Soto, Samardzija Up For Rookie of the Month
It looks like I'm four months late on this, but it appears that Rookie of the Month honors in the MLB is voted by the fans. The Cubs have two nominees, Geovany Soto and Jeff Samardzija and they'll go up against Cardinals reliever Chris Perez and Rockies third basemen Ian Stewart. Soto is looking for his second win of the year and voting runs through Monday.
Samardzija provided a bullpen boost for the first-place Cubs. In 14 1/3 innings, he was 1-0 and didn't allow a run. Samardzija had 13 strikeouts during the month. Soto won rookie honors in April and has continued to be a firm offensive and defensive presence for a Chicago team that has taken charge of the NL Central. Soto hit .355 in August with five doubles, three homers and 21 RBIs. Soto drew 13 walks and scored 17 runs while handling himself well behind the plate and providing a level of comfort for the Chicago pitching staff.
A look at Geovany Soto's year compared to other Cubs catchers of years past after the jump...
I looked up the EqA (Equivalent Average) via Baseball Prospectus (adjusted for all-time) of some of our catchers over the years. Top Season as a Cub (with a decent number of AB's for that season) followed by career average:
Gabby Hartnett -.333/.292
Rick Wilkins - .314/.262
Geovany Soto - .297/.297 (not counting his 2007 season for top honors)
Michael Barrett - .292/.250
Bob O'Farrell - .290/.257
Jody Davis - .274/.251
Randy Hundley - .268/.233
Gabby Hartnett (1935) - 9.7
Rick Wilkins (1993) - 9.5
Johnny Kling (1903) - 8.7
Geovany Soto (2008) - 8.6 (so far this year)
Bob O'Farrell (1922) - 8.1
Randy Hundley (1969) - 6.5
Jody Davis (1986) - 6.5
Michael Barrett (2004) - 5.3
Back to just the bat, the list of top Cubs catchers sorted by OPS+ (with at least 450 PA's), a list dominated by Gabby Hartnett. Soto's 2008 is currently 7th on the list.
- Hartnett (1935) - 151
- Wilkins (1993) - 150
- Hartnett (1930) - 144
- Hartnett (1928) - 142
- O'Farrell (1923) - 131
- Hartnett (1934) - 129
- Soto (2008) - 126
- O' Farrell (1922) - 126
- Kling (1908) - 119
- Kling (1903) - 118
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