Oakland Athletics' Billy Burns Strong Contender For AL Rookie Of The Year

 

Even though the Oakland Athletics were just swept by the Boston Red Sox, there is one player that has continuously performed well since being called up from Triple-A in early May. This would be 25-year-old outfielder Billy Burns. Burns has stepped up to the plate and taken over Coco Crisp‘s role as the catalyst at the top of the lineup and the diving, play-making center fielder.

Burns has now been officially playing in the MLB for about a month and has surpassed everyone’s expectations. Offensively he has been great. He is currently batting .314 with two homers and eight RBI.

His offensive success is most likely due to his aggressive nature at the plate. Burns is 15-31 when he swings at the first pitch. This includes two home runs, two doubles and two triples. Burns is also currently on a 12 game hitting streak where five of those were multi-hit games. Lastly, for May, Burns was third out of all MLB center fielders for batting average with .327.

Defensively, Burns does not have the most powerful throwing arm. However, much like Crisp who also has a weak arm, Burns makes up for it with his speed and precision. He can read the ball well and is able to get a good jump on it in order to make a play.

Burns has been the spark Oakland has needed at the top of the lineup after they lost Crisp due to his recurring neck injury. Burns has really embraced the role of an everyday starting center fielder. Because of his success thus far during his first month of playing the majors, Burns should be a strong candidate for the American League Rookie of the Year award. Just because the team is doing poorly does not mean that Burns’ success should go unnoticed.

Samantha Riley is an Oakland Athletics writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow her on twitter @Riless22.