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The Colorado Rockies have been holding open tryouts for the second base job since early March. The candidates have moved through as if they were a revolving door of prospects and aged veterans. The Rockies didn’t care who won the job, they just wanted someone to take it. Finally, as April is coming to an end, it looks as if Clint Barmes has solidified his hold on that starting 2B job.

With the offense still gaining traction, Barmes has moved ahead of Jayson Nix at second base because of a hot bat.

“Barmes is going to get the first shot now, and he needs to be given every opportunity to ride the momentum he’s picked up,” manager Clint Hurdle said.

Hurdle stopped short of calling Barmes the starter, but the lineup choice has screamed volumes over the past week. Barmes has started six of the past eight games. He hit .394 (13-for-33) and drove in eight runs on the road trip. Nix is batting .132 and Monday, by design, was taking groundballs at shortstop during batting practice.

Barmes is 16-40 (.400/.429/.650) and has a home run, 8 RBI and a stolen base. But there are a few signs that this hot streak is artificially inflated. Let’s talk about the good and the bad.

• Good: Barmes’ contact rate is at 90% currently.
• Bad: Barmes’ hit rate (BABIP) is 43% (.429).
• Good: Barmes’ flyball rate is 52.8%.
• Bad: Barmes’ HR/F rate is only 5.3%

This tells us that Barmes is making great contact and that a lot of his balls (over half being flyballs) are falling for hits, but aren’t leaving the yard. Sooner or later, his hit rate should revert back towards 29% - 30%. When it does, if his flyball rate and HR/F ratio stay the same, his batting average will suffer as outfielders find ways to keep his balls from falling safely.

You can safely add Barmes in NL-only leagues. However, in mixed leagues, Barmes should not be your primary second baseman. He, most likely, shouldn’t even be your primary middle infielder, if your league uses that position. You can, however, add Barmes and use him for spot starts and situational match-ups (Barmes hits right-handed pitchers almost .150 points better than lefties) until his batting average starts plummeting, which I believe it will.

The Detroit Tigers will be without the use of Placido Polanco and Gary Sheffield today as they rest what ails them.

Placido Polanco has a stiff back. Gary Sheffield has a sore shoulder. Neither player will be available for the Tigers’ series finale today against the Blue Jays. How much more time they’ll miss is the question.

Manager Jim Leyland was emphatically certain about one thing, though, after the Tigers lost 5-3 to the Jays on Sunday. When asked if Sheffield would be able to play today, he replied “absolutely not.”

If you’ve been paying attention to spring box scores from the San Francisco Giants club, you may have noticed Eugenio Velez, a 26 yeal old rookie who’s hitting .340/.353/.511 with a double, two triples, and a home run. Most importantly he’s stolen 9 bases in 16 games. Velez is turning heads, and causing Giants decision makers to scratch theirs.

Manager Bruce Bochy would agree. After the Giants’ 11-6 exhibition victory over the Diamondbacks, Bochy declared Velez has a real shot of making the 25-man roster. Not only as a bench player but as someone who “might force the issue, too,” meaning get in the lineup on occasion.

“If we want a lineup with speed in there, he gives you another dimension,” Bochy said. “This kid is fun to watch.”

• In 2006 in Single-A Augusta, Velez hit .315 with 14 home runs and 64 stolen bases.
• In 2007 in 114 games of combined AA, AAA and MLB playing time, Velez stole 58 bases while hitting .296.

If Velez makes this club out of Spring Training, but doesn’t earn a starting spot, you should keep an eye on him and see if does earn his way into a starting role. If he surprises and starts from day one, he’s going to be one of those players who could single handedly vault your fantasy team to the top of the stolen base leader board.

Ian Kinsler and the Texas Rangers have agreed to a five-year deal that could be worth $32 Million. The 25-year-old was the center of attention in the 2007 Regular Season, starting off the year with nine home runs in April. Although many Fantasy Baseball owners traded him when his value was sky high, Kinsler may be an excellent second baseman for Keeper Leagues.

Kinsler, a solid fantasy baseball performer, has a powerful swing and excellent speed around the bases. In the 2007 Regular Season, his production was cut short as the two-year veteran missed 32 games due to a left foot injury. Brian Walton of CREATiVESPORTS believes that the youngster’s, “third season [will be] a complete and productive one.”

The Fantasy Baseball 2008 Guide projects the Arizona resident to hit for a .274 average, with 19 home runs, 70 RBI’s, and 18 stolen bases. As evident, Kinsler is still developing into an All-Star caliber second baseman. But, his current production is sufficient and he is clearly one of the best second basemen in Major League Baseball.

Kinsler and Michael Young are the future of the Texas Rangers’ organization. They should also be the cornerstones of your Fantasy Baseball franchises, too.

Here is the ranking list of National League second basemen for 2008.

1. Brandon Phillips | Cincinnati Reds
2. Chase Utley | Philadelphia Phillies
3. Dan Uggla | Florida Marlins
4. Kelly Johnson | Atlanta Braves
5. Rickie Weeks | Milwaukee Brewers
6. Orlando Hudson | Arizona Diamondbacks
7. Jeff Kent | Los Angeles Dodgers
8. Freddy Sanchez | Pittsburgh Pirates
9. Mark DeRosa | Chicago Cubs
10. Luis Castillo | New York Mets
11. Felipe Lopez | Washington Nationals
12. Kaz Matsui | Houston Astros
13. Ray Durham | San Francisco Giants
14. Tadihito Iguchi | San Diego Padres
15. Ronnie Belliard | Washington Nationals
16. Adam Kennedy | St. Louis Cardinals
17. Mark Loretta | Houston Astros
18. Ruben Gotay | New York Mets
19. Kevin Fransden | San Francisco Giants

Here is the list of American League second basemen who should have a fantasy impact in 2008.

1. B.J. Upton | Tampa Bay Rays
2. Brian Roberts | Baltimore Orioles
3. Robinson Cano | New York Yankees
4. Ian Kinsler | Texas Rangers
5. Dustin Pedroia | Boston Red Sox
6. Howie Kendrick | Los Angeles Angels
7. Placido Polanco | Detroit Tigers
8. Aaron Hill | Toronto Blue Jays
9. Mark Ellis | Oakland Athletics
10. Asdrubal Cabrera | Cleveland Indians
11. Jose Lopez | Seattle Mariners
12. Danny Richar | Chicago White Sox
13. Alexi Casilla | Minnesota Twins
14. Mark Grudzialanek | Kansas City Royals
15. Macier Izturis | Los Angeles Angels
16. Brendan Harris | Minnesota Twins

Looking back at the month of April when Dustin Pedroia was barely hitting his weight, you wouldn’t have even thought that he could be the AL Rookie of the Year. Then as the season went on when he started hitting around Miguel Cabrera’s weight, you could definitely see him being the rookie of the year.

This afternoon, the BBWAA (Baseball Writer’s Association of America) made it official, Pedroia is your 2007 American League Rookie of the Year. He becomes the first Red Sox rookie to win the award since Nomar Garciaparra did it back in 1997.

Pedroia put up excellent numbers in his rookie campaign. His .317 batting average was the highest ever by a rookie second baseman, breaking the record of Jim Viox set back in 1913 when Viox played for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He started out the season with a rough April, hitting .182 and Red Sox Nation was calling for Alex Cora to play second base. Terry Francona stuck with the kid and he responded by hitting .405 in May. He continued the trend by hitting. 333 in June, .299 in July, .346 in August and .302 in September. For the season, he hit .317 with 8 home runs and 50 RBIs. He also made only 6 errors on the season which was good for a .990 fielding percentage.

Pedroia will be holding a press conference later in the day today from his alma mater, Arizona State University.

Continue reading to find out the National League Rookie of the Year.

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