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Say this for the Pirates' youth movement: Once again, they can put together a ticket for the National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Introducing Neil Walker and Jose Tabata.
"I think it's kind of a good thing to have more than one person in the running for it," said Andrew McCutchen, who finished fourth and teammate Garrett Jones seventh in the 2009 voting. "I mean, me and Garrett were going at it last year. I don't look it at being any different for them.
"It's a competition. It makes it more of a chance for somebody here to be able to get it rather than just one person. It's a pretty good thing. Pretty cool. They just need to continue doing what they're doing. Need to continue to go out there and playing hard. They're doing a great job."
As torrid as Walker and Tabata have been lately at the plate, their call-ups -- slightly before and after Memorial Day, respectively -- may undermine their overall numbers in comparison with other NL rookies with closer to full-season numbers. And there is a bevy of those rookies in play.
The accompanying chart shows 13 rookies starting and bashing their way through the NL, and it does not account for St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia (12-6, 2.33 ERA entering the weekend), Milwaukee closer John Axford (7-1, 2.53, 19 saves) and Atlanta reliever Jonny Venters (4-2, 1.82).
PDFFrom an unscientific survey of a handful of scouts at PNC Park this weekend, it seems Walker and Tabata -- like June 2009 recall McCutchen -- have a chance at fourth place, perhaps, at best.
Your clubhouse leaders with one month to go: Atlanta's Jason Heyward, San Francisco's Buster Posey (while moving into starting catcher), Florida's Gaby Sanchez and St. Louis' Garcia.
"Without looking at numbers, I'd have to say Heyward," offered one veteran scout.
Narrow the parameters to the past month or post-All-Star break, and Tabata and Walker surge to the fore. For one, Tabata's .350 batting average entering the weekend ranked behind only the Chicago Cubs' Starlin Castro, and his .385 on-base percentage ranked behind only Heyward and Castro after the break (Walker's .380 stood fifth). Walker's 37 RBIs and .540 slugging percentage topped the rookie class in that time frame, and the mere sight of him standing in the batter's box Wednesday caused Cubs broadcaster Bob Brenly to gush, "There's the hottest hitter in the universe."
"They're in the mix," said another scout, referring to Walker and Tabata finishing anywhere from fourth through sixth place in the prospective voting. "They've played really well."
And don't forget Pedro Alvarez, whose seven post-break homers were tied for second. Alvarez, similar to Florida's ballyhooed Mike Stanton, suffers from slightly less major league time and the more gradual development stage of a power hitter.
Yet the favorites have to remain Heyward and any Florida player (they have four rookie regulars), because Marlins have won three of the past seven titles.
"Those two guys have done really well. Been very consistent," manager John Russell said of Walker and Tabata, who within the week could become the Pirates' first pair of rookies to compile 100 hits in the same season since Jose Guillen and Tony Womack in 1997. "Jose, especially since the All-Star break, has done some great things.
"It's good that they're getting noticed. That's a great feat, to have two guys on your team in their rookie years who are getting some accolades. It's fun to watch them play and fun to watch them develop."
Walker shrugged.
"Heyward and Sanchez have had monster years," he said. "I think it would be cool" for a couple of Pirates rookies to finish high in the voting. "But we're aware of the bigger picture here. It's nice to be playing well, but, at the same time, we're learning a lot at the major league level every day.
"I know I speak for myself and Tabata and Petey [Alvarez], too. They feel the same way. We've never talked about any type of scenario like that. We're just looking forward to getting better on a daily basis and continuing to work hard."
One person who can particularly appreciate the statue unveiled today: Bill Mazeroski's original double-play partner.
"The amazing part about it, the statue is because of the home run," said onetime Pirates shortstop Dick Groat. "And he's in the Hall of Fame because he's the greatest second baseman to ever play the game.
"I always said my wife could've led the league in double plays with Maz at second base. Because we led the league in double plays for five years. Set a record [1961]. Then he and [Gene] Alley set it in [five] years.
"Most of us remember him obviously for the homer, but more than anything it was the defense. He just had great legs, great feet and a good, solid arm. When he came up in '56, it was unbelievable. He only had to play a guy one time, and he got it. In the situation where [Bobby] Bragan was managing, he would take him out for a pinch-hitter any time you turned around. Once [Danny] Murtaugh came, he turned that around. [Mazeroski] knocked in a lot of big runs. He had pretty good power at the plate, a lot more than people realized."
Colin Dunlap's blog on the Pirates is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
