| PLAYER | PA | AVG | SLG | OBP | RBI | RS | IP | ERA | WHIP | K/6 | K/BB | |
| Scott Kujawa | 29 | .250 | .500 | .379 | 5 | 3 | 16.0 | 0.75 | 1.19 | 14.3 | 3.5 | |
| Raymond Brown | 39 | .187 | .312 | .333 | 3 | 3 | 4.1 | 0.00 | 0.46 | 12.5 | 9.0 | |
| Dash Fejza | 32 | .120 | .120 | .312 | 1 | 0 | 16.0 | 2.25 | 1.87 | 10.5 | 1.2 | |
| Nate Bellinger | 25 | .150 | .320 | .300 | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Damien Rogers | 42 | .158 | .184 | .238 | 3 | 3 | 17.1 | 10.04 | 2.54 | 10.0 | 1.8 |
1) Scott Kujawa - Red Cox
The Red Assassin has had the hottest start of all rookies this season. Both on the mound and at the plate. Kujo's numbers from 4 appearances on the rubber have Kujo sitting in 7th for both ERA and WHIP. Most of innings on the mound have been platooning with Haffey, which has allowed him to amass a league-leading 3 wins already. He threw his first complete game this past Sunday: a 2 hit, 1 run victory over the Wolfpack. At the plate, Scott is 8th in WSEM in SLG, 11th in AVG, and tied for 13th in RBI with numbers significantly more impressive than the rest of the rookie class. The RotY is Kujawa's to lose at this point. Despite the good offensive numbers, it is most likely his arm that will allow him to win that award. It looks like Werner is ready to start using him as the full-time number two starter. So, as the innings begin to ramp up that could be the push for Kujawa to begin running away with this race.
2) Raymond Brown - Flying Squirrels
Brown quickly jumped out to the front of the RotY train during the preseason tournaments when Carl Coffee famously coined the "Ray for RoY" chant. Disputes about whether "the" should be recognized in an acronym if "of" is being recognized aside: Ray's sweet swing deserved that early praise, and he's still in the thick of any RotY discussion today. While the .187 AVG seems lower than what he's capable of, he has a hit in 5 of the 6 games he's played. So, his presence is always felt. It's also worth throwing out there that .187 is higher than the league AVG (.181). Speaking of throwing... Who knew Ray could pitch? In Week 4, Brown came out in relief and proceeded to throw 4.1 innings of shut out ball, allowing only 1 H and 1 BB while striking out 9 Wolves. He'll certainly see more innings coming up, likely as soon as Week 6 at South Field with Skinner unavailable for 2 games. If he's able to continue putting up pitching performances like that and if he can dial up more power from his bat, he may be able to jump back over Kujawa as the favorite to win the RotY.
3) Dash Fejza - Wolfpack
In order to seriously get engaged in RotY talks, Dash likely needs a boost in both hitting and pitching. Although, to his credit, Fejza has beaten both teams of the rookies ahead of him on this list. The #DashCam is a sneaky southpaw, and right now is making his living on the outside corner against proper (right-handed) batsmen. His walk total is elevated (24 BB in 16 IP), but 10 of those came on a very windy Opening Day. In 2 GP since, he's improved to only throw 14 BB in 12 IP. His WHIP in those 2 starts improved to 1.58. So, progress in the right direction is there. He just needs to get the bat going. 3 hits on the season, all singles, and a 4-game stretch without a hit. Numbers like that are hard to overcome in award talks.
4) Nate Bellinger - Red Cox
The Bell Ringer is the only non-pitcher to show up on this first edition of Rookie Top 5. Nate's .300 SLG is second among rookies, and good enough for top 25 in WSEM. His 4 RBI are once again second in the rookie class, and fall just outside the top 20 in the league. His production with the stick has definitely earns at least a mention in the discussion. 3 of 4 WSEM Rookies of the Year have been awarded the RotY for their offensive stats alone. So, Nate absolutely has a shot, but he'll need to pick it up a little more as he accustomed to WSEM pitching.
5) Damien Rogers - Alex See Yas
Rogers got shelled in his last start, giving up 20 runs to the Holy Balls over 6 innings with the wind blowing out. His two prior starts (against El Diablos and Wicked Aces), however, show more promising numbers for the See Yas number-three pitcher: 3.81 ERA, 1.73 WHIP. After the HR derby it will be a hard climb for Damien to get back in RotY contention, but he still finds himself in much better position than anyone not appearing on this list. His .158 AVG, third best among rookies, is a big reason for sticking around. As are his run production in the form of both RBI and RS. A longshot candidate, but his hitting has been improving. Rogers does play for a lineup often desperate for a big hit; if he can supply a few of those, his odds will improve.
