By Gary Brooks
SportsLine Baseball Editor

This season's crop of rookies is sizzlin' with a number of impact players.

One third of the way into the season the favorites for the MVP and Cy Young awards are obvious.

There's Manny Ramirez and Derek Jeter competing for American League MVP, with Matt Williams the National League front-runner. Pedro Martinez and Jose Lima are setting the pace for Cy Young hopefuls.

But narrowing the list of Rookie of the Year candidates is much tougher.

Jeff Weaver leads a large group of impact rookies. (AP)

Rookies are sizzlin' all around baseball, forming what could be the best group of first-year players this decade. There might not be a Nomar Garciaparra or Jeter type in this season's group, but it is as deep with impact players as any in a long time.

In the American League, two right-handers -- Jeff Weaver of Detroit and Seattle's Freddy Garcia -- have become their team's best pitchers. Weaver is 6-3 and has the sixth best earned-run average (3.18) in the AL. Garcia, acquired by the Mariners in the Randy Johnson trade last July 31, is 7-2. Each is projected as an anchor-of-the-rotation kind of starter.

In Kansas City, the "Dos Carlos" pair of center fielder Carlos Beltran (.292, 9 HR, 40 RBI, 11 SB) and second baseman Carlos Febles (.293, 24 RBI, 10 SB) carried the Royals to an impressive start that had them over .500 40 games into the season. Many figured they would struggle to stay over .500 after the first week.

Texas' ability to take control of the AL West has had a lot to do with setup man Jeff Zimmerman, who has picked up six wins and held opponents to a .112 average.

And then there are the two players favored to be the AL Rookie of the Year before the season started. In Oakland, third baseman Eric Chavez hasn't duplicated Ben Grieve's ROY-winning performance of last season, but has a lot of games left to get into the running. So does Toronto right-hander Roy Halladay, whom the Blue Jays think has No. 1-starter stuff.

THE NL IS JUST AS THICK WITH ROOKIE SURPRISES. For all of the hype sunk into the Cardinals' J.D. Drew, he's had an injury-plagued start that leaves him way down the good-impressions list. And Philadelphia second baseman Marlon Anderson, who hit .326 in his September callup last season, has been inconsistent.

Instead, unknowns like St. Louis' multi-purpose player Joe McEwing and Cincinnati reliever Scott Williamson have moved to the head of the list. McEwing was hitting better than .400 30 games into the season, though he is now at .311. Williamson has blown through opponents with ease, striking out 46 in 35 2/3 innings as Cincinnati has made a strong push toward the top of the NL Central.

Florida and Pittsburgh each have a pair of rookies looking like stars.

Marlins outfielder Preston Wilson has slammed 13 home runs and teammate Alex Gonzalez has hit a respectable .284 with seven home runs, 26 RBI and played arguably the most spectacular shortstop in the NL. Pirates second baseman Warren Morris (.282, 7, 29) has been very solid and right-hander Kris Benson, the No. 1 overall pick of the 1996 Draft, is 4-4.

In Montreal, scouts say third baseman/catcher Michael Barrett (.298, 21 RBI) might have the most talent of any rookie.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS PITCHER Chan Ho Park displayed an interesting talent over the weekend.

Just what was the Dodgers' hotheaded right-hander thinking with his flying scissors kick on Angels pitcher Tim Belcher?

Park's seven-game suspension for going spikes high at Belcher is entirely deserving of the lead fizzler role this week. How he could get that fired up after an innocent tag on a sacrifice bunt is a mystery.

At least Park can't extend his major-league record for grand slams allowed (four) for another week.

Sizzlin' ... the countdown

Cincinnati shortstop Barry Larkin saw his 11-game hitting streak end with an 0-for-3 Tuesday at Minnesota, but in the past 12 games he's raised his average 60 points to .291. His emergence from a .200 April has as much to do with the Reds improvement as anything. On the Reds' current 12-game road trip that ends Wednesday, Larkin is 21-for-41.

What was the most impressive facet of John Smoltz's win Monday that moved him to 7-1: That he hit a three-run home run and improved his batting average to .400 (10-for-25), became just the third Brave (Phil Niekro and Warren Spahn) to pass 2,000 strikeouts, or that despite spending two stints on the disabled list he has five more victories (63) than any other pitcher since the start of the 1996 season? The pick here: All those wins.

The Texas Rangers bullpen -- primarily John Wetteland, Jeff Zimmerman and Tim Crabtree -- has been outstanding. It is 16-1 prior to Wednesday's series final at Los Angeles, and has won its past 13 decisions. In that 13-win span, the bullpen has allowed six earned runs in 53 innings (1.01 ERA).

Pedro Martinez's 11-1 record entering his start Wednesday night at Montreal has moved him into the top 10 for all-time winning percentage among pitchers with 90 wins or more. The list:

• Spud Chandler, 1937-47, 109-43 (.717)
• Whitey Ford, 1950-67, 236-106 (.690)
• Robert Caruthers, 1884-92, 218-99 (.688)
• Don Gullett, 1970-78, 109-50 (.680)
• Lefty Grove, 1925-41, 300-141 (.680)
• Babe Ruth, 1914-33, 94-46 (.671)
• Joe Wood, 1908-20, 116-57, (.670)
• Pedro Martinez, 1992-, 95-47 (.669)
• Mike Mussina, 1991-, 125-62 (.668)
• Vic Raschi, 1946-55, 132-66 (.667)
• Bill Hoffer, 1895-1901, 92-46 (.667)

There is bound to be a Bob Hamelin or Joe Charboneau in the group, but this season's influx of rookies appears to be a quality bunch of impact players.

Fizzlin' ... the countdown

Arizona Diamondbacks ace Randy Johnson is dominant in most aspects of pitching but not in one that you might expect. Being left-handed and a hard thrower, there is no reason a runner at first should ever be able to get a good enough jump to steal bases consistently off of Johnson. Ah, but the numbers show something entirely different. He is, in fact, the easiest pitcher in the NL to run on. Johnson has allowed 21 steals, seven more than anyone else. If it weren't for having an unnecessary runner in scoring position once in a while, Johnson might be able to get his ERA down around 2.

Though he hadn't recovered his best stuff, Cincinnati's Steve Avery was successful through his first five starts and among the NL leaders with a 2.02 ERA. Since then, he's fallen hard, having given up 19 earned runs, walking 21 and striking out 11 in his past 23 2/3 innings.

At his current rate, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Albert Belle will need another incredible second half just to make his overall numbers look good. Belle, who hit .387 with 31 home runs and 86 RBI in the second half of '98, has gone 13-for-his-past-59 with one home run and only four RBI in his past 15 games. Through Tuesday, he was hitting .250 with 10 homers and 35 RBI.

It was only three weeks ago that the Kansas City Royals were three games over .500 and making a impression as a team with good, young talent. Now, having lost 14 of 17, KC is 24-32 and just 3 1/2 games up on Minnesota for last place in the AL Central.

Park's frustrations are obviously mounting along with the Dodgers'.