Photo courtesy of Jenni Konrad from Flickr.com
The MLB season is all wrapped up, with the Kansas City Royals crowned World Champions for the second time in team history as they defeated the New York Mets in five games in the World Series. However, there are still a few pieces of unfinished business left to take care of in MLB: the season awards.
While there are numerous awards given out at the end of the year, there are three major ones: the Rookie of the Year given out to the best first-year player in each league, the Cy Young Award for the best pitcher and the Most Valuable Player given to the best overall player. Here are my predictions as to who will win:
NATIONAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: KRIS BRYANT, CHICAGO CUBS
Following a terrific season for the minor league Iowa Cubs in 2014, Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was called up to the major leagues on April 17. During his 151 games with the Cubs, Bryant set the league on fire, hitting .275 with 26 home runs and 99 runs batted in. He led all National League rookies in runs batted in, on-base percentage, walks, runs scored, doubles and OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage). Not to mention, Bryant was also a huge part of the Cubs resurgence this year. He helped the team win 97 games and a trip to the National League Championship Series, upsetting the favorite St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. Both the Cubs and Bryant have bright futures ahead of them, and there’s no reason not to start Bryant’s career off on a high note.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Jung-Ho Kang, Pittsburgh Pirates; Matt Duffy, San Francisco Giants; Randall Grichuk, St. Louis Cardinals; Justin Bour, Miami Marlins
AMERICAN LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: FRANCISCO LINDOR, CLEVELAND INDIANS
On paper, this award is a two-man race. The Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa arrived in June with the most hype out of any rookie in recent memory. He lived up to some of it, hitting an impressive 22 home runs and driving in 68 runs in 99 games. However, he was matched or outdone by a less talked about rookie: Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians.
Lindor hit .313 this year, in contrast to .279 for Correa. He also had a higher on-base percentage, more hits, more triples, and fewer strikeouts. They tied in doubles, with 22, and were almost equal in runs scored (Correa had 52, Lindor had 50, both in 99 games played). Lindor also proved himself the better defender, saving ten runs as opposed to Correa’s zero. Lindor also had a better fielding percentage than Correa (.974 to .967).
There’s no doubt that Correa is an exciting player, and has more power than Lindor. But Lindor is the better overall player, and should be the Rookie of the Year.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Miguel Sano, Minnesota Twins; Billy Burns, Oakland Athletics; Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
NATIONAL LEAGUE CY YOUNG AWARD: ZACK GRIENKE, LOS ANGELES DODGERS
The Cy Young Award in the National League is rightly considered a three-man race between Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Jake Arrieta. Grienke and Kershaw, both of the Los Angeles Dodgers, had terrific seasons. Kershaw became the first pitcher in 13 years to strike out 300 batters in one season, while Greinke at times was unhittable. For the Chicago Cubs, Jake Arrieta also had an awesome season, winning 22 games with a 1.77 ERA. In the second half of the season, he had a ridiculously low 0.75 ERA, the second-lowest ERA in history over one half of a season. On paper, it looks like splitting hairs between the three. Who do you pick?
Despite the hype surrounding Arrieta’s second half, and the name value of Kershaw (who has already won two Cy Young Awards, plus an MVP award), Grienke is clearly the best pitcher out of the three. Grienke had the lowest ERA at 1.66, not to mention the fewest walks (40), the lowest WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched; 0.84), the highest wins above replacement (9.3), and the fewest earned runs allowed overall (41). It’s a close race, but Grienke has the most edge out of all of them, and because of that the trophy should be his.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh Pirates; Mark Melancon, Pittsburgh Pirates; Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals
AMERICAN LEAGUE CY YOUNG AWARD: DAVID PRICE, DETROIT TIGERS/TORONTO BLUE JAYS
One of the most important moves made at the July 31 trade deadline was David Price going from the Detroit Tigers to the Toronto Blue Jays. During his two months with Toronto, Price was exceptionally good, going 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA. This strong run by Price played a huge part in helping the Blue Jays become the American League East champions
Looking at his whole season, too, Price looks like the best of the bunch. He led the league in ERA (2.45) and strikeouts (225), and his 18 wins put him only behind Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros. When one looks at Price’s overall body of work, plus the impact he had on his team down the stretch, he’s the clear choice.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros, Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics
NATIONAL LEAGUE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: BRYCE HARPER, WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Some people may be disinclined to vote for Harper, especially since his Nationals, heavily favored to win the National League East before the season, missed the playoffs. Despite that, Harper was the best player in the National League by far this season. He led the league in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, home runs, OPS, runs and wins above replacement. Long considered one of the top prospects in baseball, Harper lived up to his potential this season, absolutely demolishing everyone else in the league. This award is a no-brainer.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks; Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds; Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies; Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs
AMERICAN LEAGUE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: JOSH DONALDSON, TORONTO BLUE JAYS
The Blue Jays had one of the best offenses in the American League this year, and Josh Donaldson was the catalyst behind much of the explosion. He led the American League with 123 runs batted in, 122 runs scored and tied for most home runs in the league with 41. Coupled with how he helped propel the Jays to their first playoff trip since 1993 in his first season with the team, he fits the definition of “valuable” more than anyone else in the league.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Mike Trout, Anaheim Angels; Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals; Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Here’s the schedule of when every award will be announced:
ROOKIES OF THE YEAR: November 16
CY YOUNG AWARDS: November 18
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARDS: November 19
