It's not as simple as the player themselves. They proved that they were good enough in their first season, but scouting reports and advanced analysis can really start to hurt the second time around. Making adjustments and settling in is something the rookies of last year would like to accomplish this year and continue their success. The question is whether or not they can.
Mike Trout
The AL Rookie of the Year and runner-up in MVP voting falling just short of the historical achievement made by Triple-Crown winner Miguel Cabrera. Trout hit crazy good and played an extremely impressive center field, making arguably the most memorable catch in 2012 against Baltimore. Trout hit .326/.399/.564 last season in 139 games with 129 runs and 30 home runs. However, the question of success for Trout is hoping his career does not turn into his first taste of the majors in 2011. People soon forget the first 40 games of Trout's major league career when he was called up. Trout looked like a completely different player hitting for a mere .220/.281/.390. While the sample size is much smaller and his minor league numbers are all fantastic, there is proof that Trout has struggled at the major league level, even if it was only 40 games after getting called up from AA. If Trout even comes close to 2012, the Angels are in the playoffs. However, Trout will benefit from the addition of Houston to the AL West, since he will playing against essentially a minor league experienced team.
Yu Darvish
The man is getting a museum dedicated to himself in Japan. What else needs to be said? This was Darvish's rookie year by all accounts and it was a decent rookie year at that. Darvish finished 16-9 with a 3.90 ERA in 29 games and 191.1 innings. He definitely was the best starting pitcher for the Rangers. His ERA is near the 4 run range, which isn't a terrible thing considering the Rangers had a very potent offense last season. If the Rangers don't put up the same amount of runs as they have the past few years, Darvish might see his win total drop a bit. But to improve on the first year, if Darvish becomes a 200+ inning pitcher and pulls out 18 or more wins, he can go from a Rookie of the Year candidate to a definite Cy Young competitor. Just as with Trout, Darvish may be able to get a couple more wins from within the division if everyone picks on the Astros.
Yoenis Cespedes
Everyone saw the youtube video. Many were interested, but not willing to pay much. The Oakland Athletics after trading away their top pitchers and seemingly scrapping for talent suddenly signed the Cuban defector to a 4 year deal worth $36 million dollars in March. Cespedes was apart of the big league and revealed raw talent early on, but struggled against breaking pitches, as everyone expected. Suddenly, the kid began making adjustments mid-season and became possibly the biggest piece on a A's club that was never supposed to leave the cellar of the AL West. Playing in 129 vital games, Cespedes hit .292/.356/.861 with 23 home runs. Given that Cespedes has already shown that he can adjust from being a raw fastball slugger to competent hitter, I would expect the most out Cespedes in his sophomore season. If he cuts down on strike outs even more than he did mid-season, Cespedes may even be an MVP candidate next season, dare I say. The problem, though, I believe lies in the Athletics team rather than with Yoenis. The AL West got power and weaker at the same time. The Angels are more frightening on paper this year than they were last year, but the A's can easily stay ahead of the competition with Cespedes leading the offense.
Matt Moore
Matt Moore's rookie season wasn't perfect, by any means. But a weak lineup in Tampa Bay will make it seem that way, as well as being in the same starting rotation as Cy Young winner David Price. With James Shields going to Kansas City, Matt Moore will depended on to build on his first full season with Rays. His win record is good for a back-end rotation rookie at 11-11, but his ERA finished at 3.81 which is pretty good. Given Matt Moore's track record in the minors and in the majors now, his 3+ ERA seems a fair number to bet on. If he can repeat last year if the Rays can score more runs with Longoria staying healthy and the possibility of Wil Myers joining the club and being an impact player, then watch out for Matt Moore coming back with a vengeance in year #2.
Will Middlebrooks
He took over 3B for a Red Sox team that was dealing with a war of words between manager Bobby Valentine and veteran players. It ended with the defining hard-nosed Sox player of the last decade, Kevin Youkilis, being traded to the White Sox, the biggest signings only a year removed of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford being shipped to the Dodgers as well former ace pitcher Josh Beckett, and Valentine being fired at the end of a horrific season. Despite the terrible ordeal that Red Sox fans witnessed, Will Middlebrooks played a pretty solid game for his debut season. He only played in 75 games for the big league club, but hit .288 with 15 home runs. Not bad by any means. Middlebrooks only really played for about half a season last year and a sophomore slump seems possible, but he could be a very established infielder on a Red Sox team that needs a new identity given the tragedy the team has faced over the last couple of dismal seasons. Middlebrooks could end up being that cornerstone player that sees the Red Sox rising from the depths of the AL East to make a World Series run, but I predict a solid year of production while the Sox still try and figure out what they are all about.
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