Midseason MLB Superlatives

Baseball season has reached the All*Star Break.  There have been some surprises, but the teams at the top of the standings aren't that unexpected.  And we have about 20 teams who think they have a realistic shot at the playoffs, which should make for an interesting trade deadline.  That's for later in the month, though.  Right now, let's focus on who'd receive the major awards for the first half of the season.

AL MVP: Aaron Judge, Yankees-Imagine where the Yankees would be without Aaron Judge!  His first half numbers this season are better than they were two years ago, when he hit an AL-record 62 home runs.  You could make an argument for Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr., or even Juan Soto, but there's no denying that Aaron Judge is on pace for another record-breaking year.  That's why I think he has a slight edge over the others.  Because, again, imagine the Yankees without him.

AL Cy Young: Tarik Skubal, Tigers-The names in the mix for AL Cy Young at midseason certainly aren't those you would've expected.  Take the Tigers' Tarik Skubal, who I'd argue is the current favorite.  His career record entering this season was 23-27.  This year, he's 10-3.  He leads the AL in ERA and WHIP, is second in batting average against, and third in both wins and strikeouts.  So, yeah, he's been good.

AL Rookie: Ceddanne Rafaela, Red Sox-Boston hasn't quite taken the Houston/Baltimore approach of completely tanking just to stockpile high draft picks, but there's no denying that the Red Sox have developed some really good young talent.  Ceddanne Rafaela is one of them.  He's been excellent in both center field and at shortstop, and he's the most productive No. 9 hitter in baseball.  Rafaela is either first or second among AL rookies in virtually every offensive category.

AL Manager: Stephen Vogt, Guardians-Stephen Vogt retired as a player after the 2022 season.  He then spent one year as a coach in Seattle before taking over in Cleveland, his first managerial job at any level.  All he's done so far is lead the Guardians to the best record in the American League at the break.

AL Comeback Player: Carlos Rodon, Yankees-Remember how bad Carlos Rodon was last year?  This season, he's certainly had his moments.  But, more often, he's looked like the pitcher that the Yankees spent all that money on.  Especially in April and May, there was talk of Rodon being on the All*Star team.  That obviously didn't happen, but his bounce back season may prove that his contract might not have been a huge bust after all.

NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers-Switching leagues has done nothing to affect Shohei Ohtani's brilliance.  If anything, being in a lineup with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman has made him more productive!  He's leading the National League in hits, homers and runs scored, all by a wide margin.  If Ohtani's second half is anything like his first half, he's well on his way to a third career MVP award.  This time, though, he'll also get to play in October.

NL Cy Young: Zack Wheeler, Phillies-There are any number of candidates for the NL Cy Young right now.  But I'm going with the best pitcher on the best team.  Wheeler's second in the National League in ERA, has a WHIP below 1.00 and is holding his opponents to a .192 batting average.  He's also got more than a strikeout an inning.  The Phillies are 11-8 in his starts (Wheeler is 10-4), but two of those losses were in 10 innings, and one of them was 1-0!

NL Rookie: Jackson Merrill, Padres-Paul Skenes has been a sensation, will start the All*Star Game, and could very well end up being named NL Rookie of the Year.  At the break, though, I'm giving the edge to the Padres' Jackson Merrill, a converted infielder turned All*Star center fielder.  He leads all National League rookies in hits, home runs and RBIs, and he's second among NL rookies in batting average.

NL Manager: Pat Murphy, Brewers-People expected the Phillies, Dodgers and Braves to be good.  Very few people thought the Brewers would be leading the Central, though.  Especially after Craig Counsell left Milwaukee for the division rival Cubs.  The Cubs are currently in last place.  The Brewers, meanwhile, have the third-best record in the NL behind new manager Pat Murphy.

NL Comeback Player: Chris Sale, Braves-As it turns out, all he needed was to get out of Boston!  Because the Chris Sale who pitches for the Braves looks like the Chris Sale who pitched for the White Sox.  He's 35 years old and pitching in the National League for the first time in his career, but you sure wouldn't know it.  If the rotation had allowed for it, it would've been easy to envision him starting for the National League on Tuesday night.

For all the good, there's also been plenty of bad.  And I'm not just talking about the Yankees in April and May compared to the Yankees in June and July.  I'm talking about the players who've been truly bad.  So bad, in fact, that they've earned first half accolades of their own.

AL LVP: Jose Abreu, Astros-Abreu actually had some competition here from DJ LeMahieu and Kevin Kiermaier.  His season was far worse than either of theirs, however.  So bad, in fact, that it saw him get sent down at the end of April before he was released in mid-June.  It looks like Abreu's age caught up with him.  In 35 games, he hit a whopping .124 with two homers and seven RBIs.  Quite a fall for a guy who was still pretty productive as recently as last season's playoffs.

AL Cy Old: Griffin Canning, Angels-For some reason, the Angels insist on sending Griffin Canning out there.  I can't begin to guess why.  He's 3-9.  He has the second-worst ERA among qualified AL pitchers.  His WHIP and batting average against are both among the worst in the American League.  He's given up 18 home runs in 19 starts.  He only strikes out just over six hitters per nine innings.  I know he isn't the reason the Angels suck, but he's not exactly helping, either.

NL LVP: Tim Anderson, Marlins-It wasn't too long ago that Tim Anderson was really good.  He certainly fell off the cliff very rapidly.  The Marlins took a flier on Anderson after the White Sox declined his option, but he was just as bad in Miami.  After 65 games with a .214 average, no home runs and just nine RBIs, he was designated for assignment and ultimately released on July 5.

NL Cy Old: Patrick Corbin, Nationals-Washington isn't very good.  I get that.  And because the team isn't very good, Nationals pitchers will take a lot of losses.  I get that, too.  But Patrick Corbin's 1-9 record isn't the reason why he gets the nod here.  It's his .305 batting average against, 1.54 WHIP and 5.57 ERA, all of which are the worst in the National League.  I do give him credit for going out there every five days and taking his lumps, though.