MLB Midseason Awards

Well, that All*Star Game sure was the season in a nutshell, wasn't it?  A ton of home runs and a ton of strikeouts.  Yep, that's Major League Baseball in 2018.  And, just for fun, we also got a replay of last year with the Astros hitting back-to-back homers off a Dodgers pitcher.

As we get set for the second half of the season, our attention turns back to the pennant races and the trades those contenders will make (BTW, who called Machado to the Dodgers weeks ago?  This guy!).  But before moving on to see how teams will shake out for October, let's take a look at who would take home the major hardware if they voted for those awards today.

AL MVP: MOOKIE BETTS, Red Sox-Betts and J.D. Martinez are the two best players in the American League, and they're reasons 1 and 1A why the Red Sox have been the class of baseball this year.  They could easily be 1-2 in MVP voting (although Jose Ramirez might have something to say about that).  Martinez, the biggest difference between this year's Boston team and last year's, has a ridiculous 80 RBIs.  But Betts is a better all-around player whose numbers across the board are just as ridiculous.  A .359 average with 23 homers, 25 doubles, 71 runs scored and 18 stolen bases.  He also plays a solid right field.  Betts finished second in MVP voting a few years ago.  If he keeps up his first-half pace over the final 10 weeks of the season, this could be the year he wins it.

AL Cy Young: LUIS SEVERINO, Yankees-This is a close one, too (kinda like how the starting decision wasn't an easy one for A.J. Hinch).  But I'm giving Severino the nod over Chris Sale and Corey Kluber for a few reasons. 1) The Yankees are 18-2 in his starts.  That's what an ace is supposed to do.  2) In 14 of his starts, he's allowed two runs or fewer, including nine with 0 or 1.  3) The Red Sox and Indians both have deeper rotations than the Yankees, meaning Severino's team relies on him much more than Sale's and Kluber's.  4) Severino was the best pitcher in baseball for much of the first half.  Like I said, the numbers between the three are extremely close.  Whoever ends up winning the AL East may ultimately have the edge.

AL Rookie: GLEYBER TORRES, Yankees-Shohei Ohtani had this award on lockdown until his elbow injury that will limit him to hitting for the rest of the season.  Instead, it's Yankees 1-2 with Torres and Miguel Andujar.  Gleyber gets the slight edge over his teammate, though.  His arrival in late April is when the Yankees took off, and he made the All*Star team after hitting .294 in 63 games.  The most amazing part is that after never showing any power in the Minors, he's got 15 homers and 42 RBIs.  There's a reason why he's untouchable in any potential Yankees trade.

AL Comeback Player: WILSON RAMOS, Rays-After making the All*Star team with the Nationals in 2016, he signed a two-year deal with Tampa Bay prior to last season...only to tear his ACL in Spring Training and miss three months.  As a result, Ramos played in just 64 games (and still managed to hit .260 with 11 home runs).  In the first half of this season, he played in 78 games, hitting .297 with 14 homers and being elected the All*Star starter (although he unfortunately missed the game with an injury).

AL Manager: ALEX CORA, Red Sox-The manager of whichever team wins the AL East will end up being named AL Manager of the Year.  And right now that's Alex Cora.  Boston wins every freakin' day.  The Red Sox have the best record in baseball and took a 4.5-game lead into the All*Star Break.  Their 68 wins are the most-ever before the All*Star Break, but that comes with a bit of an asterisk since the Red Sox have already played 98! games (teams are normally at around 90 games played at the All*Star Break, but this season started early and the All*Star Game was later than usual).  Boston's .694 winning percentage, though, is the best of any team at the All*Star Break since the 2001 Mariners, who tied the Major League record with 116 wins.

NL MVP: FREDDIE FREEMAN, Braves-It shouldn't be a surprise that Freddie Freeman has put up solid numbers so far this season.  It's been his M.O. for most of his career.  But now he's finally getting the recognition he deserves for it, as evidence by being the leading vote-getter in the National League.  His .315 average, 16 homers, 61 RBIs, 25 doubles and 59 runs scored speak for themselves.  His veteran leadership on a surprise contender full of young players is where Freeman brings the most value to his team, though.

NY Cy Young: MAX SCHERZER, Nationals-He got a standing ovation before even throwing a pitch at the All*Star Game.  And he deserved it.  Because Scherzer is far-and-away the best pitcher in the National League right now.  He leads the league in strikeouts (by a wide margin), is tied for the NL lead in wins, and ranks fourth in ERA.  Scherzer's also thrown the most innings in the National League, and his only start of less than six innings all season was way back on April 4.  He's struck out at least 10 in exactly half his starts, and did I mention his batting average against is just .180?  The disappointing Nationals are just one game over .500 on the season, but 14-6 when Scherzer starts.

NL Rookie: JUAN SOTO, Nationals-Much like Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto didn't begin the season in the Majors.  In fact, he didn't make his debut until May 20 (although he technically hit a home run before his Major League debut in the second half of that suspended game against the Yankees).  I don't think Soto's going anywhere anytime soon, though.  All he's done in 59 games is belt nine homers and 11 doubles while establishing himself as a badly needed weapon on an offensively-challenged Nationals squad.  Did I mention he's only 19 (the same age as a certain other National in his Rookie of the Year season)?

NL Comeback Player: MATT KEMP, Dodgers-Evidently all Matt Kemp needed to get his groove back was a return to LA.  The Dodgers traded him away prior to the 2015 season, and he spent the next three years toiling away in San Diego and Atlanta.  LA got him back in a trade during the offseason, but he was gonna have to make the team in Spring Training.  Not only did he make the team, he showed flashes of his former self.  Kemp was the Dodgers' most consistent hitter in the first half, and his career revival earned him a much-deserved All*Star start.

NL Manager: BRIAN SNITKER, Braves-Milwaukee's Craig Counsell and Philadelphia's Gabe Kapler are just as deserving.  But I'm going with Brian Snitker, who's had the Braves in first place for most of the season.  Atlanta was supposed to be another year or two away.  Instead they're this year's version of the 2017 Yankees.  Yes, the career years from Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis have helped, as has the emergence of Ozzie Albies.  But the manager also deserves plenty of credit for the Braves turning themselves into a contender in the NL East.