<table> </table> Can Royals shortstop Mike Aviles cap his improbable breakthrough season by making a late charge through the pack to emerge as the American League Rookie of the Year?</p><p>Sure, it&#8217;s a long shot &#8212; even though Aviles leads all rookies in both leagues with a .330 average. But when was Aviles more than a long shot at any point in his professional career?</p><p>&#8220;If I&#8217;m even mentioned in that discussion,&#8221; he said, &#8220;it&#8217;s a good thing. For me, it means a lot. I started the year in Triple-A, and I was there for two months. I wasn&#8217;t really on anyone&#8217;s radar.&#8221;</p><p>The leading candidates for the AL award remain Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria and Chicago second baseman Alexei Ramirez. Even another big month by Aviles might not be enough to change that.</p><p>He knows that better than anyone.</p><p>&#8220;The things that Longoria have done are things you&#8217;d expect from a veteran guy,&#8221; Aviles said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve had a chance to play against Ramirez, and he&#8217;s a very impressive rookie. Very impressive.</p><p>&#8220;I guess that&#8217;s why he was able to come straight from Cuba and sign a pretty good deal. When you have talent like that, it&#8217;s definitely noteworthy.&#8221;</p><p>Even so, Aviles is forcing his way into consideration.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a guy who gets on base all of the time,&#8221; teammate David DeJesus said. &#8220;That&#8217;s what he gives us, somebody who gets on base two or three times a game. He&#8217;s already a guy we can rely on, and he&#8217;s just a rookie.&#8221;</p><p>Aviles&#8217; 104 hits rank sixth among AL rookies, although he has played just 77 games since his May 29 arrival from Class AAA Omaha, where he was batting .336 through 51 games.</p><p>&#8220;I just wanted to come up and prove that I could compete here,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m getting a chance to do that. That&#8217;s all I wanted &#8212; the chance to compete here and show I could make an impact.&#8221;</p><p>Check and check.</p><p>Aviles, 27, was picked as the Royals&#8217; player of the month in July and August and is currently on a 22-for-53 burst over his last 14 games. Not bad for a guy who wasn&#8217;t even protected last winter by the Royals on their 40-man roster.</p><p>And now? The Royals show a growing inclination to view Aviles as a long-term answer at the game&#8217;s premium defensive position.</p><p>&#8220;I continue to be impressed at what he&#8217;s been able to do, agility-wise, at shortstop,&#8221; manager Trey Hillman said. &#8220;I really believe in the rule of thumb: Make a guy prove he can&#8217;t do something before you take him off the position.</p><p>&#8220;I really haven&#8217;t seen a major deficiency in Mike.&#8221;</p><p>Longoria, 22, once appeared a top-heavy favorite as the league&#8217;s top rookie after spearheading the Rays&#8217; surprising turnaround and getting voted into the All-Star Game by fan balloting.</p><p>A broken right wrist opened the door to others.</p><p>Longoria had 22 homers and 71 RBIs in 104 games when he suffered the injury Aug. 7 when hit by a pitch from Seattle closer J.J. Putz. Longoria could return this weekend, but his injury allowed Ramirez, in particular, to emerge from the shadows.</p><p>Ramirez, 26, is a Cuban defector who is already making his four-year contract for $4.75 million look like a steal. He continues to solidify the White Sox&#8217;s infield and is batting .306 with 16 homers and 62 RBIs in 112 games.</p><p>Other candidates include Texas outfielder David Murphy, Boston outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, Cleveland outfielder Ben Francisco and two pitchers, Minnesota&#8217;s Glen Perkins and Detroit&#8217;s Armando Galarraga.