The MLB All-Rookie Team (So far)
Second Base
2B Daniel Robertson, Tampa Bay Rays
.220/.315/.355, 214 PA, 20 R, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 1 SB
0.3 fWAR, 1.0 bWAR
There aren’t any rookie second baseman who are having great years. The St. Louis Cardinals’ Paul DeJong and the Washington Nationals’ Wilmer Difo have played many more games at shortstop than second, so I put them at that position. The Cubs’ Ian Happ has more games in the outfield. With those three out of the conversation, it comes down to Daniel Robertson and Carlos Asuaje.
Robertson was on the Baseball America Top 100 prior to the 2015 season when he ranked 66th. He also made the Baseball Prospectus list before the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Coming into this year, he wasn’t on either list. The first two months of the season were a struggle for Robertson, as he had a hard time getting his batting average over the Mendoza Line (.200). He’s been better since the beginning of June, with a .238/.316/.357 batting line in his last 27 games.
Honorable Mention
2B Carlos Asuaje, San Diego Padres
.285/.347/.390, 191 PA, 17 R, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 0 SB
0.6 fWAR, 0.4 bWAR
Asuaje was an 11th round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2013. He was part of the trade in November of 2015 that brought Craig Kimbrel to Boston (along with Manuel Margot and others). Asuaje got a cup of coffee with the Padres last September, then started this year in Triple-A before coming up to the major leagues in late May. In his first extended stretch of big league playing time, the 25-year-old Asuaje is holding his own with a solid .347 on-base percentage that has enabled him to be right around league average as a hitter after league and ballpark effects are taken into account.