A look at baseball’s top rookies

NEW YORK -- The 10 rookies hoping to have a similar impact in 2008:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston -- All Ellsbury did last year was hit .353 in 33 games in the regular season and .438 in the World Series. A similar performance this year and the 24-year-old speedster is sure to be one of the most popular athletes in New England.

RHP Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees -- The Joba Rules gave way to Joba rules as the starter-turned-reliever solidified the Yankees’ bullpen late last season.

2B Jayson Nix, Colorado -- Batted .292 with 11 homers and 24 steals at Triple-A Colorado Springs last year, and won the second-base job during a crowded spring competition.

1B Daric Barton, Oakland -- The Athletics are rebuilding and they may have something with Barton, who hit .347 in 18 games with the big league club last year.

RHP Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati -- The Reds’ minor league pitcher of the year the last two seasons, Cueto lit up radar guns all over Florida during spring training.

C Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs -- Had a huge year at Triple-A Iowa last season and looked good in a short stint with Chicago (.389 with three homers in 18 games).

INF Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox -- It’s unclear exactly where he’s going to play, but the talented Cuban slugger may have been one of the biggest free-agent bargains of the offseason.

RHP Hiroki Kuroda, Dodgers -- The Japanese starter got a $35.2 million, three-year contract in December and should provide some depth in new manager Joe Torre’s rotation.

LHP Manny Parra, Milwaukee Brewers -- With Chris Capuano out and Yovani Gallardo hurting, the Brewers are going to take a good long look at the talented lefty in the early going.

3B Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay -- The sweet-swinging slugger will start the season in the minors, but is unlikely to be there very long.