Series on both sides are getting extremely interesting. But before the World Series begins, I'd like to go over the Top Rookies of 2013.

Why?

Because these are the guys that are going to be strong contenders for the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, that's why.

Anyway, perusing the MLB website, they have added a set of statistics in a section called the Top Rookie Tracker. This section features just a handful of the players MLB believes are contenders for either League's Rookie of the Year. And believe it or not, the players on the list they have provided stats for well represent each of the positions Topps uses for their Rookie All-Star team (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, three outfield, c, rhp, lhp, and relief pitcher…ahem...will explain this in a minute). So below is a list of potential nominees that the 30 MLB managers will see when they cast their votes for the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. The stats are as of the end of the 2013 regular season:

First basemen:
Matt Adams, STL (108 G, .284, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 0.839 OPS, 0 SB)
Nate Freiman, OAK (80 G, .274, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 0.716 OPS, 0 SB)

Second basemen:
Derek Dietrich, MIA (57 G, .214, 9 HR, 23 RBI, 0.679 OPS, 1 SB)
Nick Franklin, SEA (102 G, .225, 12 HR, 45 RBI, 0.686 OPS, 6 SB)
Scooter Gennett, MIL (69 G, .324, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 0.834 OPS, 2 SB)
Jedd Gyorko, SD (125 G, .249, 23 HR, 63 RBI, 0.745 OPS, 1 SB)
Brock Holt, BOS (26 G, .203, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 0.513 OPS, 1 SB)
Jurickson Profar, TEX (85 G, .234, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 0.644 OPS, 2 SB)
Chris Valaika, MIA (22 G, .219, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 0.605 OPS, 0 SB)

Third basemen:
Nolan Arenado, COL (133 G, .267, 10 HR, 52 RBI, 0.706 OPS, 2 SB)
Conor Gillaspie, CWS (134 G, .245, 13 HR, 40 RBI, 0.695 OPS, 0 SB)
Luis Jimenez, LAA (34 G, .260, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 0.608 OPS, 0 SB)
Anthony Rendon, WSH (98 G, .265, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 0.725 OPS, 1 SB)
Josh Satin, NYM (75 G, .279, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 0.781 OPS, 1 SB)
Ryan Wheeler, COL (28 G, .220, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 0.506 OPS, 0 SB)

Shortstops:
Didi Gregorius, ARI (103 G, .252, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 0.704 OPS, 0 SB)
Adeiny Hechavarria, MIA (148 G, .227, 3 HR, 42 RBI, 0.565 OPS, 11 SB)
Jose Iglesias, DET (109 G, .303, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 0.735 OPS, 5 SB)
Pete Kozma, STL (143 G, .217, 1 HR, 35 RBI, 0.548 OPS, 3 SB)
Brad Miller, SEA (76 G, .265, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 0.737 OPS, 5 SB)
Jonathan Villar, HOU (58 G, .243, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 0.64 OPS, 18 SB)

Outfielders:
Oswaldo Arcia, MIN (97 G, .251, 14 HR, 43 RBI, 0.734 OPS, 1 SB)
Brandon Barnes, HOU (136 G, .240, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 0.635 OPS, 11 SB)
Jackie Bradley Jr., BOS (37 G, .189, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 0.617 OPS, 2 SB)
Nick Castellanos, DET (11 G, .278, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0.556 OPS, 0 SB)
Khris Davis, MIL (56 G, .279, 11 HR, 27 RBI, 0.949 OPS, 3 SB)
Adam Eaton, ARI (66 G, .252, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 0.674 OPS, 5 SB)
Avisail Garcia, CWS (72 G, .283, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 0.731 OPS, 3 SB)
Robbie Grossman, HOU (63 G, .268, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 0.702 OPS, 6 SB)
Billy Hamilton, CIN (13 G, .368, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0.902 OPS, 13 SB)
Aaron Hicks, MIN (81 G, .192, 8 HR, 27 RBI, 0.597 OPS, 9 SB)
Juan Lagares, NYM (121 G, .242, 4 HR, 34 RBI, 0.633 OPS, 6 SB)
David Lough, KC (96 G, .286, 5 HR, 33 RBI, 0.724 OPS, 5 SB)
Alfredo Marte, ARI (22 G, .186, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0.527 OPS, 0 SB)
Wil Myers, TB (88 G, .293, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 0.831 OPS, 5 SB)
Marcell Ozuna, MIA (70 G, .265, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 0.693 OPS, 5 SB)
A.J. Pollock, ARI (137 G, .269, 8 HR, 38 RBI, 0.73 OPS, 12 SB)
Yasiel Puig, LAD (104 G, .319, 19 HR, 42 RBI, 0.925 OPS, 11 SB)
Darin Ruf, PHI (73 G, .247, 14 HR, 30 RBI, 0.806 OPS, 0 SB)
Logan Schafer, MIL (134 G, .211, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 0.601 OPS, 7 SB)
J.B. Shuck, LAA (129 G, .293, 2 HR, 39 RBI, 0.697 OPS, 8 SB)
Scott Van Slyke, LAD (53 G, .240, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 0.807 OPS, 1 SB)
Christian Yelich, MIA (62 G, .288, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 0.766 OPS, 10 SB)

Catchers
Rob Brantly, MIA (67 G, .211, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 0.528 OPS, 0 SB)
Evan Gattis, ATL (105 G, .243, 21 HR, 65 RBI, 0.771 OPS, 0 SB)
Tony Sanchez, PIT (22 G, .233, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0.688 OPS, 0 SB)
Travis d'Arnaud, NYM (31 G, .202, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0.548 OPS, 0 SB)

Right-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Wily Peralta, MIL (32 GS, 11-15, 4.37 ERA, 129 SO, 1.418 WHIP)
Shelby Miller, STL (31 GS, 15-9, 3.06 ERA, 169 SO, 1.205 WHIP)
Julio Teheran, ATL (30 GS, 14-8, 3.2 ERA, 170 SO, 1.174 WHIP)
Jose Fernandez, MIA (28 GS, 12-6, 2.19 ERA, 187 SO, 0.978 WHIP)
Dan Straily, OAK (27 GS, 10-8, 3.96 ERA, 124 SO, 1.240 WHIP)
Chris Archer, TB (23 GS, 9-7, 3.22 ERA, 101 SO, 1.1269 WHIP)
Tom Koehler, MIA (23 GS, 5-10, 4.41 ERA, 92 SO, 1.356 WHIP)
Gerrit Cole, PIT (19 GS, 10-7, 3.22 ERA, 100 SO, 1.1676 WHIP)
Jonathan Pettibone, PHI (18 GS, 5-4, 4.04 ERA, 66 SO, 1.465 WHIP)
Justin Grimm, TEX (17 GS, 7-9, 5.97 ERA, 76 SO, 1.571 WHIP)
Nick Tepesch, TEX (17 GS, 4-6, 4.84 ERA, 76 SO, 1.365 WHIP)
Zack Wheeler, NYM (17 GS, 7-5, 3.42 ERA, 84 SO, 1.360 WHIP)
Brandon Maurer, SEA (14 GS, 5-8, 6.3 ERA, 70 SO, 1.566 WHIP)
Brad Peacock, HOU (14 GS, 5-6, 5.18 ERA, 77 SO, 1.380 WHIP)
Todd Redmond, TOR (14 GS, 4-3, 4.32 ERA, 76 SO, 1.207 WHIP)
Allen Webster, BOS (7 GS, 1-2, 8.6 ERA, 23 SO, 1.813 WHIP)
Hiram Burgos, MIL (6 GS, 1-2, 6.44 ERA, 18 SO, 1.670 WHIP)

Left-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Hyun-jin Ryu, LAD (30 GS, 14-8, 3 ERA, 154 SO, 1.203 WHIP)
Martin Perez, TEX (20 GS, 10-6, 3.62 ERA, 84 SO, 1.335 WHIP)
Tony Cingrani, CIN (18 GS, 7-4, 2.92 ERA, 120 SO, 1.098 WHIP)
Pedro Hernandez, MIN (12 GS, 3-3, 6.83 ERA, 29 SO, 1.817 WHIP)
Tyler Skaggs, ARI (7 GS, 2-3, 5.12 ERA, 36 SO, 1.370 WHIP)

Right-Handed Relief Pitchers:
Jim Henderson, MIL (61 G, 5-5, 2.7 ERA, 75 SO, 1.133 WHIP, 28 SV)
Danny Farquhar, SEA (46 G, 0-3, 4.2 ERA, 79 SO, 1.185 WHIP, 16 SV)
Josh Fields, HOU (41 G, 1-3, 4.97 ERA, 40 SO, 1.289 WHIP, 5 SV)
Trevor Rosenthal, STL (74 G, 2-4, 2.63 ERA, 108 SO, 1.101 WHIP, 3 SV)
Cody Allen, CLE (77 G, 6-1, 2.43 ERA, 88 SO, 1.251 WHIP, 2 SV)
Dane De La Rosa, LAA (75 G, 6-1, 2.86 ERA, 65 SO, 1.161 WHIP, 2 SV)
Kyuji Fujikawa, CHC (12 G, 1-1, 5.25 ERA, 14 SO, 1.083 WHIP, 2 SV)
Chia-Jen Lo, HOU (19 G, 0-3, 4.19 ERA, 16 SO, 1.396 WHIP, 2 SV)
Alfredo Figaro, MIL (33 G, 3-3, 4.14 ERA, 54 SO, 1.243 WHIP, 1 SV)
Jake Odorizzi, TB (7 G, 0-1, 3.94 ERA, 22 SO, 1.213 WHIP, 1 SV)
Adam Warren, NYY (34 G, 3-2, 3.39 ERA, 64 SO, 1.428 WHIP, 1 SV)
Robert Coello, LAA (16 G, 2-2, 3.71 ERA, 23 SO, 1.294 WHIP, 1 SV)
Seth Maness, STL (66 G, 5-2, 2.32 ERA, 35 SO, 1.258 WHIP, 1 SV)
Yoervis Medina, SEA (63 G, 4-6, 2.91 ERA, 71 SO, 1.3086 WHIP, 1 SV)
Bruce Rondon, DET (30 G, 1-2, 3.45 ERA, 30 SO, 1.360 WHIP, 1 SV)
Paul Clemens, HOU (35 G, 4-7, 5.4 ERA, 49 SO, 1.472 WHIP, 0 SV)
Kevin Gausman, BAL (20 G, 3-5, 5.66 ERA, 49 SO, 1.342 WHIP, 0 SV)
Tanner Roark, WSH (14 G, 7-1, 1.51 ERA, 40 SO, 0.913 WHIP, 0 SV)
Trevor Bauer, CLE (4 G, 1-2, 5.29 ERA, 11 SO, 1.823 WHIP, 0 SV)
Steve Johnson, BAL (9 G, 1-1, 7.47 ERA, 20 SO, 1.723 WHIP, 0 SV)
Carter Capps, SEA (53 G, 3-3, 5.49 ERA, 66 SO, 1.627 WHIP, 0 SV)
Preston Claiborne, NYY (44 G, 0-2, 4.11 ERA, 42 SO, 1.291 WHIP, 0 SV)
Will Harris, ARI (61 G, 4-1, 2.91 ERA, 53 SO, 1.234 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jeremy Jeffress, TOR (10 G, 1-0, 0.87 ERA, 12 SO, 1.258 WHIP, 0 SV)
Brandon Kintzler, MIL (71 G, 3-3, 2.69 ERA, 58 SO, 1.064 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jean Machi, SF (51 G, 3-1, 2.38 ERA, 51 SO, 1.094 WHIP, 0 SV)
Bryan Morris, PIT (55 G, 5-7, 3.46 ERA, 37 SO, 1.307 WHIP, 0 SV)
Ryan Pressly, MIN (49 G, 3-3, 3.87 ERA, 49 SO, 1.278 WHIP, 0 SV)
Stephen Pryor, SEA (7 G, 0-0, 0 ERA, 7 SO, 0.545 WHIP, 0 SV)
A.J. Ramos, MIA (68 G, 3-4, 3.15 ERA, 86 SO, 1.262 WHIP, 0 SV)
Hector Rondon, CHC (45 G, 2-1, 4.77 ERA, 44 SO, 1.408 WHIP, 0 SV)
Alex Wilson, BOS (26 G, 1-1, 4.88 ERA, 22 SO, 1.734 WHIP, 0 SV)

Left-Handed Relief Pitchers:
Paco Rodriguez, LAD (76 G, 3-4, 2.32 ERA, 63 SO, 0.901 WHIP, 2 SV)
T.J. McFarland, BAL (38 G, 4-1, 4.22 ERA, 58 SO, 1.486 WHIP, 0 SV)
Joe Ortiz, TEX (32 G, 2-2, 4.23 ERA, 27 SO, 1.253 WHIP, 0 SV)
Scott Rice, NYM (73 G, 4-5, 3.71 ERA, 41 SO, 1.352 WHIP, 0 SV)
Caleb Thielbar, MIN (49 G, 3-2, 1.76 ERA, 39 SO, 0.826 WHIP, 0 SV)
Justin Wilson, PIT (58 G, 6-1, 2.08 ERA, 59 SO, 1.058 WHIP, 0 SV)

If you're wondering why I separated the starting pitchers from the relief pitchers, and then if they are right handed or left handed, allow me to explain (conspiracy theory time folks…get something to drink, this may take a while).

As you all know, Topps instituted what I am calling the "Stephen Strasburg" rule in 2010. Somehow, Strasburg was added to the ASRT even though he only pitched in 12 games. Now, Strasburg is a right-handed pitcher. But so is Neftali Feliz, at the time, the star closer for the Rangers, and a player many people believed should have been named onto the team as the RHP. In past years, it didn't matter if a pitcher was a starter or a reliever, only ONE RHP or ONE LHP was chosen for the team (of course there were exceptions…tie votes came into play).

So what does Topps do? For the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, they added a relief pitcher spot. This ensured not only Feliz' spot on the team, but gave Topps justification to include their poster boy Strasburg.

Then in 2011, instead of continuing the trend of having three pitchers (a RHP, a LHP, and a RP), Topps went back to the two-pitcher format, but instead of it being a RHP and LHP as in years past, the 2011 Topps All-Star Rookie Team included just one Starting Pitcher and one Relief pitcher. In 2012, Topps went back to a "three-person pitching staff" which included a Starting RHP, a starting LHP, and one reliever. So for four straight years, Topps had four differe

Back to the point. As in past years, this blog has done a contest where the object is to outguess me in choosing the Rookie Teams. The Grand Prize, if a contestant correctly guessed all the members of said team, was a complete 150 card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (appropriate, no?). Anyway, while few have come close, none have won the grand prize. Those who did guess more players correctly than I did would win a pack of that year's Updates and Highlights/Update Series.

Well, we're doing it again.

So take a look at the list above, send me an e-mail (bdj610@hotmail.com) with your picks by November 2, 2013. You can pick the following (12 players total):

• One player each for 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C,
• Three players for OF,
• One Starting RHP, Starting LHP, Relief RHP, Relief LHP.

The reason why I'm asking for four pitchers is because who knows how Topps is going to designate the pitchers for the 2013 ASRT.  Picking four pitchers will cover all bases.  That way, however Topps announces the final selections, your choices will count.

After November 2, I will make my selections and then we will all wait together until the formal announcements have been made. If you out guess me, let's say I guess seven of the 10 or 11 spots correctly, and you guess eight or more, then you automatically win a Hobby pack of 2013 Topps Update Series. If you guess all the players correctly (if there are ten or eleven, who knows), then you will be entered into a drawing to win the 2005 Topps Rookie Card base set (Beckett Value $20.00 - $40.00). It's that easy.

So here's to hopefully many entries by November 2. Good luck.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama