Adjusting to life in the bigs is not an easy transition for a rookie. There’s shaving cream pies to the face, hot foots in the dugout and all sorts of other hazing going on. Not to mention, these guys have to face guys all of a sudden like Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana and Mariano Rivera. Either that, or they have to get a fastball past somebody like Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez or Barry Bonds. It’s not an easy thing to face your idol.

These rookies now have two months under their belts, but there are still over 100 games remaining on the schedule. In this edition of Inside the Numbers, we’ll take a look at the top-25 first-year players in the game.

AL Rookies
1. Jonathan Papelbon, RP BOS 0-1, 0.35 ERA, 18 S, 23-3 K-BB ratio
2. Justin Verlander, SP DET 7-3, 2.55 ERA, 39-16 K-BB ratio
3. Francisco Liriano, P MIN 3-0, 1 S, 2.51 ERA, 43-8 K-BB ratio, 2-0 in two GS
4. Kenji Johjima, C SEA 45-for-163 (.276), 5 HR, 25 RBI, 23 R
5. Joel Zumaya, RP DET 3-0, 2.92 ERA, 31-11 K-BB ratio in 24 2/3 IP
6. Ian Kinsler, 2B TEX 16-for-41 (.390), 3 HR, 6 RBI, 7 R
7. John Koronka, SP TEX 4-2, 4.06 ERA
8. Casey Janssen, SP TOR 3-3, 3.25 ERA
9. Melky Cabrera, OF NYY 20-for-61 (.328), 10 RBI, 7 R
10. Mike Napoli, C LAA 16-for-49 (.327), 2 HR, 6 RBI
11. Kendry Morales, 1B LAA 9-for-31 (.290), 2 HR, 6 RBI
12. Brandon Fahey, 2B BAL 20-for-75 (.268), HR, 7 RBI, 9 R

Papelbon has been lights-out out of the Red Sox bullpen this season, compiling a microscopic 0.35 ERA and a 0.58 WHIP. He’s been the best rookie in the game so far and is the early favorite for Rookie of the Year. The Tigers are all of a sudden the best team in the game of baseball, and a couple rookie hurlers are a main reason why. Verlander and Zumaya have been spectacular. They are a combined 10-3 with a 70-27 K-BB ratio. After starting the season in remarkable fashion out of the pen, Liriano has finally arrived in the Twins rotation, and has won each of his two starts. He’s here to stay.

Johjima is the first Japanese player to catch in the big leagues. He burst on the scene by homering in his first two contests with the Mariners and has been very steady behind the dish since. Kinsler missed six weeks with a dislocated thumb, but has been amazing in his limited time at second base for the Rangers. He smacked two home runs in his first game back last week, and is hitting .390 through 14 games.

NL Rookies
1. Prince Fielder, 1B MIL 63-for-193 (.326), 9 HR, 33 RBI, 29 R, 4 SB
2. Hanley Ramirez, SS FLA 58-for-184 (.315), 2 HR, 18 RBI, 43 R, 16 SB
3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B WAS 54-for-199 (.271), 9 HR, 32 RBI, 26 R, 4 SB
4. Dan Uggla, 2B FLA 63-for-198 (.318), 6 HR, 27 RBI, 37 R, 3 SB
5. Josh Willingham, OF/C FLA 47-for-175 (.268), 7 HR, 32 RBI, 17 R
6. Conor Jackson, 1B ARI 43-for-146 (.295), 6 HR, 33 RBI, 26 R
7. Takashi Saito, RP LAD 3-2, 2.42 ERA, 2 S, 32-7 K-BB ratio
8. Josh Johnson, SP FLA 4-2, 2.18 ERA, 36-19 K-BB ratio
9. Michael O’Conner, SP WAS 2-3, 3.00 ERA, 27-16 K-BB ratio
10. Shane Victorino, OF PHI 30-for-90 (.333), 2 HR, 10 RBI, 14 R
11. Main Cain, SP SF 3-5, 5.07 ERA, 40-23 K-BB ratio
12. Josh Barfield, 2B SD 48-for-180 (.267), 3 HR, 13 RBI, 26 R, 8 SB
13. Taylor Buchholz, SP HOU 3-4, 5.57 ERA, 29-13 K-BB ratio

The Marlins might be an NL-worst 17-33, but they are one of the top teams on this column. Ramirez, Uggla, Willingham and Johnson all made the top-8 after the initial 50 games. Ramirez has swiped 16 bases and scored 43 runs, both rookie-highs, while Fielder and Zimmerman each lead their class with nine long balls. Saito has been superb in middle relief for L.A., allowing a run in just one of his past 10 appearances. In that stretch, he’s struck out 14 and walked just one.

Stats through Tuesday, May 30