2019 Dugout Edge Regular Season Awards: MVP's and Cy Youngs

These awards are based on how I would assign them, not how I believe they will end up. Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Reliever of the Year will follow, time permitting

American League MVP
Winner: CF Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels)
Stat Line: 45 HR, 104 RBI, .291/.438/.645, 11 SB, 180 wRC+, 8.6 fWAR in 134 games
Alex Bregman's white-hot second half paired with Mike Trout's season ending three weeks early made this a much tougher call than it was a month ago, but ultimately, I think Trout pulls ahead by a hair here. Trout finished with 45 home runs, an on-base percentage well north of .400, excellent base running that goes beyond his eleven stolen bases, good defense, and overall consistent performance. He led the American League wOBA (.436), wRC+ (180), and fWAR (8.6), and when I compared his cumulative stats to Bregman's (that's the way to do it when it comes to weighing performances over significantly different numbers of games, right?), he topped him in most of them. RE24 is a bit of a flawed stat that I prefer for pitchers, but it's still a good stat that measures run expectancy impact and Trout accumulated 71.5 "runs" of value provided while Bregman finished second in the AL with 59.9. Bregman was so, so good down the stretch, but Trout was so, so much better when he was on the field and it gave him the edge. He held an OPS above 1.000 in each month, managed 16 home runs in a 26 game stretch from July 3rd to August 6th, and at one point scored a run in eleven straight games despite a fairly futile offense around him. Trout is unquestionably the best player of our era and is closing in on becoming the best player of all time if he isn't already. Now with 285 career home runs, 200 stolen bases, and 73.4 fWAR in 1199 games, he has moved up to 47th on the all time list despite only having turned 28 in August. In the last few months of the season, he past the likes of Frank Thomas (72.1), Rod Carew (72.3), and Derek Jeter (73.1). Easily within reach for 2020 are Johnny Bench (74.8) and Ken Griffey Jr. (77.7).

Runner up: 3B/SS Alex Bregman (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 41 HR, 112 RBI, .296/.423/.592, 5 SB, 168 wRC+, 8.4 fWAR in 156 games
Even though I picked Trout as being a hair ahead of Bregman, it's true that the Astros' third baseman had a tremendous season that would have netted him the MVP in many other seasons. He was solid through the first chunk of the season, though his .259/.393/.516 line on July 31st resembled much more of an All Star-type season than that which could get him compared to Mike Trout. However, he flipped a switch in August and stayed white hot throughout the rest of the season, slashing .372/.487/.750 with 15 home runs, 21 doubles, 49 driven in, and nearly twice as many walks (37) as strikeouts (20) in 51 games over the final third of the season. It's not like the Astros necessarily needed that to propel them to what was an easy AL West crown, but Bregman was certainly front and center in the success that led them to an MLB-high 107 wins. And if his bat and steady defense at third base weren't enough, he also appeared in 65 games at shortstop while Carlos Correa was hurt, more than holding his own. It really is so close, but playing in the same league as Trout is tough, and I have to hand Trout the award here. Bregman's 8.4 fWAR would have led the National League had the Astros not switched over back in 2013, and he was the only player in the majors (min. 400 PA) with more walks than strikeouts.

Honorable mention: SS Marcus Semien (Oakland A's)
Stat Line: 33 HR, 92 RBI, .285/.369/.522, 10 SB, 137 wRC+, 7.5 fWAR in 162 games
Who saw this one coming? Marcus Semien, who had never put up more than 56 extra base hits in a season, had 83 this season (43 2B, 7 3B, 33 HR) to finish third in the American League behind only Red Sox teammates Rafael Devers (90) and Xander Bogaerts (85). All those extra base hits, including 33 home runs, helped him slash .285/.369/.522 despite a pitcher-friendly home park, his 137 wRC+ placing tenth in the AL. Like Bregman, he also got hot late, slashing .304/.396/.621 with 19 home runs in the second half and .347/.441/.693 with eight home runs in September, helping propel the A's to the AL Wild Card Game. Of course, possibly even more valuable than his bat was his glove, as he played Gold Glove defense at shortstop all year long to team with Matt Chapman in giving the A's the best left side infield defense in the game. Additionally, Semien was one of only four American League players to appear in all 162 games, joining the Royals' Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler and the Orioles' Jonathan Villar. Semien's numbers might not pop out like Trout's or Bregman's, but his combination of well above average hitting, excellent defense, and durability made him the third most valuable player in the American League (and, as it turns out, in the AL West).

Others:
RHP Justin Verlander (HOU, 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 300/42/223 K/BB/IP)
RHP Gerrit Cole (HOU, 2.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 326/48/212.1 K/BB/IP)
SS Xander Bogaerts (BOS, 33 HR, .309/.384/.555, 6.8 fWAR)
3B Rafael Devers (BOS, 32 HR, .311/.361/.555, 5.9 fWAR)
RF Mookie Betts (BOS, 29 HR, .295/.391/.524, 6.6 fWAR)

National League MVP
Winner: RF Cody Bellinger (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Stat Line: 47 HR, 115 RBI, .305/.406/.629, 15 SB, 162 wRC+, 7.7 fWAR in 156 games
If Christian Yelich hadn't gotten hurt, I'd be handing him this award. However, he did, and Bellinger's monster first half and strong second half carried him just past Yelich over the final few weeks of the season. I know that a lot of people will look at his .263/.371/.546 second half line and dislike it, and while it would be ideal to have your best player be more consistent, I really have no problem with it. Most people would have no problem if he slashed .263/.371/.546 in the first half before catching fire in the second half, because his performance "in the stretch run" would be what "propelled the Dodgers into the postseason." However, I think it's important to note that a win in mid-April counts every bit as much as a win in mid-September, and you could even argue that the early season games were more important for the Dodgers as they established their stranglehold on the NL West before coasting for most of the rest of the season, even if Bellinger slowed down in that stretch. Now, he was truly incredible out of the gate. Over his first 30 games, Bellinger slashed .434/.508/.906 with 14 home runs. I don't care what you do after that, if you're worth 2.9 wins in 30 games, you earn plenty of slack. Those first 30 games included 15 multi-hit games, 13 separate games with a home run, and an appearance on base in all but one of those games. From there on out, he slashed .274/.382/.564 – All Star caliber numbers, but not quite MVP totals. However, all together, that .305/.406/.629 line with 47 home runs represents one of the most potent bats in the National League. Throw in his 15 stolen bases and high level defense in the outfield as well as at first base and you have a National League MVP worth 7.7 fWAR in 156 games.

Runner-up: RF Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers)
Stat Line: 44 HR, 97 RBI, .329/.429/.671, 30 SB, 174 wRC+, 7.8 fWAR in 130 games
As I said with Bellinger, Yelich was the MVP when he got hurt on September 10th, but unlike Trout, he couldn't hang on while on the shelf, at least in my opinion. Now unlike Bellinger, Yelich was much more consistent throughout the season. By posting at least a .935 OPS in every month and splitting his slash lines at .329/.433/.707 in the first half and .330/.423/.611 in the second half, he managed to finish at .329/.429/.671 with 44 home runs and 30 stolen bases in 130 games. Not many players can go 40-30-.400 (HR-SB-OBP); in fact, nobody has this century, with Jeff Bagwell and his 42 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and .454 OBP in 1999 marking the last time anybody has done it. It's a real disappointment that Yelich didn't get to finish his fantastic season, but he still has a real shot at the MVP award and I would not throw a fit if he won over Bellinger. He had a couple of incredible games during the season, too: on April 15th, he homered three times against the Cardinals, on August 5th, he went 4-5 with a couple home runs in Pittsburgh, and on August 17th, he went 5-6 with a couple home runs in Washington.

Honorable mention: 3B Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals)
Stat Line: 34 HR, 126 RBI, .319/.412/.598, 5 SB, 154 wRC+, 7.0 fWAR in 146 games
For most of the season, the NL MVP was a two horse race, but a red-hot second half from Anthony Rendon, coupled with a quieter second half from Cody Bellinger and an injury to Christian Yelich, made it interesting at the end. Rendon slashed an impressive .304/.386/.611 with 20 home runs in the first half, but he caught fire in the second, slashing .389/.462/.674 with 12 home runs over 49 games from there until September 4th. However, he slowed back down over the last few weeks of the season, slashing .194/.381/.347 the rest of the way and effectively falling out of the race. Still, the final product of 34 home runs, a .319/.412/.598 line, and a major league-leading 126 RBI made him perhaps the biggest on-field reason why the Nationals surged the way they did. On the glove side, Rendon was as steady as they come, making all the routine plays as well as the regular highlight reel play. In the National League, perhaps only Cody Bellinger could match Rendon's value on both sides of the ball this year.

Others:
CF/SS Ketel Marte (ARI, 32 HR, .329/.389/.592, 10 SB, 7.0 fWAR)
RHP Jacob deGrom (2.43 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 255/44/204 K/BB/IP)
CF Ronald Acuna (ATL, 41 HR, .280/.365/.518, 5.6 fWAR)
3B Nolan Arenado (COL, 41 HR, .315/.379/.583, 5.9 fWAR)
C Yasmani Grandal (MIL, 28 HR, .246/.380/.468, 5.7 fWAR)

American League Cy Young
Winner: RHP Justin Verlander (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 21-6, 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 300/42 K/BB in 223 IP
You could pick either Justin Verlander or Gerrit Cole here and you wouldn't be wrong. Those who pick Cole probably value more strikeouts, which Cole had (326 to 300 or 39.9% K-rate to 35.4%), while those who value limiting baserunners probably choose Verlander (0.80 WHIP to 0.89). Now, the 36 year old Verlander had one of his finest seasons to date, reaching 200 innings for the 12th time in the past 13 years and reaching 300 strikeouts for the first time ever. He led the American League in wins (21), innings pitched (223), WHIP (0.80), and strikeout to walk ratio (7.14:1), tied for the lead in starts (34), finished second to Cole in ERA (2.58) and strikeouts (300), and even threw a no-hitter. He went at least six innings in 29 of his 34 starts, which in today's game is unheard of. He never allowed more than four runs, earned or unearned, in any game, and struck out at least seven batters in 27 starts. That consistency also carried over to the longer term, as he never posted a WHIP above 0.92 in any given month and only had one month with an ERA above 2.68. At this point, he has cemented himself as one of the top pitchers of the 21st Century.

Runner-up: RHP Gerrit Cole (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 20-5, 2.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 326/48 K/BB in 212.1 IP
Gerrit Cole struck out 326 batters in 2019 and led the American League in ERA. Nobody has struck out that many in a season since Randy Johnson struck out 334 in 2002. Furthermore, Cole's 39.9% strikeout rate was the best EVER a starting pitcher. And not just by a hair, by 2.4% over Pedro Martinez's 37.5% in 1999! That's incredible. He also finished the season exceptionally strong, going 11-0 with a 1.79 ERA, a 0.74 WHIP, and a 156/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 95.2 innings in the second half. In the month of September, he was absolutely untouchable, posting a 1.07 ERA, a 0.64 WHIP, and a 74/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 42 innings – if you're counting, that's a 48.7% strikeout rate over an entire month. All those strikeouts combined with elite run prevention and baserunner prevention makes for one hell of a season.

Honorable mention: RHP Shane Bieber (Cleveland Indians)
Stat Line: 15-8, 3.28 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 259/40 K/BB in 214.1 IP
Before the season, how many of you had Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole finishing one and two for the Cy Young? Probably quite a few. How about Shane Bieber finishing third? Now that's a surprise. His season started modestly enough, as he ran a 3.81 ERA through May 13th, threw a complete game shutout to bring it down to 3.22 on May 19th, but had it back up at 4.07 by June 9th. However, he spun a 12 strikeout gem against the Tigers on June 15th, and from that start onwards, he went 10-6 with a 2.89 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and a 163/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 137 innings to close out the season. While his complete game, 15 strikeout, no run performance against Baltimore on May 19th was his best by the numbers, he came back on July 24th with a second complete game shutout, this time allowing just three baserunners while striking out ten. His third complete game on August 3rd made him one of only two AL pitchers this year with three complete games, the other being Lucas Giolito. Despite relative anonymity at the start of the season, he led all American League pitchers not named Verlander or Cole in innings (214.1), strikeouts (259), WHIP (1.05), and strikeout to walk ratio (6.48:1), though of course he was third to those two in each category.

Others:
RHP Charlie Morton (TB, 3.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 240/57/194.2 K/BB/IP)
RHP Lance Lynn (TEX, 3.67 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 246/59/208.1 K/BB/IP)
LHP Mike Minor (TEX, 3.59 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 200/68/208.1 K/BB/IP)
RHP Lucas Giolito (CWS, 3.41 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 228/57/176.2 K/BB/IP)
RHP Mike Clevinger (CLE, 2.71 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 169/37/126 K/BB/IP)

National League Cy Young
Winner: RHP Jacob deGrom (New York Mets)
Stat Line: 11-8, 2.43 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 255/44 K/BB in 204 IP
For a while, it was a two horse race between Hyun-Jin Ryu and Max Scherzer, but both slowed down in the second half while Jacob deGrom picked it up. After starting the season with 13 shutout innings and 24 strikeouts to two walks, he scuffled a bit over the rest of April and had a 4.85 ERA when the month closed, and another rough start on May 17th left him 2-5 with a 3.98 ERA through nine starts. However, he turned it on from there, finishing 9-3 with a 1.91 ERA over his last 23 starts. He continually got stronger as the season wore on, as that run included a 1.44 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and a 117/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 94 innings in the second half. He went exactly seven innings in eleven of his last twelve starts, allowing one earned run or fewer in nine of those. In the end, the only thing he led the NL in was strikeouts (255), but he still finished a close second in ERA (2.43) and WHIP (0.97) and third in innings pitched (204).

Runner-up: RHP Jack Flaherty (St. Louis Cardinals)
Stat Line: 11-8, 2.75 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 231/55 K/BB in 196.1 IP
Jack Flaherty's 2019 season started plainly enough, holding a 3.77 ERA over the first two months of the season, but a rough June left him with a 4.90 ERA heading into his July 7th start. However, since then, he's been the best pitcher in the National League, going 7-3 with a 0.93 ERA, a 0.70 WHIP, and a 130/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 106.1 innings to close out the year. Over those last 16 starts, he allowed zero or one run 13 times and only once allowed more than five hits in a game (six on July 21st). The end result was that he and Jacob deGrom were the only National League pitchers to throw at least 190 innings with an ERA below 3.20, and his 0.97 WHIP was the best in the league.

Honorable mention: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Stat Line: 14-5, 2.32 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 163/24 K/BB in 182.2 IP
This one was really close between Ryu and Stephen Strasburg, but I ultimately went with Ryu based on the complete dominance he had in most of his starts despite missing some time. The major league ERA leader stumbled a bit in the second half, including a four start stretch in August and September where he allowed 21 earned runs and 38 baserunners in 19 innings (9.95 ERA, 2.00 WHIP), but up until there, he had been virtually untouchable. Heading into that stretch, Ryu was 12-2 with a 1.45 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and a 121/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 142.2 innings. He never struck out a ton of batters, reaching double digits in just one start, but he still had ten scoreless starts of at least six innings out of his 29 total, and in two more he allowed unearned runs but no earned runs. His two best starts of the season may have come back to back, when he tossed a four hit, no walk, six strikeout, complete game shutout against a strong Braves lineup on May 7th then followed it up with eight shutout innings on one hit, one walk, and nine strikeouts against a strong Nationals lineup on May 12th. In the end, he led the majors with a 2.32 ERA and the National League with a 3.3% walk rate.

Others
RHP Stephen Strasburg (WSH, 3.32 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 251/56/209 K/BB/IP)
RHP Max Scherzer (WSH, 2.92 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 243/33/172.1 K/BB/IP)
RHP Walker Buehler (LAD, 3.26 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 215/37/182.1 K/BB/IP)
LHP Clayton Kershaw (LAD, 3.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 189/41/178.1 K/BB/IP)
LHP Sonny Gray (CIN, 2.87 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 205/68/175.1 K/BB/IP)

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)

End of Season Awards: Rookie of the Year

Below are my picks for the AL and NL Rookie of the Year Awards. These are my picks, not predictions.

American League Rookie of the Year

Winner: Aaron Judge (New York Yankees): 52 HR, 114 RBI, .284/.422/.627 slash, .430 wOBA, 173 wRC+, 9 SB, 8.2 fWAR

Come on now, this one is easy. The 25 year old led AL rookies in games (155), runs (128), home runs (52), RBI (114), walks (127), on-base percentage (.422), OPS (1.049), wOBA (.430), wRC+ (173), and fWAR (8.2), setting the rookie record with his 52 home runs. What Judge did was nothing short of historic, and he'll easily win the AL ROY unanimously.

Runner-up: Andrew Benintendi (Boston Red Sox): 20 HR, 90 RBI, .271/.352/.424 slash, .332 wOBA, 103 wRC+, 20 SB, 2.2 fWAR

The Best of the Rest is Andrew Benintendi, a pre-season frontrunner for this award who played roughly as expected. In 151 games, the Boston left fielder slashed .271/.352/.424 with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, providing a little bit of power, speed, on-base ability, and defense. Just two years removed from college ball at the University of Cincinnati, he has been a key piece of the Red Sox run, and he's likely not done ascending. It was a very good season for a rookie, but in the year of Judge, it will have to be second place.

Honorable mention: Trey Mancini (Baltimore Orioles): 24 HR, 78 RBI, .293/.338/.488 slash, .349 wOBA, 117 wRC+, 1 SB, 1.8 fWAR

Trey Mancini doesn't provide the same defensive value as Benintendi, but he's been one of the best rookie hitters in the game this year. Over 147 games, he slashed .293/.338/.488 with 24 home runs, leaving some to be desired in the on-base percentage category but for the most part producing at an above-league-average pace. He actually had a 17 game hitting streak from September 11th to September 29th, which only ended because he was walked twice on the 30th. Never a top prospect coming up out of Notre Dame, Mancini has hit his way into being a productive major leaguer.

Just missed: Yulieski Gurriel (18 HR, .299/.332/.486, 1.8 fWAR), Jordan Montgomery (9-7, 3.88 ERA, 1.23 WHIP), Parker Bridwell (10-3, 3.64 ERA, 1.20 WHIP)

National League Rookie of the Year

Winner: Cody Bellinger (Los Angeles Dodgers): 39 HR, 97 RBI, .267/.352/.581 slash, .380 wOBA, 138 wRC+, 10 SB, 4.0 fWAR

This year won't have any suspense when it comes to Rookie of the Year winners. Judge will win unanimously in the AL, and Bellinger should be the unanimous NL ROY. Despite not coming up until April 25th, he blasted 39 home runs and got on base at a .352 clip, including a stretch where he hit 12 home runs in 15 games from June 10th to June 25th. He couldn't quite keep up with Aaron Judge (who can?) but the final line was pretty incredible for a kid who turned 22 mid-season. Not surprisingly, he led NL rookies in runs (87), doubles (26), home runs (39), RBI (97), and fWAR (4.0), and he would have led in most rate stats had it not been for 50 games of Rhys Hoskins. On top of everything, he has the prettiest swing in baseball with a violent uppercut. 

Runner-up: Paul DeJong (St. Louis Cardinals): 25 HR, 65 RBI, .285/.325/.532 slash, .359 wOBA, 122 wRC+, 1 SB, 3.0 fWAR

DeJong very quietly put together an excellent rookie season, slugging 25 home runs with a .325 on-base percentage and solid defense at a premium position, shortstop. Perhaps the only flaw in the 23-24 year old rookie's game was his lack of walks (21, or 4.7% of his plate appearances), but with all the other factors of his game, the Cardinals should be willing to be patient on the development of his, you could say, patience. He avoided long slumps, never posting an OPS below .739 in any month, and clubbing at least five home runs in each of his four full months from June onward. Don't look now, but DeJong could become a Jhonny Peralta-type player for the Cardinals, providing long term value but with a little more power than Peralta. 

Honorable mention: Kyle Freeland (Colorado Rockies): 11-11, 4.10 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 107/63 K/BB

Don't let the high-ish ERA and WHIP fool you; Freeland has been excellent this year for the Rockies. Pitching in the toughest of conditions, he managed to put up a respectable line that would look good for any rookie, regardless of Coors Field-status. Somehow, he was actually better at Coors (3.72 ERA, 1.43 WHIP) than he was on the road (4.57 ERA, 1.57 WHIP), though it's understandable that a 24 year old rookie might have trouble pitching in unfamiliar parks. Overall, though, he put up better numbers than most other rookie starters, even those that didn't have to make 19 appearances (16 starts) at Coors Field.

Just missed: Ian Happ (24 HR, .253/.328/.514, 1.8 fWAR), Josh Bell (26 HR, .255/.334/.466, 0.8 fWAR), Luis Castillo (3-7, 3.12 ERA, 1.07 WHIP)

First Half Awards

AL MVP: Aaron Judge (New York Yankees): 30 HR, 66 RBI, .329 AVG, 6 SB, 197 wRC+.

After a fairly miserable debut in 2016 (.179/.263/.345), Judge has been unstoppable in his first full season, slashing .329/.448/.691 with 30 home runs through 84 games, already setting the Yankees rookie home run record and winning a Home Run Derby. His 197 wRC+ shows that he's creating nearly twice as many runs as the league average hitter, and although he has struck out in 29.8% of his plate appearances, he has also walked in 16.7%, providing value in more than just home run power. His outside-the-zone swing percentage is down from 33.6% last year to 24.1% this year, showing sustainable success. Mark McGwire holds the rookie record with 49 home runs, but Judge is just 19 away and could easily become the first rookie ever to hit 50 in a season. His on-base percentage sits at .448 right now, and even if he follows Steamer's fairly pessimistic projection and posts a .352 OBP for the rest of the season, he'll still finish at .408, so he's the whole offensive package. He's been worth 5.5 fWAR this year, well ahead of second-place Jose Altuve's 4.4.

Runner-up: Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Indians): 17 HR, 48 RBI, .332 AVG, 10 SB, 157 wRC+.

After Judge, there are a lot of players who have produced about the same amount this year, but I chose to put Ramirez in the runner-up spot because of the ridiculous amount of lineup protection in Houston, where George Springer, Jose Altuve, and Carlos Correa all could easily fill this spot. Ramirez has put up his own crazy-good numbers without the same amount of protection in the lineup, slashing .332/.388/.601 with 17 home runs and 27 doubles through 86 games. Adding ten stolen bases and good defense at third base, he has been worth 3.9 fWAR, holding up more than his fair share of the responsibility as part of the Indians young dynamic duo with Francisco Lindor. He's been especially hot as of late, slashing .401/.446/.774 since June 3rd, spearheading the Indians' run to the top of the AL Central.

Honorable mentions: Jose Altuve (13 HR, .347 AVG, 18 SB, 161 wRC+), George Springer (27 HR, .310 AVG, 2 SB, 164 wRC+), Carlos Correa (20 HR, .325 AVG, 0 SB, 161 wRC+), Mike Trout (16 HR, .337 AVG, 10 SB, 208 wRC+)

NL MVP: Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals): 20 HR, 65 RBI, .325 AVG, 2 SB, 161 wRC+.

Bryce has been producing back at his 2015 levels, slashing .325/.431/.590 in the middle of a lineup that has been one of the most prolific in baseball. He sits second to Joey Votto in just about every offensive category, but because he adds value with good defense in right field, he truly contributes to the Nationals in every way he can. He slumped a bit in late May and into early June, but he seems to have rebounded and is slashing .433/.528/.700 in the month of July, currently sitting on an eight game hitting streak. Overall, he has been worth 3.8 fWAR.

Runner-up: Joey Votto (Cincinnati Reds): 26 HR, 68 RBI, .315 AVG, 3 SB, 167 wRC+.

Votto's edge over Paul Goldschmidt is razor thin, but I think he has just enough to take the runner-up spot, slashing .315/.427/.631 with 26 home runs through 88 games. Arguably the closest thing this generation of baseball players has to Ted Williams, Votto has walked in 16.1% of his plate appearances while striking out in just 10.9%. He hits for power, he gets on base, he makes the hitters around him better, and he's overall one of the very first bats I'd pick to be in my lineup this year. What's even crazier is that his .291 BABIP says that he may have been the recipient of bad luck so far, especially considering his career rate is .354, though his hard hit rate and soft hit rates aren't quite as stellar as they have been in the past, so who knows. What we do know is that Votto leads the NL in home runs (26), slugging percentage (.631), OPS (1.058), wOBA (.432), and wRC+ (167), and that he has been worth 3.8 fWAR.

Honorable mentions: Paul Goldschmidt (20 HR, .312 AVG, 13 SB, 153 wRC+), Daniel Murphy (14 HR, .342 AVG, 1 SB, 146 wRC+), Justin Turner (10 HR, .377 AVG, 2 SB, 183 wRC+), Ryan Zimmerman (19 HR, .330 AVG, 1 SB, 148 wRC+).

AL Cy Young: Chris Sale (Boston Red Sox): 11-4, 2.75 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 178/22 K/BB.

During his time with the White Sox, Sale bounced back and forth between "very good" and "excellent," and when he was shipped over to a tougher division and a tougher home park in Boston, it was expected that his numbers would revert back to "very good," at least at first, as had happened with David Price. However, Sale had no intentions of letting that happen, instead putting himself on pace for what may be the best season of his career with a 2.75 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. He has struck out 35.9% of the batters he has faced, which is a ridiculous number for a starter, meanwhile walking only 4.4%. He has been surprisingly consistent, as you might be surprised to hear he has just three scoreless starts this season, but he hasn't been blown up in any, either. His best start came on April 20th, when he struck out 13 Blue Jays over eight shutout innings, allowing four hits and walking just one. His worst start came in his return to Chicago, when the White Sox touched him up for six runs (five earned) over five innings, but he still struck out nine.

Runner-up: Dallas Keuchel (Houston Astros): 9-0, 1.67 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 69/18 K/BB.

Keuchel has only made eleven starts due to injuries, but no pitcher other than Chris Sale has been able to step in and firmly take over this runner-up spot, with even the best pitchers' ERA's creeping up close to 3.00. Over a month ago, when Keuchel made his most recent start, he was the clear front runner for the AL Cy Young Award, holding a 1.67 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, and just 48 hits allowed in 75.2 innings. He has given up more than two runs in just one of his eleven starts, when manager A.J. Hinch left him in too long and he gave up three runs in the ninth inning while vying for a complete game. Other than that easily avoidable bad-on-paper start, he is 9-0 with a 1.20 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. When he's on the mound, he's easily been the most dominant pitcher in baseball this year, and we're eagerly awaiting his imminent return.

Honorable mentions: Corey Kluber (7-3, 2.80 ERA, 0.99 WHIP), Jason Vargas (12-3, 2.62 ERA, 1.15 WHIP), Ervin Santana (10-6, 2.99 ERA, 1.08 WHIP), Carlos Carrasco (10-3, 3.44 ERA, 1.08 WHIP).

NL Cy Young: Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals): 10-5, 2.10 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 173/27 K/BB.

Slowly and steadily, Max Scherzer has put up an amazing season. His 0.78 WHIP is lower than any full National League season since 1876, and if he can maintain the pace he is on, it will be the second lowest in MLB history, trailing only Pedro Martinez's 0.74 in 2000. He's also leading the MLB in ERA this year at 2.10, enough to give him the rare edge over Clayton Kershaw for NL Cy Young. He has absolutely dominated almost every time out, reaching double digits in strikeouts in 11 of his 18 starts and striking out at least one batter per inning in all 18. In terms of consistency, his worst month in terms of both ERA and WHIP was April, when he went 3-2 with a 2.94 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, striking out 40 batters in 33.2 innings. Not bad for your worst month.

Runner-up: Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers): 14-2, 2.18 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 159/22 K/BB.

We're seeing classic Clayton Kershaw, as he is in the middle of posting his fifth straight season with an ERA below 2.20 and a WHIP below 0.95. Like Scherzer, the highest ERA he has posted in any month was a 2.43 mark in May, and he has shown the uncanny ability to bounce back from tough starts and keep them from snowballing. He has only allowed more than two runs in a game four times this year, but in his subsequent start after each of those games, he is 4-0 with a 0.94 ERA and a 0.59 WHIP, striking out 39 in 28.2 innings. Nobody gets to Kershaw two starts in a row, and that's part of what makes him great.

Honorable mentions: Zack Greinke (11-4, 2.86 ERA, 1.00 WHIP), Robbie Ray (8-4, 2.97 ERA, 1.22 WHIP), Ivan Nova (9-6, 3.21 ERA, 1.09 WHIP), Gio Gonzalez (7-4, 2.86 ERA, 1.23 WHIP).

AL Rookie of the Year: Aaron Judge (New York Yankees): 30 HR, 66 RBI, .329 AVG, 6 SB, 197 wRC+.

See MVP write-up. If Judge gets his projected 252 additional plate appearances this year (Steamer) and literally strikes out in every single one, he'd still slash .176/.290/.370 with 30 home runs, which would still theoretically have him in the running.

Runner-up: Andrew Benintendi (Boston Red Sox): 12 HR, 51 RBI, .279 AVG, 9 SB, 106 wRC+.

Benintendi won't catch Judge, but he's having a fine season in his own right. Through 82 games, Benintendi, who just over two years ago was still suiting up for the Arkansas Razorbacks, is slashing .279/.357/.446 with 12 home runs and nine stolen bases, showcasing an all around game that will be hugely valuable for the Red Sox in the coming years. If you look closer, though, he's actually having a better season than the numbers say. He had a horrible slump in which he went hitless in seven straight games from May 10th to the 17th, totaling 26 at bats, but outside of that, he's been putting up All Star numbers: all 12 of his home runs (obviously) with a .305/.375/.487 slash line. With his low .299 BABIP, he'll likely finish the season with better numbers than he has right now. He has been worth 1.4 fWAR this year.

Honorable mentions: Trey Mancini (14 HR, 44 RBI, .312 AVG, 1 SB, 133 wRC+), Jordan Montgomery (6-4, 3.65 ERA, 1.23 WHIP), Yulieski Gurriel (11 HR, 44 RBI, .297 AVG, 1 SB, 115 wRC+), Danny Barnes (2-2, 2.31 ERA, 0.90 WHIP)

NL Rookie of the Year: Cody Bellinger (Los Angeles Dodgers): 25 HR, 58 RBI, .261 AVG, 5 SB, 145 wRC+.

While Bellinger hasn't quite dominated the NL the way Aaron Judge has dominated the AL, he's been quite amazing in his 70 games, slashing .261/.342/.619 with 25 home runs. He may not hit .300 to back up his power, but he has supplemented his average .261 batting average with 33 walks, good for 11.3% of his plate appearances and a .342 on base percentage. Of course, when you're slugging over .600 with those 25 home runs, anything more than an acceptable OBP is just a bonus. He already has six multi-homer games. From May 5th to June 25th, a span of just 48 games, he blasted 21 home runs. His uppercut is, in my opinion, baseball's most aesthetically pleasing swing, and when you add in his great defense, he's a complete player. He's been worth 2.3 fWAR this season.

Runner-up: Kyle Freeland (Colorado Rockies): 9-7, 3.77 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 65/41 K/BB.

Freeland has been an enigma this year. The 8th overall pick of the 2014 draft, Freeland has kept his ERA under 4.00 despite pitching half his games in Coors Field, an extremely difficult place to be a pitcher. Oddly enough, he has been way better at Coors (5-4, 3.23 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) than he has been on the road (4-3, 4.35 ERA, 1.51 WHIP). Additionally, he's somehow getting it done with a low strikeout rate (14%) and a high walk rate (8.8%) that should theoretically hurt him in an environment where any ball put in play is dangerous. He has induced 1.8 ground outs for every fly out, so he does have that going in his favor. In his final start before the All Star Break, he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the White Sox and finished with 8.1 shutout innings on one hit, three walks, and nine strikeouts at Coors Field.

Honorable mentions: Jesus Aguilar (9 HR, 34 RBI, .294 AVG, 0 SB, 131 wRC+), Josh Bell (16 HR, 44 RBI, .239 AVG, 2 SB, 107 wRC+), Antonio Senzatela (9-3, 4.63 ERA, 1.24 WHIP), Ian Happ (13 HR, 31 RBI, .257 AVG, 3 SB, 122 wRC+).