With many of the MLB teams having played at least 82 games it is time to look at the first-half award winners. In this piece there will be awards for both the National and American Leagues for the following: MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year and Executive of the Year.
American League:
Most Valuable Player: Miguel Cabrera
With all respect to Josh Donaldson and Mike Trout, it is Miguel Cabrera having the better season. It is unfortunate he will spend the next six weeks on the disabled list. He was voted in by the fans as the American League starting first basemen. His triple slash line leads the American League in all three categories and stands at .350/.456/.578. He also has 15 home runs and 54 RBI at age 32. While his power numbers weren’t as strong as Donaldson and Trout in the home run department, he plays in a pitcher friendly park without as much help around him.
Cabrera is the clear choice for the first-half, however, it is also clear he will not win the award after he will miss 6 weeks. Look for Donaldson or Trout to continue to have solid seasons and surpass Cabrera while he is on the shelf.
Runners up: Josh Donaldson, Mike Trout, Jason Kipnis, Manny Machado
Cy Young: Dallas Keuchel
This was a toss-up between Dallas Keuchel and Chris Sale. Sale had missed a couple starts early in the season due to injury but probably has been better than Keuchel as of late. Sale boasts a league-leading 147 strikeouts, while Keuchel has made 18 starts with a 2.14 ERA and has helped to give the Astros the top spot in the AL West.
Keuchel has been fantastic with an 11-3 record over the course of 130.1 innings pitched. He has 110 strikeouts and just 32 walks. The Astros are going to need to give Keuchel some help if they plan on winning the American League West, but he has been a big reason why the team is still there. Sale could surpass Keuchel in the second-half, especially if the White Sox could give him some support.
Runners up: Chris Sale, Chris Archer, Sonny Gray, David Price
Rookie of the Year: Billy Burns
The American League hasn’t brought up the impact rookies that have made a big splash like the National League. However, Burns has been solid for the Athletics and hitting .318 for the struggling club. Burns will end up getting passed up by the end of the year by Carlos Correa, except Correa just hasn’t had enough playing time. Lance McCullers has also pitched well for the Astros.
Runners up: Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers, Chi-Chi Gonzalez
Manager of the Year: Paul Molitor
The American League has several choices for the top manager. AJ Hinch of the Astros has been fantastic. Joe Girardi has held things together with the Yankees. Kevin Cash of the Rays has kept things together despite having a terrible offense and several injuries. However, I’m selecting Paul Molitor for having far less talent and sitting at 44-39 in the American League Central. The Astros are just as surprising, but the Twins keep finding new guys to put on the roster and do not have an ace such as Keuchel.
Executive of the Year: Jeff Luhnow
He was highly criticized for all of his off-season moves, bringing together a group of guys who would strikeout all the time (and they do) and having too many outfielders. Yet, Luhnow wasn’t really supposed to win this year and his top prospects are just now being called up. Luhnow and the Astros might not last this season but he really has pulled off a tremendous job.
National League
Most Valuable Player: Bryce Harper
Is there really another choice other than Harper? Sometimes it is easy to forget that he is just 22 but he is putting together all of his potential this season. Harper owns a slash line of .344/.471/714. He has 25 home runs, 20 doubles, 60 RBI and has scored a league-leading 58 runs. He has also managed to avoid a trip to the disabled list which has hindered his young career to this point. This was the Bryce Harper we were supposed to be seeing and now it is here. He is also a big reason why the Nationals are on top of the NL East, despite all the injuries the club has had to endure.
Runners up: Paul Goldschmidt, Buster Posey, Nolen Arenado, Todd Frazier, Giancarlo Stanton
Cy Young: Max Scherzer
The National League has a tremendous amount of pitching at the top. Clayton Kershaw and Carlos Martinez would usually be really obvious All-Star selections. But, the top of the league has been so strong you simply cannot put everybody on the roster. With that said, the guy that stands above the rest is Max Scherzer. Scherzer bet on himself and it paid off and now he is performing like the Nationals needed him to. His record is 9-6 but he owns a 1.82 ERA, three complete games, two shutouts, 118.2 innings pitched, 0.775 WHIP, 139 strikeouts, 14 walks. He has been tremendous.
Greinke has been great too, with a 1.48 ERA with 115.1 innings pitched and actually has been the best Dodgers pitcher.
Runners up: Zack Greinke, Gerrit Cole, Shelby Miller, Michael Wacha
Rookie of the Year: Kris Bryant
The National League rookies have been very exciting and the race between Kris Bryant and Joc Pederson is close. However, Bryant didn’t get the head start that Pederson did and has been better. Hitting .278/.381/.481 with 12 home runs, 14 doubles, 49 RBI, and 8 stolen bases. Bryant has been fantastic for the Cubs and is helping to keep them in the race. Look for Bryant to continue to figure things out and potentially hit more home runs for the Cubs as the season continues.
Pederson is close and plays tremendous defense in centerfield. He has 20 home runs, most of them are mammoth shots. His .234/.370/.502 slash line is impressive on the on-base and slugging percentage, but the average is unsightly. The Dodgers were right to bet on Pederson. The great news is both of the guys are in the ASG.
Runners up: Joc Pederson, Noah Syndergaard, Maikel Franco, Yasmany Tomas
Manager of the Year: Mike Matheny
Say what you want about Matheny but the Cardinals own the best record in baseball and the pitching staff has been historic, despite losing Adam Wainwright – one of the best pitchers in the game. Typically losing a staff ace doesn’t mean you go out and dominate in the rotation. The Cardinals were right for withholding spending big money on Lester or Scherzer to this point. Matheny has also had to deal with losing starting first basemen, Matt Adams. He then lost veteran and all-star Matt Holliday. The Cardinals have found people that have stepped up their game. Matheny deserves credit for not only holding this together, but being better than everyone else.
Runners up: Joe Maddon, Clint Hurdle (the NL Central has been great)
Executive of the Year: John Hart
The Braves were in a very dark place after their 2014 collapse. While there are other teams having more success, there has been no other team that completely rebuilt their Farm System in less than one season. It’s been a winter and a half-season, actually. Most of the Braves offense was traded away as the team elected to play for the future with the likelihood they wouldn’t be able to afford their talent. They dealt Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel and Evan Gattis. All were fan favorites with the Braves. Shelby Miller has been great for the Braves and they will have him for three more seasons. He somehow got someone to take on Melvin (BJ) Upton’s contract, and even in that return Cameron Maybin has been playing very well.
The Braves 41-42 and won’t be making the playoffs. But, for what Hart has done, he deserves credit for putting this together. The Braves will need to add pieces to contend in the future. But, soon they will be rid of the Dan Uggla contract and maybe Hart can find someone to take Chris Johnson off their hands.
Summary:
With the second-half yet to be played and the trade deadline still to go, it will be a fun rest of the season. The NL Central appears to be one of the most exciting divisions in baseball with all the young talent and the race between the Cardinals, Pirates and Cubs. Time will tell who will win these individual awards by seasons-end. However, these players, coaches and executives have deserved it to this point.
