A DECK STACKED IN HIS FAVOR : GUERRERO COULD BE DODGERS NEXT ROOKIE STAR.

Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer

Into the final weekend of the 1991 season, the Dodgers battled for the National League's West Division title.

It was a veteran group that finished a game back of Atlanta.

``None of those players were ours,'' Dodgers executive vice president Fred Claire said of the potpourri of free agents who comprised that squad.

Meanwhile, down on the farm, an incredible crop was growing.

In Vero and Yakima and Santo Domingo. In San Antonio and Great Falls. Albuquerque and Bakersfield. Those were the places Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raul Mondesi and Todd Hollandsworth played. That's where Billy Ashley and Pedro Astacio and Juan Castro and Antonio Osuna were being cultivated.

In 1992, Karros won the National League Rookie of the Year award. In '93, Piazza won it. In '94, Mondesi was the winner. Hideo Nomo, a Japanese import, won in 1995. Last season, Hollandsworth made it five straight Rookie of the Year winners for the Dodgers.

There are more pressing concerns for the Dodgers this spring - winning a bunch of games early in the season and winning even one after the season, for starters. From Claire to Karros, they point out a world championship is the only reward that matters. But they allow themselves to imagine briefly what might happen if their newest rookie starter pans out like the rest of them.

``We've got a kid here who looks like he could make it six in a row,'' Piazza said.

He was speaking of Wilton Guerrero.

The year Karros hit 20 home runs, 30 doubles and started the current string of rookie award winners, the Dodgers signed a speedy Dominican with a penchant for making contact. Guerrero played shortstop at the time and continued to do so until midway through last season in Albuquerque, when he moved to second base.

Guerrero made his major-league debut as a pinch-runner last Sept. 3. He scored. He appeared in five games and batted twice for the Dodgers last year without getting a hit. Over the winter he won the Dominican League batting title with a .342 average, and he worked more at second base.

In the field, Guerrero is adequate. At the plate, he has the potential to be awesome. He is a switch-hitter with a gift they call ``quick hands.'' He hits the ball so close inside the opposite foul line so often, it seems he is using a tennis racket, sending cross-court winners.

His 4.51-second 40-yard dash makes him the fastest man in the Dodgers organization. He has a major-league-best three triples this spring. Guerrero will hit second behind leadoff man Brett Butler.

A few intended sacrifice bunts will likely turn into base hits this season, but the plan is for pitchers to see Butler dancing at first and let Guerrero off with a lot of fastballs.

``Butler, let's face it, he's the best,'' said Dodgers manager Bill Russell, who would have to throw Guerrero into the leadoff spot if Butler's comeback stalls. ``Brett sets the table. It's going to help Wilton batting second. . . . I batted second. I know he's going to get a lot of good pitches to hit.

``If they both get on base, which they have been the past few weeks, we're going to score runs in a hurry.''

Considering Guerrero's considerable potential and his spot in the lineup has Russell thinking the streak could go to six. Overall, the Dodgers have had 16 players named Rookie of the Year, including the award's namesake, Jackie Robinson.

Unsolicited, Russell said: ``It looks like Guerrero could be another one.''

Guerrero is aware of the streak. He doesn't care. He understands English, but he is shy and does not speak it comfortably. The quote heard most often from him - ``Just play'' - will serve him well.

His competition for the top rookie honor this season includes:

Andruw Jones, who will likely start the season in Triple-A due to the Atlanta Braves' crowded outfield.

Wilton's brother, Vladimir, a right fielder who is a year younger and likely to be showcased more in the Montreal Expos' lacking lineup.

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Scott Rolen, considered by many to be the favorite. He will be the center of attention in a rebuilding Phillies franchise.

What the Dodgers want to make clear is that the streak coming to an end would not mean the end of their success with rookies.

``A player doesn't have to have a Rookie of the Year award,'' Claire said. ``If he becomes an everyday player and he contributes, that's what's important. What's important is that Todd Hollandsworth became an everyday player for us. If Chipper Jones had won and not Hideo Nomo, Hideo Nomo still would have done what he did.

``Whether Wilton Guerrero wins or not is not important. If he goes out and plays every day for us and he plays second base and puts it in his pocket and says `I'm going to keep this position for the next 10 or 12 years,' that's what is important. That's what Dodger tradition has always been about.''

DODGERS ROOKIES BY THE NUMBERS

5 straight Dodgers have won the Rookie of the Year award.

4 straight Dodgers won the award from 1979 to '82 - Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Sax.

16 Dodgers have won the award since the first one was given to Jackie Robinson in 1947.

CAPTION(S):

6 Photos, Box

Photo: (1) C MIKE PIAZZA

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR '93

(2) 1B ERIC KARROS

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR '92

(3) P HIDEO NOMO

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR '95

(4) OF TODD HOLLANDSWORTH

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR '96

(5) OF RAUL MONDESI

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR '94

(6) 2B WILTON GUERRERO

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR '97?

Juan Ocampo / L.A. DODGERS

Box: DODGERS ROOKIES BY THE NUMBEERS (see text)