These awards are based on how I would assign them, not how I believe they will end up. This follows the MVP and Cy Young awards article.
American League Rookie of the Year
Winner: DH Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 27 HR, 78 RBI, .313/.412/.655, 0 SB, 178 wRC+, 3.8 fWAR in 87 games
In order to win the Rookie of the Year Award while playing just 87 games and DH'ing in most of them, you have to hit pretty well. Well, Yordan Alvarez hit pretty well, slashing .313/.412/.655 with 27 home runs and 26 doubles, and his 178 wRC+ would have been second in baseball only to Mike Trout's 180 if he had qualified. It started when the then-21 year old homered in four of his first five career games, and he never slowed down from there with five multi-homer efforts (including a three homer game) in his abbreviated rookie season. Perhaps as impressively for a rookie power hitter, he hit .313 with a .412 on-base percentage. The numbers get even crazier when you include the minors; between AAA Round Rock and the majors, he cracked 50 home runs, drove in 149, and slashed .325/.424/.690 over 143 games.
Runner-up: LHP John Means (Baltimore Orioles)
Stat Line: 12-11, 3.60 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 121/38 K/BB in 155 innings
A combination of a boring name, lack of big prospect status, and a terrible team means that it was hard to notice John Means. Still, he quietly put up one of the better pitching seasons in the American League, his 3.60 ERA being a product of pitching in the tough AL East in a hitter-friendly home park with a juiced ball. For reference, his 77 ERA-, which adjusts for home park and league average, put him in the same neighborhood as Walker Buehler and Luis Castillo. Means started off strong and actually carried a 2.50 ERA through the first half, and while he regressed in the second half with a 4.85 ERA, the final product was still an extremely productive season with a poor defense behind him in a very hitter-friendly environment. His most impressive start of the season came on May 6th, just his fifth career start, when he limited the Boston Red Sox to one run on three hits, no walks, and four strikeouts over seven innings.
Honorable mention: UTIL Luis Arraez (Minnesota Twins)
Stat Line: 4 HR, 28 RBI, .334/.399/.439, 2 SB, 125 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR in 92 games
You could make a very strong case for Eloy Jimenez or Brandon Lowe here, and I was very tempted to choose them, but Luis Arraez was so darn impressive that I just had to put him third. Turning 22 right at the beginning of the season, Arraez was considered more of a utility prospect and started the season at AA Pensacola, but he hit .342 there and earned a promotion to the majors in May, slashing .375/.467/.583 in a small sample size before getting sent down to AAA Rochester. However, after hitting .348 there, he was called back up for good in June and picked up right where he left off, and he turned out to be one of the game's most consistent hitters. Of the 85 in which he had at least two at bats, he had at least one hit in 70 of them, putting together two double-digit hitting streaks along the way. Additionally, in the 90 games in which he had at least one plate appearance, he was on base in 79 of them. His .334 batting average and .399 on-base percentage provided crucial balance to a Twins team that set the single season record for home runs, but he was just as important on defense, filling in wherever he was needed and appearing in 49 games at second base, 17 at third base, eight at shortstop, and 21 in left field. In a year where the home run was king, Arraez was one of the more unconventional players.
Others
2B Brandon Lowe (TB, 17 HR, .270/.336/.514, 125 wRC+, 2.6 fWAR)
LF Eloy Jimenez (CWS, 31 HR, .267/.315/.513, 116 wRC+, 1.9 fWAR)
RHP Zach Plesac (CLE, 3.81 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 88/40/115.2 K/BB/IP)
RF Oscar Mercado (CLE, 15 HR, .269/.318/.443, 15 SB, 95 wRC+, 1.7 fWAR)
3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (15 HR, .272/.339/.433, 105 wRC+, 0.4 fWAR)
National League Rookie of the Year
Winner: 1B Pete Alonso (New York Mets)
Stat Line: 53 HR, 120 RBI, .260/.358/.583, 1 SB, 143 wRC+, 4.8 fWAR in 161 games
What if Yordan Alvarez, but over 161 games instead of 87? Alright, while Pete Alonso wasn't quite as good as Alvarez on a per-game basis, this was still a Judgian rookie year. You could say that Alonso was just taking part in a league-wide homer barrage with the juiced balls, but he still led all of MLB with 53 home runs while breaking Aaron Judge's rookie record. He hit at least six home runs in each month (a 36 home run pace at worst) while slugging at least .566 in every month except July, where he slumped to just a .177/.333/.430 line. Still, he turned that slump around with a strong August (.283/.372/.566) then crushed eleven home runs in September to close out the year. His season-long homer barrage included four multi-homer games, an August stretch with home runs in four consecutive games, and two additional streaks with homers in three consecutive games. Oh yeah, and while he was slumping in July, he won the Home Run Derby as a rookie. Not too shabby.
Runner-up: RHP Mike Soroka (Atlanta Braves)
Stat Line: 13-4, 2.68 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 142/41 K/BB in 174.2 innings
Alonso's homer barrage combined with all the other great rookies in the NL made it easy to miss Mike Soroka's incredible season at the top of the Braves rotation, as he actually finished third in the NL in ERA. Indeed, Soroka held down a 2.68 ERA over 29 starts, allowing three or fewer earned runs in 25 of those. He was particularly dominant at the start of the season, heading into mid-June 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP over his first ten starts. He has incredible poise on the mound for someone who just turned 22 in August, and his strong command in a day where velocity is king have garnered him some comparisons to Greg Maddux. While Soroka has a long, long way to go to match Maddux's production, a likely top ten and possible top five finish in the NL Cy Young race is as good of a start as you can have.
Honorable mention: RHP Chris Paddack (San Diego Padres)
Stat Line: 9-7, 3.33 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 153/31 K/BB in 140.2 innings
It came down to a couple of Padres for this third spot, but unfortunately Fernando Tatis Jr. only playing half the season due to injuries pushes Chris Paddack just a hair ahead of him. Paddack made 26 starts and posted a 3.33 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, the latter of which would have been third in the NL and way ahead of Soroka if he had enough innings to qualify. He did slow down a bit as the season progressed, and a four start stretch in August in which he allowed 19 earned runs in 17 innings inflated his ERA from 2.78 to 3.84, but when he was on, he was one of the best pitchers in the National League, period. After he posted a 1.93 ERA in April, Pete Alonso was named the NL Rookie of the Month, and that irked Paddack enough that in his first start in May, fittingly against the Mets, he struck out eleven over 7.2 shutout innings, including Alonso twice, to lower his ERA to 1.55. That competitiveness makes him one of the most fun pitchers to watch, and it will serve him well in these upcoming winning San Diego teams.
Others
SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD, 22 HR, .317/.379/.590, 150 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR)
OF Bryan Reynolds (PIT, 16 HR, .314/.377/.503, 131 wRC+, 3.2 fWAR)
RHP Giovanny Gallegos (STL, 2.31 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 93/16/74 K/BB/IP)
CF Victor Robles (WSH, 17 HR, .255/.326/.419, 28 SB, 91 wRC+, 2.5 fWAR)
RHP Sandy Alcantara (MIA, 3.88 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 151/81/197.1 K/BB/IP)
American League Manager of the Year
Winner: Aaron Boone (New York Yankees): 103-59 (.636 WPCT), AL East Champion
Injuries were the name of the game for the Yankees this year, and they finished the season 103-59. Wait, what? If I told you that you would get a combined 35 games out of Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, Troy Tulowitzki, and Jacoby Ellsbury while none of Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius, and Aaron Hicks would play in more than 106 games, what would you think of the Yankee offense? What if I then added in that Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, and Jordan Montgomery would combine for 16.2 innings, and that Masahiro Tanaka would be the only pitcher to qualify for the ERA title? Somehow, Aaron Boone managed to manipulate his lineups to squeeze 103 wins of production out of this group, putting unlikely heroes like Mike Tauchman, Gio Urshela, Mike Ford, and Cameron Maybin in positions to succeed. I wasn't in the Yankee clubhouse and so I can't say for certain how it all went down, but Boone and the Yankees certainly overachieved given the rough hand they were dealt.
Runner-up: Kevin Cash (Tampa Bay Rays): 96-66 (.593 WPCT), 2nd AL Wild Card
The most recognizable names on this roster might belong to Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, Kevin Kiermaier, and Tommy Pham, but that never mattered to the low budget Rays. However, that has never been a problem for the Rays, and they finally broke through in 2019 with big seasons from Pham, Austin Meadows, Ji-Man Choi, Brandon Lowe, and Yandy Diaz at the plate as well as Morton, Emilio Pagan, Yonny Chirinos, and Ryan Yarbrough on the mound. Who? Doesn't matter, Cash and the creative Rays front office made it happen. The modern day Moneyball Rays pioneered the opener, which helped get the most out of guys like Chirinos and Yarbrough, and his overall creative style got the Rays to where they are.
Others
A.J. Hinch (HOU, 107-55, .660)
Bob Melvin (OAK, 97-65, .599)
Rocco Baldelli (MIN, 101-61, .623)
National League Manager of the Year
Winner: Brian Snitker (Atlanta Braves): 97-65 (.599 WPCT), NL East Champion
This comes down to Snitker and Davey Martinez to me, and it's hard to pick one without actually having been in the clubhouse. I'll give the edge to Snitker because of the Braves' more consistent performance, but a day in the locker room with either team could change my mind. Still, Snitker managed an extremely young Braves team that included prominent contributors like Ronald Acuña Jr. (age 21), Mike Soroka (21-22), Ozzie Albies (22), Austin Riley (22), Touki Toussaint (22-23), Max Fried (25), Dansby Swanson (25), and Sean Newcomb (26) to a lot of consistent success. A mediocre bullpen also made Snitker's job harder. Even when the Nationals began to surge over the summer, the Braves kept their cool and safely kept them at arm's reach throughout, and the NL East title was never really in doubt.
Runner-up: Davey Martinez (Washington Nationals): 93-69 (.574 WPCT), 1st NL Wild Card
If it was a smooth ride for the Braves, it was anything but for the Nationals. Early season injuries to Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner, combined with poor performance all around, had the Nationals at 19-31 in May and well out of a playoff spot. Through Davey Martinez's "stay in the fight" mantra, as well as a host of other factors including the Gerardo Parra signing, the Nationals completely turned it around and finished the season on a 74-38, including their final eight games, to secure home field advantage in the NL Wild Card Game. Davey navigated an awful bullpen that never really materialized, even with the in-season additions of Daniel Hudson, Fernando Rodney, Hunter Strickland, Roenis Elias, Javy Guerra, and more, though one could say he overused guys like Sean Doolittle and Wander Suero. Perhaps no single game captured the season's essence more than on September 3rd, when the bullpen allowed five runs in the top of the ninth before the Nationals rallied back for seven runs in the bottom of the inning to win 11-10. Starting in May, the team was loose, they had fun, and most importantly, they won ballgames.
Others
Craig Counsell (MIL, 89-73, .549)
Dave Roberts (LAD, 106-56, .654)
Mike Shildt (STL, 91-71, .562)
American League Reliever of the Year
*RE24 measures how much a pitcher has reduced the opposing team's run expectancy. For example, a with a runner on first and nobody out, a team is expected to score 0.831 runs, so if a reliever gets an out to make it a runner on first with one out, that reduces the run expectancy to 0.489 and adds 0.342 (0.831-0.489) to the pitcher's RE24. A higher RE24 is therefore better.
Winner: RHP Liam Hendriks (Oakland Athletics)
Stat Line: 1.80 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 21.86 RE24, 124/21 K/BB in 85 innings
Did you realize just how good Liam Hendriks was for the A's this year, because I sure didn't. In In 75 appearances, he managed a 1.80 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and a 21.86 RE24 that was second only to Aaron Bummer (22.81) among American League relievers. He recorded at least one strikeout in 68 of his 75 appearances and finished the year with a 37.3% strikeout rate compared to just a 6.3% walk rate. Additionally, Hendriks got more than three outs in 21 different appearances, proving to be much more than just a one inning plug-in guy.
Runner-up: RHP Emilio Pagan (Tampa Bay Rays)
Stat Line: 2.31 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 13.24 RE24, 96/13 K/BB in 70 innings
It might be hard to keep track of Pagan, as he's a reliever who has played for three small market green teams in three years (Mariners in 2017, A's in 2018, Rays in 2019), but he had by far his best season this year out in Tampa. Over 66 appearances, he pitched to a 2.31 ERA but only allowed one unearned run for a 2.44 RA9, and he also finished second among AL relievers (min. 25 IP) with his 0.83 WHIP, allowing just 45 hits and 13 walks in 70 innings. He struck out 36% of his opponents while walking just 4.9%, his 7.38 K/BB ratio coming in at third place in the AL (min. 25 IP). He was especially lethal against right handed hitters, striking out 63 and walking just three in 46.2 innings while pitching to a 0.71 WHIP. You may not have heard of him, but he's going to be a centerpiece in the Tampa bullpen for the foreseeable future, at least until his contract starts to get heftier.
Others:
RHP Brandon Workman (BOS, 1.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 21.05 RE24, 104/45/71.2 K/BB/IP)
RHP Yusmeiro Petit (OAK, 2.71 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 19.22 RE24, 71/10/83 K/BB/IP)
RHP Will Harris (HOU, 1.50 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 17.97 RE24, 62/14 K/BB/IP)
National League Reliever of the Year
Winner: RHP Giovanny Gallegos (St. Louis Cardinals)
Stat Line: 2.31 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 22.55 RE24, 93/16 K/BB in 74 innings
The NL RE24 leader by a long shot, Gallegos' 22.55 mark crushed second place Felipe Vazquez' 17.81 mark by nearly five runs. He struck out exactly one third of his opponents while walking just 5.7%, and he didn't allow an unearned run all season to keep his RA9 right there at 2.31. His ERA and WHIP actually stood at 4.80 and 1.13, respectively, on May 12th, but he kicked it into another gear after that slow start and went the rest of the season, 59 innings, with a 1.68 ERA, a 0.73 WHIP, and a 68/11 strikeout to walk ratio. A mutli-inning weapon, he got more than three outs in 25 of his 66 appearances, and quietly finished with one of the finest rookie seasons in the NL in a year where there were a lot of them. I know that Yankee fans are happy with Luke Voit, but St. Louis' return might actually have been better.
Runner-up: RHP Josh Hader (Milwaukee Brewers)
Stat Line: 2.62 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 17.09 RE24, 138/20 K/BB in 75.2 innings
Hader as a bit inconsistent due to overuse, but when he was on, which was most of the time, he was un-hittable. I mean, who he heck strikes out 47.8% of their opponents, besting their previous year's mark of 46.7%? The answer is not many, because that 47.8% mark is the fourth best of all time, trailing only 2014 Aroldis Chapman (52.5%), 2012 Craig Kimbrel (50.2%), and 2017 Craig Kimbrel (49.6%). Of course, Hader's mid-summer slide inflated his ERA from 1.77 to 3.02 at one point as he allowed eleven earned runs in sixteen innings from July 1st to August 17th, but after taking a week off, he was back to his old self and allowed just three runs over his final 19 innings while striking out 32 against three walks. Hader's strongest stretch came from May to June, when he allowed just two runs over 26 innings (0.69 ERA) on just six hits and eight walks (0.54 WHIP) while striking out 46.
Others
RHP Kirby Yates (SD, 1.19 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 14.89 RE24, 101/13/60.2 K/BB/IP)
LHP Felipe Vazquez (PIT, 1.65 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 17.81 RE24, 90/13/60 K/BB/IP)
RHP Seth Lugo (NYM, 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 11.54 RE24, 104/16/80 K/BB/IP)
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