2019 First Half Awards

AL MVP: Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels)
28 HR, .301/.453/.646, 8 SB, 186 wRC+, 6.2 fWAR in 87 games
Sorry, but this isn't a debate. Mike Trout is yet again the best player in the American League by a long shot, further proving that an average year for him is the gold standard to which every other player's super-breakout is compared to. With everyone talking about Christian Yelich and Cody Bellinger's huge first halves, it's almost taken for granted that Trout is beating both of them in both wRC+ and fWAR and we consider it "just another year" for him. He hits for a ton of power, he gets on base at an exceptional clip, he runs the bases very well, he plays good defense, and he's always signing autographs for kids. What more could you possibly ask for? With 71.1 fWAR at this point, he is now 56th on the all time list and has passed guys like Tony Gwynn (65.0), Mark McGwire (66.3), Willie McCovey (67.4), Jim Thome (69.1), and Pudge Rodriguez (69.6) on the list this year. He's also within a win of catching Eddie Murray and Frank Thomas.

Runner up: Matt Chapman (21 HR, .265/.353/.534, 0 SB, 135 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR)
Honorable mentions: Alex Bregman (23 HR, .265/.393/.533, 4 SB, 149 wRC+, 3.8 fWAR), Xander Bogaerts (17 HR, .294/.384/.535, 3 SB, 3.7 fWAR), Charlie Morton (10-2, 2.32 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 142/36 K/BB)

NL MVP: Cody Bellinger (Los Angeles Dodgers)
30 HR, .336/.432/.692, 8 SB, 184 wRC+, 5.7 fWAR in 88 games
Cody Bellinger's huge 2019 season has been so unbelievable that he's almost living up to what Mike Trout does year in and year out. He narrowly but safely edges out Christian Yelich here, as he is doing just about everything the Dodgers ask of him. He's hitting home runs left and right, he improved his plate discipline tremendously (dropped K% from 23.9% in 2018 to 14.9% in 2019 as well as bumped his BB% from 10.9% to 14.3%), and he's playing great defense in the outfield. Bellinger has been in the middle of everything the Dodgers have done this season, whether it's hitting walk-off home runs or preserving no-hitters with throws from right field. While he hasn't quite matched the unreal .431/.508/.890 line he put up in March and April, he's still producing and Yelich has more work to do if he wants to catch up.

Runner up: Christian Yelich (31 HR, .329/.433/.707, 19 SB, 180 wRC+, 5.0 fWAR)
Honorable mentions: Max Scherzer (9-5, 2.30 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 181/23 K/BB), Hyun-Jin Ryu (10-2, 1.73 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 99/10 K/BB), Ketel Marte (20 HR, .311/.359/.559, 4 SB, 133 wRC+, 3.8 fWAR)

AL Cy Young: Charlie Morton (Tampa Bay Rays)
10-2, 2.32 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 142/36 K/BB in 112.2 innings
Morton surprised everyone with a huge bounce back season in 2017, then was even better in 2018 at 34 years old. However, he's 35 now and expectations were that he would regress a little bit. Instead, he continued to improve, and with an AL-leading 2.32 ERA combined with nearly a 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio, he's having the best season of any American League pitcher this year. He's been very consistent, following up his rougher outings with big bounce-back starts every time, and he has never had a month with an ERA above 2.76. He had his best start of the season against the Orioles on July 2nd, when he allowed one earned run over seven innings on four hits, one walk, and a season-high 12 strikeouts.

Runner up: Justin Verlander (10-4, 2.98 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 153/27 K/BB)
Honorable mentions: Gerrit Cole (9-5, 3.09 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 170/30 K/BB), Mike Minor (8-4, 2.54 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 114/41 K/BB), Jose Berrios (8-5, 3.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 104/23 K/BB)

NL Cy Young: Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals)
9-5, 2.30 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 181/23 K/BB in 129.1 innings
On May 17th, Max Scherzer was 2-5 with a 3.72 ERA through ten starts, the Nationals were well below .500, and Scherzer looked like he had no shot of being in this position. Then, starting on May 22nd, he caught fire, going 7-0 with a 0.84 ERA, a 0.77 WHIP, and a 94/9 strikeout to walk ratio over 64 innings into the All Star Break, striking out at least nine in eight of those nine starts and never allowing more than two earned runs in a game. That included his start against Miami on June 19th, when he pitched with a black eye and a broken nose and shut down the Fish for just six baserunners over seven shutout innings, striking out the side in the seventh inning to finish with ten on the night. It also includes his 14 strikeout masterpiece against the Tigers on June 30th, when he allowed just one run on four baserunners and punctuated it with an eighth inning strikeout of future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera. Scherzer has been locked in every pitch of every start, missing bats with unbelievable frequency (35.1% strikeout rate this year), and he's always at his best in the final inning.

Runner up: Hyun-Jin Ryu (10-2, 1.73 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 99/10 K/BB in 109 IP)
Honorable mentions: Zack Greinke (10-3, 2.73 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 108/15 K/BB), Luis Castillo (8-3, 2.29 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 124/53 K/BB), Jacob deGrom (4-7, 3.27 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 138/25 K/BB)

AL Rookie of the Year: John Means (Baltimore Orioles)
7-4, 2.50 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 69/22 K/BB in 82.2 innings
There are no clear front runners here as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Eloy Jimenez haven't quite lived up to their astronomical expectations, but John Means has quietly been fantastic for the Orioles. He gets little recognition both because his team is terrible and because he suffers from Boring Name Syndrome, but the All Star Game will give him a chance to show the greater baseball world what he can do. He has been very consistent, allowing over three earned runs just once this season, and he was especially good on May 6th, when he shut down the Red Sox for just one run on three baserunners over seven innings. Means isn't a strikeout guy, but he's used soft contact and his command to his advantage, and for now he's winning the race for the AL Rookie of the Year.
Runner up: Brandon Lowe (16 HR, .276/.339/.523, 5 SB, 128 wRC+, 2.5 fWAR)
Honorable mentions: Spencer Turnbull (3-8, 3.31 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 84/34 K/BB), Michael Chavis (15 HR, .263/.332/.467, 2 SB, 106 wRC+, 1.0 fWAR), Eloy Jimenez (16 HR, .241/.303/.482, 0 SB, 105 wRC+, 0.5 fWAR)

NL Rookie of the Year: Pete Alonso (New York Mets)
30 HR, .280/.372/.634, 1 SB, 161 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR in 89 games
Unlike the AL race, the NL race is absolutely loaded as any of the top five could conceivably beat out John Means if they were in the American League. Pete Alonso, aside from winning the Home Run Derby, is tied for second in the National League in home runs with 30. His power trip has been spread out, as he hit nine, ten, and nine home runs in April, May, and June, respectively. Keep in mind that nine home runs per month over the six month season comes out to 54, which would be a new National League rookie record. His 30 have already broken Darryl Strawberry's Mets rookie record, and we just hit the All Star Break. While it's definitely the power that we're all buying, his .372 on-base percentage is also a huge positive for the Mets, and those who were worried about his strikeout rate can breath easier now that it's 24.5% in the majors this year, still high but not astronomical. The race is loaded, but I think this award is Alonso's to lose.

Runner up: Chris Paddack (5-4, 2.84 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 87/18 K/BB in 82.1 IP)
Honorable mentions: Mike Soroka (9-1, 2.42 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 73/21 in 89.1 IP), Fernando Tatis Jr. (14 HR, .327/.393/.620, 13 SB, 162 wRC+, 3.0 fWAR), Alex Verdugo (9 HR, .303/.350/.489, 4 SB, 119 wRC+, 2.2 fWAR)