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Baseball has never had the same incubation period that football does, at least not at its highest level.But when a player arrives in the big leagues these days, they're often able to contribute right away. The Major League equivalent of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers playing understudy for three seasons is hard to find, if not impossible. "There wasn't any glaring period of adjustment," said R football manager oyals manager Ned Yost said of rookie first baseman Eric Hosmer, adding the requisite note that there's always more a young player can learn. "Yeah, he's done a nice job." Hosmer, 21, is hitting .287 with 15 home runs in just his fourth year of pro ball. The immediate impact players are making at a young age is a credit to the long-established effect of the Minor Leagues, and it's also a credit to football manager the sharp emphasis on homegrown talent that's spread in the past decade. Sept. 1's roster expansions again delivered the traditional influx of first-year talent. Through Sunday, 337 rookies have appeared in the Majors this season according to the Elias Sports Bureau, after that total sat at 311 in the final days of August. If the past two years are any indicator, more rookies are on their way; th football manager ere were 352 in the bigs in 2010 and 363 in '09. For many who have already been to the Majors and have stuck, the learning curve hasn't thrown them for a loop too terribly. Barely at all, in some cases. Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo hasn't been Kendrys Morales, but he's no backup option either. The 25-year-old slugged his 26th home run on Monday, which leads all rookies. Another first baseman, football manager Freddie Freeman of the Braves, might be having the most well-rounded offensive season, with a .291 average, a .352 on-base percentage (tops among qualifying rookies) and 47 extra-base hits (tied for second with Washington's Danny Espinosa, with Trumbo's 56 leading the way). It's no surprise that the Mariners and Royals, both last-place teams, have had the opportunity and need to give rookies a cha football manager nce this year, and they haven't shied away. The Mariners have 12 rookies on their roster, 10 of whom have made their Major League debut this season, and they've had 16 rookies play for them total -- the most league-wide, one ahead of Kansas City. For Seattle, Michael Pineda has provided reminders of Felix Hernandez all season, just like Francisco Liriano of the Twins mirrored Johan Santana a few y football manager ears ago. "I don't think you really find out about a guy until he goes through it, but from his first start on, he's been very consistent with it," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said of Pineda. "I wouldn't say I'm surprised now, but I think we were all pleasantly surprised how he handled himself early on and how he's continued to do that." Pineda's 3.74 ERA is second best among qualifying rookies, b football manager ehind the Rays' Jeremy Hellickson, who's dazzled with a 2.90 mark. It's not just struggling clubs, though, who have afforded opportunities to the novices. Ivan Nova, a right-hander for the Yankees, has the third-best ERA for a first-year player at 3.89. "There are guys that come around," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Vance [Worley] is definitely one of those. ... He pitched a real good ga football manager me last year at the end of the season at Atlanta. I remembered that all winter and I was in Spring Training and he got off kind of slow, and we called him up at the start of this year and when he had a chance to pitch, he did a heck of a job."Really, though, the kids are everywhere: Desmond Jennings in Tampa Bay, Craig Kimbrel in Atlanta, Dustin Ackley in Seattle and Josh Collmenter in Arizona. Th football manager e list goes on, and when players are brought up alongside each other after spending years in the Minors together, the transition is only eased. "We're always on each other, pushing each other and trying to make each other better," said Houston outfielder J.D. Martinez. "We have that confidence with each other and we can say, 'What are you doing? C'mon, let's go.' We've played with each other so lo football manager ng and we want nothing but the best for each other, so it's definitely nice to have." Martinez, who just turned 24, has five home runs and a .275 average in 34 games. His teammate, second baseman Jose Altuve, has a .295 average and a pair of home runs in his 43 games. And he's just 21. "It's the dream of every player, and now we're living it," Altuve said. "We're still young, but I think we're doi football manager ng a really good job and I'm feeing happy about that." Not surprisingly, pitchers seem to get a crack in the Majors a little easier. Of the 352 rookies last season, 186 were hurlers, while 211 of the 363 rookies in 2010 were also pitchers. The league-wide ERA entering Monday was 3.94, and just before the September callups, the rookies' ERA was right there at 4.06. The translation of "stuff" helps football manager explain that trend: a 95-mph fastball or even a 90-mph fastball can be effective on any level, assuming some modicum of control. But rookies, whether position players or pitchers, are also helped by their teammates' support -- and their own attitudes. Rare these days are stories similar to one from 2006, when Mets closer Billy Wagner reportedly posted a sign in Lastings Milledge's locker that read football manager , "Know your place, rook." Scott Diamond of the Twins, once an undrafted free agent, earned his first Major League win last Wednesday, and the first credit he doled out wasn't to him, but to his teammates. "I really couldn't have done this without the guys on the team," Diamond said. "They've made some big plays behind me and Drew [Butera] has called great games behind the plate, so that helps, to football manager o. The guys in here have really helped ease my mind and helped me do what I need to do." football manager
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