Talking Baseball

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! I hope you enjoyed your barbecues and dinners with your families.

Today is part four of our five part series chronicling the top/ten eleven young impact players in baseball.

The two players that we are highlighting today are Troy Tulowitzki and Evan Longoria. Despite the fact that Tulowitzki is on the disabled list he is still a major impact on his Colorado Rockies team dating back to 2007 when they made a run to the World Series.Tulowitzki was in the running for the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2007 but fell a couple of votes short to the eventual winner, Ryan Braun, who we discussed last year.

Tulowitzki hasn’t played yet since early May because he has been on the DL since May 3^rd with a left quadriceps tendon tear. He played in only 26 games and was hitting only .152. Despite all of this, Tulowitzki is still one of the best young players in the game today.

His incredible play during the 2007 season helped solidify the Rockies infield defensively and added another threatening bat to the lineup. What is it with shortstops making an impact as rookies on pennant winning teams? Yes, that is a reference to former Phillies shortstop Kevin Stocker.

Tulowitzki finished 2007 with a .291 average, 104 runs scored, 99 RBIs, 33 doubles, 5 triples and 24 home runs.

Once Tulowitzki rejoins the Rockies lineup either late in August or September, or maybe even next year, he will rejuvenate a struggling lineup and re-solidify their infield.

Next on our list is Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria. Longoria was cut from the Rays at the end of Spring Training (like Bruce was from the Reds), and didn’t spend much time in the minors. His Major League debut was on April 12^th.

Despite struggling with his average (.252), Longoria has used his power and defense at third base to help the Rays to their hot start to 2008 and their run at the top of the division for the majority of the season so far.

Longoria has totaled 10 home runs in just over two months of play with the Rays and has provided another spark in their lineup. He has 31 runs scored, 32 RBIs, 15 doubles and 1 triple.

His defense is the main aspect of his game and he has solidified third base for the Rays. His call up allowed the Rays to move Akinori Iwamura to second base permanently. This has helped to create more of a balance in the infield for Tampa Bay.

Once his bat comes around average-wise he will be one of the more dangerous hitters in the Rays lineup.

Longoria has taken part in 13 double plays and has committed only four errors on the season.

Before his promotion to the big leagues Longoria played in only 7 games with the Durham Bulls. He has a career average of .301 and 44 home runs in 205 minor league games.

Longoria will be a mainstay at third base for the Rays for quite awhile. The Rays signed him to a six-year contract worth over 17.5 million dollars with club options for 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Check back tomorrow for the final part of this five part series detailing the top ten/eleven young impact players in baseball today.

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