Put simply, Ryan Braun deserves to win the National League Rookie of the Year award.

Other rookies continue to produce impressive stat lines such as Astros rookie Hunter Pence, Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who plays a pivotal position, or Chris Young of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who competes on a team with a better record and also happens to roam centerfield, a more defensively important position than the hot corner, where Braun resides.

These three players, as well as miniscule Giants starting pitcher, Tim Lincecum, all have reasons to claim the coveted award, but no one has a better resume than hot-hitting Ryan Braun.

Brawny Braun was born to hit; his initial stats rival those of Albert Pujols in his first year and he also owns a .325 average with 30 home runs and an unreal 1.010 on base plus slugging percentage (OPS). He has also driven in 75 runs while batting in the third position for a division leading team.

Throw in 14 steals and realize all these numbers have been accumulated in less than 100 total games and the stats speak for themselves. If the war-club wielding third baseman out of the University of Miami does not win the ROY, it will be a crime because someone clearly stole it.

The American League contains a number of candidates that could claim the coveted ROY award. Brian Bannister, a lanky right-hander from the perennial cellar-dwelling Kansas City Royals, owns an imposing stat line consisting of a 12-8 record, including 7-2 in his last ten starts.

He holds a 3.46 ERA and has allowed only 142 hits in just over 153 innings. However, while impressive, players who play once every five days for a last place team do not merit ROY honors.

Preseason, the clear favorite in terms of hype and money was the Boston Red Sox Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. But awards are won on stats and numbers during the regular season, not fame and dollars in the preseason.

Even though he has been solid, a better rookie exists in the American League, one who happens to share a clubhouse with the mercurial right-hander.

A more credible and legitimate candidate than either pitcher, the diminutive Dustin Pedroia is second baseman for the first place Red Sox and teammate of Matsuzaka.

Standing only 5’9”, he owns a sparkling .325 batting average with a .389 OBP and committed only five errors in just over 120 games. Furthermore, after hitting .182 in April he has since batted .382, including .357 in September.

While Braun and Pedroia currently own the inside track to the desirable trophy, fewer than 20 games remain before the season ends.

With seemingly little in common, other than a looming ROY award, perhaps the hard-hitting Brewers third baseman and scrappy Red Sox second baseman can share something else, the title of pennant winner. As long as both continue to produce at the high level they have been, this seems possible and perhaps even probable.

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