It's no secret the most impressive rookies reside in the National League. Evan Gattis, Shelby Miller and Hyun-Jin Ryu have been featured regularly in this space all season. Let's give them the week off and take a look at the top five rookies in the American League (all stats through June 12).
3-5, 3.92 ERA, 45 K, 1.24 WHIP in 62 IP
Tepesch won Texas' No. 5 starter spot in spring training and promptly won three of his first four starts. Meanwhile, teammate Justin Grimm, also a rookie, went 2-0 with 1.59 ERA in April.
Both right-handers have taken their lumps since then, but Tepesch has emerged as the more reliable starter with the superior arsenal (mid-90s fastball, nasty cutter, curveball and changeup).
Tepesch was knocked around in his last start (on June 7), allowing a career-high six runs in seven innings. Four of those runs came in the sixth inning, which underscores Tepesch's problem. He's limiting hitters to a .187 batting average for the first two trips through the order, but they're hitting .420 thereafter.
If Tepesch can trust his repertoire and vary his pitch sequences deeper in games, he could develop into an ace.
.248/.313/.376, 4 HR, 14 RBI
Acquired from San Francisco in February, Gillaspie made the White Sox as a utility infielder and took over full time at third base when Gordon Beckham broke his wrist in early April.
Gillaspie hit .311 in April and .263 in May for the most anemic lineup in the American League. Now he's caught the oh-fer bug. Gillaspie was hitless (0 for 20) in the first week of June, but he still leads AL rookies in hits (41) and continues to play tremendous defense.
Gillaspie was a human highlight reel Sunday. He made made three diving stops, getting to his feet each time to throw across the infield for the out.
"He's really working hard over there, and he's come a long way since spring training," teammate Paul Konerko said. "Not that he was ever bad, but he's really turning into something special over there."
.449/.494/.577, 1 HR, 7 RBI (74 AB)
Viewed as the Red Sox's shortstop of the future, Iglesias is now the utilityman of the present after a torrid stretch at the plate while filling in for Will Middlebrooks at third base.
Since his recall from Triple-A on May 25, Iglesias is 26 for 58 (.448) with five doubles, a home run and six RBI. He recently recorded a 13-game hit streak, the longest among AL rookies this season.
Middlebrooks returned from the DL on Monday, and the Red Sox couldn't justify sending a .449 hitter to Triple-A Pawtucket. Moving forward, Iglesias figures to get some starts at shortstop (especially against left-handers), third base and possibly even a game or two at second.
.284/.347/.420, 2 HR, 15 RBI
Plucked by the A's off waivers during spring training from the Astros, Freiman is seeing semi-regular action at first base while platooning with Brandon Moss. Freiman is crushing lefties to the tune of .338/.395/.515 over 68 at-bats.
Freiman, who holds the career home run record at Duke, was named the AL Rookie of the Month for May after hitting .351 (13 for 37) with three doubles, one homer and nine RBI in 14 games.
At 6-foot-8, Freiman is among the tallest position players in major league history. With that comes a long swing and a big strike zone. But he doesn't whiff a lot (17 strikeouts in 98 plate appearances), which means he has a good understanding of the strike zone.
1-0, 2.25 ERA, 36 K, 1.04 WHIP in 28 IP
Selected in the 23rd round of the 2011 draft, Allen reached the majors last year and immediately reeled off 12 consecutive scoreless appearances before tiring down the stretch (7.56 ERA in September).
This year he's been outstanding in middle relief. Allen is 1-0 with one save and a 2.25 ERA in 26 games. In 28 innings, he has yielded 19 hits, walked 10 and struck out 36. Opponents are hitting .188 against him.
Allen throws a mid-90s fastball with good rise, but his signature pitch is an 85-mph knuckle, or "spike," curveball that often makes batters look silly.
"The scout that's responsible for drafting him should get a bonus," manager Terry Francona said.
