Ike, Niese on BA's All-Rookie Squad

[Frayed Knot]

In a year where 12 of the 17 honorees were from the National League

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/awards/rookie-of-the-year/2010/2610794.html

1B, Ike Davis - With 19 home runs, Davis trailed only David Wright for the Mets' team lead. That same total a year ago would have led New York (by seven!) in its inaugural year in spacious Citi Field. If he reins in the strikeouts, Davis could be a steady 25-30 homer threat with plenty of patience (72 walks, .351 on-base percentage) and ample defensive contributions.

SP, Jon Niese - Niese led all rookies in strikeouts, narrowly edging Matusz 148-143, but he appeared to hit a wall in late August and faded badly down the stretch. In his final seven starts, Niese surrendered 51 hits and 19 walks over 35 2/3 innings (1.96 WHIP) while going 1-5, 7.57. His ERA shot up 87 points, from 3.33 to 4.20. Still, as a young lefty who throws strikes, has a strikeout pitch (a curveball) and shows groundball tendencies (1.4 ground-to-flyout ratio), Niese has a bright future.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Talk about a stacked year-- that rookie team's a playoff contender right there, with better bats than the Braves or Giants and a rotation that's been more consistent than your AL semifinalists'.

Is this the vanguard of a return to NL dominance? (Oh, let it be so, baseball gods.)

[Guest Edgy DC]

The question is, did Niese hit that wall because his act ran cold, or because he ran out of gas.

The latter makes some sense considering that (a) his downturn came at a point when rookies exceed their typical minor league workload, and ( he was hurt half of last season.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I'll go with the latter*; IIRC, his command was more than a little off in the latter part of the season.


*At least partly because semidelusional optimism helps keep me from going postal.

[ashie62]

I have to believe Niese ran out of gas. It did seem to coincide with when the team ran out of gas.