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Contenders ready to rely heavily on rookies
- Updated: August 19, 2016
The Orioles are running out five and six rookies for some games. The Cardinals are relying on three rookie relievers to close out games down the stretch. The Mariners have ridden a rookie closer into contention.
Welcome to baseball’s new normal.
We already knew young players were being fast-tracked through the Minors, that teams were trusting that their talent would win out over experience. That’s going to be true in these final weeks, with virtually every contender using rookies in important spots.
Let’s look at possibly the 10 most important rookies in the final six weeks of this season:
1. Edwin Diaz, Mariners closer The Mariners are 12-4 since turning the ninth inning over to the 22-year-old right-hander with the 97-mph fastball. He has converted eight straight save chances, and his emergence has allowed manager Scott Servias to align the arms in front of him. Seattle’s bullpen has a 2.29 ERA, second-best in the Majors, since the switch, and the Mariners are three games behind Baltimore and Boston in the race for an AL Wild Card berth.
2. Michael Fulmer, Tigers starting pitcher He can begin clearing trophy space for the AL Rookie of the Year Award in a season in which he’s leading the AL with a 2.25 ERA and has helped make Detroit’s rotation — that rotation with all the questions — one of the best in the game. Detroit’s starters have a 2.86 ERA this month, trailing only the Cubs (1.49) and Red Sox (2.56). Fulmer, 23, has become a machine, with the Tigers winning 13 of his last 15 starts thanks to a 1.43 ERA. He has allowed one or zero runs in nine of those 15 starts and more than two runs just twice. His workload is a concern. His 135 1/3 innings (including three Minor League starts) are a career high, and the Tigers will attempt to give him an extra day and hope he’s honest with them about how he’s feeling. After Fulmer’s complete-game shutout last Sunday, manager Brad Ausmus said, “He’s not making it easy for us.”
3. Corey Seager, Dodgers shortstop He’s 22 …
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