Soto: Rookie of the Year

After a phenomenal season with the Chicago Cubs, catcher Geovanny Soto, who won Rookie of the Month in September, is in the running for NL Rookie of the 2008 season. Soto will find out on November 10th if he will receive this honor.

MLB.com reported that Geo is currently making his case to the Baseball Writers Association of America. Cubs fans stand by Soto and his remarkable season in Chicago.


Things are look quite prosperous for Soto, I think he has a good shot at winning Rookie of the Year. Soto is the leading rookie in RBIs and a .285 batting average. His biggest competitors are Cincinnati's Edinson Volquez and Los Angeles' Hiroki Kuroda. If we compare the stats of these players, Soto is the leading contender.


Edinson Volquez:

The Red's pitcher went 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA in 33 games. He struck out 206 in over 196 innings. At the end of the 2008 season he was batting .232. He was traded from the Rangers in 2007.




Hiroki Kuroda:

Kuroda's pitching was strong as the Dodgers entered the postseason. During the regular season Kuroda went 9-10 with a 3.73 ERA. During the postseason he went 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA. Most of us can recall his brief pitch during game 3, which led to a brief fight on the field with the Phillies. Kuroda was fined after the fight,along with fellow teammate Manny Ramirez.






Geovanny Soto:

Soto's performance in the NL this year was impressive, he was ranked seven overall. Not only were his offensive skills impressive, he could actually hit the ball.During the 2008 season, Soto threw out 18 of 87 base runners.




Based on his performance in the 2008 season, I think Geo has a good chance at winning NL Rookie of the Year. Although LA's Kuroda did perform well in the postseason, the Dodgers lost to the Phillies. Soto carried the Cubs into the postseason, which was sadly cut short---we won't discuss this. Good luck Soto, I will keep you all posted if any new updates arrive.