Ryan Braun is the my choice for the NL rookie of the year. It's quite an easy choice, and that's despite the fact that there were some other very good NL rookies this year.

Braun lead the NL in slugging percentage at .634 which went along nicely with his .324 batting average. I'm not sure when the last time a rookie lead his league in slugging percentage or even if it's ever happened before. Let me know if you find out about that. He also lead all NL rookies with 34 home runs. His 34 homers placed him 5th in the NL overall. He hit his 34 homers in only 451 at bats. He also finished 5th in AB/HR ratio behind Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, Adam Dunn, and Barry Bonds.

There were also some other great rookies in the NL this year such as Arizona's Chris Young who hit 32 homers (although he hit only .237), Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki who had 24 homers and 99 RBI, the Dodgers James Loney who hit .331 with a .538 slugging percentage, and Houston's Hunter Pence who hit .322 with a .539 slugging percentage.

Labels: Ryan Braun