Starlin Castro = Rookie of the Year?

The Chicago media is already starting to campaign for Starlin Castro as Rookie of the Year in the NL and in any other year Castro would probably run away with the award.  However, this year the NL has an abundance of young, talented player who could legitimately win ROY.

Here's a look at the Contenders:

Jason Heyward, OF, Atlanta Braves

Year	Age					AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB	SO	BA	OBP
2010	20					447	77	128	27	4	16	66	9		72	112	.286	.393
162 Game Avg.						598	103	171	36	5	21	88	12		96	150	.286	.393

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/10/2010.

Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants

Year	Age					AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB	SO	BA	OBP
2010	23					332	46	108	20	2	12	57	0		21	43	.325	.369
162 Game Avg.						595	80	188	34	3	20	97	0		36	80	.315	.358

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/10/2010.

Jaime Garcia, P, St. Louis Cardinals

Year	Age			W	L		ERA							IP	H		ER	HR	BB		SO
2010	23			13	7		2.69							157.1	144		47	9	63		128
162 Game Avg.				15	8		2.96							181	165		60	14	74		142

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/10/2010.

Ike Davis, 1B, New York Mets

Year	Age					AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB	SO	BA	OBP
2010	23					446	62	114	27	1	18	64	2		61	123	.256	.344
162 Game Avg.						578	80	148	35	1	23	83	3		79	159	.256	.344

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/10/2010.

Gaby Sanchez, 1B, Florida Marlins

Year	Age					AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB	SO	BA	OBP
2010	26					501	65	140	35	3	17	76	5		50	87	.279	.347
162 Game Avg.						547	69	153	38	3	20	83	5		54	95	.279	.346

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/10/2010.

Starlin Castro, SS, Chicago Cubs

Year	Age					AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB	SO	BA	OBP
2010	20					401	49	127	29	5	3	40	8		24	60	.317	.359
162 Game Avg.						607	74	192	44	8	5	61	12		36	91	.317	.359

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/10/2010.

As you can see, Castro has some stiff competition for ROY.  At this point, I would say that Jason Heyward is the favorite to win the award.  Buster Posey would be a close second, but since he was not called up until June, it hurts his chances to win the award.

Jaime Garcia will probably end up third and Castro fourth in the voting.  However, Cubs fans can take some solace in the fact that their farm system has finally produced a hitting prospect worthy of all the hype.