2023 Dugout Edge MLB Awards

American League MVP

Winner: DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels.
Stat line: 44 HR, .304/.412/.654, 20 SB, 180 wRC+, 6.6 fWAR in 135 games.

Stat line: 10-5, 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 4.00 FIP, 167/55 K/BB in 132 innings.
Just when you think Shohei Ohtani can't get any better, he gets better. In fact, if we completely disregarded his pitching, he would still be in serious contention for the AL MVP Award. Even as a DH, he led American League hitters in fWAR and finished fourth in bWAR due to an elite 180 wRC+, nine points ahead of second place Corey Seager (169) who played in sixteen fewer games. Not only did he lead the AL in fWAR in wRC+, but he also did so in home runs, extra base hits (78), on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, wOBA (.433), runs created above average (60.6), and just about every other comprehensive hitting statistic you can think of. It's hard to dispute that Shohei Ohtani was the best hitter in the American League this year, period. But then we also get to consider his pitching. While he wasn't quite the ace we saw last season, he was still a well above average starting pitcher that made 23 starts with a 72 ERA- (28% better than league average) and put up 2.4 more fWAR, bringing his total to 9.0 on the season. Unfortunately we won't get to see him pitch next year, perhaps opening up the AL MVP race a little bit (if he's even in the AL), but for 2023 he deserves to win the AL MVP Award unanimously.

Runner-up: SS Corey Seager, Texas Rangers.
Stat line: 33 HR, .327/.390/.623, 2 SB, 169 wRC+, 6.1 fWAR in 119 games.
After Ohtani, the rest of the AL MVP field is wide open. For me, Corey Seager comes out on top, and the fact that he did so despite spending a couple stints on the IL and playing just 119 games speaks to how good he was when he was on the field. He led all American League hitters not named Ohtani in wRC+, extra base hits (75), batting average, slugging percentage, wOBA (.419), and runs created above average (39.5), the latter of which is a cumulative stat that he compiled in a dozen or more fewer games than his competition. Even when the Rangers slumped, his bat never went cold and he posted an OPS of .885 or higher in every month except October, where he played just one game. All of this, of course, while starting 112 games at shortstop, the most valuable defensive position on the diamond other than catcher. When you're the consensus second best hitter in the league while playing shortstop, there's not much to argue against. It's just the fact that he played only 119 games which makes it close with the rest of the field. Had he played a full season, he'd be competing with Ohtani for the award itself.

Honorable mention: 2B Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers.
Stat line: 29 HR, .276/.348/.478, 14 SB, 124 wRC+, 6.3 fWAR in 162 games.
It's not a traditional MVP stat line, but Marcus Semien deserves to be in the conversation for runner-up alongside his double play partner. Semien gets here on the strength of his defense and durability. A Gold Glove contender at second base, he was fourth among all AL infielders in outs above average and hit much, much better than first place Andres Gimenez (97 wRC+) and third place Maikel Garcia (84) and comfortably bested second place Bobby Witt Jr. (115) as well. Alongside Seattle's Eugenio Suarez, he was one of two American League players to appear in every game this season, while also leading all AL players in plate appearances (753) and runs scored (122). Semien's fingerprints were truly on everything this year for Texas, and always positive. While his 126 wRC+ was only good for twelfth in the league, he was certainly no slouch with the bat, finishing second in the league in total bases to Ohtani (320) and fourth in extra base hits (73). Runs created above average is a cumulative stat and his 24.3 were good for eighth in the AL, putting him in that upper tier of hitters across the league in terms of overall offensive impact. He saved 13.3 runs on defense according to Fangraphs, and none of the seven players on that list saved more than Julio Rodriguez's 5.1. It's the most well-rounded profile in the AL MVP race.

Others

RHP Gerrit Cole (Yankees): 2.63 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 3.17 FIP, 222/48 K/BB in 209 IP
RHP Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays): 3.16 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2.97 FIP, 237/55 K/BB in 185 IP

RHP Sonny Gray (Twins): 2.79 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2.83 FIP, 183/55 K/BB in 184 IP

OF Julio Rodriguez (Mariners): 32 HR, .275/.333/.485, 37 SB, 126 wRC+, 5.9 fWAR in 155 games
SS Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals): 30 HR, .276/.319/.495, 49 SB, 115 WRC+, 5.7 fWAR in 158 games

National League MVP

Winner: OF Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
Stat line: 41 HR, .337/.416/.596, 73 SB, 170 wRC+, 8.3 fWAR in 159 games.
It's really so close between Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mookie Betts. Acuña was the better hitter, but not by much. He was also the better baserunner, but his caught stealings eat some of the value from his 73 stolen bases. Meanwhile, Betts' average defense soundly clears Acuña's well below average defense. The counting stats are of course incredible for Acuña, who not only became the first player with 40 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, but also put up the first 40-60 and the first 40-70 season in baseball history. Additionally, he played in all but three games for the Braves, while Betts missed ten games for the Dodgers, and that little bit is enough to give Acuña the tiebreaker. He led the NL in virtually everything, including plate appearances (735), runs scored (149), hits (217), stolen bases, on-base percentage, OPS (1.012), total bases (383), wOBA (.428), wRC+, and fWAR. In fact, the 149 runs scored are the third highest single season total since integration, behind only 2000 Jeff Bagwell (152) and 1949 Ted Williams (150). Especially incredible given his high octane style of play is that he never slumped this season, never posting an OPS below .917 in any month and really turning on the jets as the season closed, slashing .343/.407/.714 in September to seal up the MVP race. Acuña put on a show at the plate, put on a show on the bases and was there performing every single day for Atlanta.

Runner-up: OF Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
Stat line: 39 HR, .307/.408/.579, 14 SB, 167 wRC+, 8.3 fWAR in 152 games.
Mookie Betts just misses behind Ronald Acuña despite being a better defender and nearly as good a hitter. It was perhaps the most all-around balanced performance in the country, as he didn't lead the NL any single individual stat, nothing, but still put up over eight wins above replacement. He started slowly, hitting just .232/.339/.424 through his first 26 games, but heated up as the season wore on. He was hitting .277/.383/.560 at the end of July, which is very solid but not quite MVP caliber, then went on a tear to hit .455/.516/.839 in the month of August, thrusting himself into the NL MVP race right alongside Acuña. Unfortunately he couldn't quite keep up with his Atlanta counterpart in the stretch run, but it's still a pretty incredible season. He hit for power, coming one big fly short of a 40 homer/40 double season, got on base at a high rate, rarely struck out, ran the bases well, and played a solid right field.

Honorable mention: 1B Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
Stat line: 29 HR, .331/.410/.567, 23 SB, 163 wRC+, 7.9 fWAR in 161 games.
All year it was Acuña vs Freeman in the NL MVP race, so when Betts caught fire in August and Acuña closed things out with a strong September, Freeman's merely "solid" finish to the season (.296/.382/.481 in September/October) put him just behind. Still, this is one of the more unique seasons we've seen from a first baseman recently. Playing in all but one game, he put up a 20-20-.400 (HR/SB/OBP) season that's rarely seen from a first baseman, in this case not since Paul Goldschmidt did it twice back to back in 2015 and 2016, and before that, Jeff Bagwell in 1996, 1997, and 1999. Additionally, his 59 doubles tied 2000 Todd Helton for the highest single season total since integration in 1947. Freddie was an on base and extra base hit machine in 2023, and even though he deservedly gets dinged for playing first base, he was a solid defender there and his 23 stolen bases led his position. It was a pretty cool season to watch from the veteran in his fourteenth season. He just beats out Matt Olson, whose 54 home runs were nothing to shake your finger at (while playing in all 162 games to boot), but Freeman was a better defender, a better baserunner, and got on base at a higher clip.

Others
1B Matt Olson (Braves): 54 HR, .283/.389/.604, 1 SB, 160 wRC+, 6.6 fWAR in 162 games
OF Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks): 25 HR, .285/.362/.506, 54 SB, 133 wRC+, 6.0 fWAR in 155 games
OF Juan Soto (Padres): 35 HR, .275/.410/.519, 12 SB, 155 wRC+, 5.5 fWAR in 162 games
SS Francisco Lindor (Mets): 31 HR, .254/.336/.470, 31 SB, 121 wRC+, 6.0 fWAR in 160 games

American League Cy Young

Winner: RHP Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
Stat line: 15-4, 2.63 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 3.17 FIP, 222/48 K/BB in 209 innings.
It took until the end of the season for a pitcher to step forward and take control of the AL Cy Young race, but Gerrit Cole made it happen with a torrid stretch that saw him go 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 52/5 strikeout to walk ratio over 48.2 innings in his final seven starts of the season. In the end, that helped him lead all AL pitchers in innings pitched, ERA, and WHIP, three of the most important traditional stats, while finishing third in strikeouts and fourth in FIP. Additionally, he did so while pitching in a hitter-friendly home park (where his ERA was half a run higher than on the road) and in an extremely competitive AL East. That all points to a pretty clear-cut Cy Young case, though I will note that he had strong defense behind him that recorded six outs above average and helped him outperform his xwOBA by .033, with a .256 real mark against a .289 expected mark. There's a debate nowadays with the advent of expected statistics whether we should consider what a player "could have" done with different defensive outcomes, and while there's merit to that, I still lean towards rewarding what actually happened. It can be a tiebreaker, which you'll see with the next two names, but I won't let it take an award away from Gerrit Cole when he very much earned it.

Runner-up: RHP Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
Stat line: 12-9, 3.16 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2.97 FIP, 237/55 K/BB in 185 innings.

It was really, really close between Kevin Gausman and Sonny Gray for second place on this list. I went back and forth multiple times. Gray gets Gausman in ERA, WHIP, and FIP. Gausman struck out 54 more batters while throwing one more inning. Looking behind them, Gray pitched in front of a terrible Twins defense while Gausman was helped by a good Blue Jays defense. Though Gausman didn't really need that defense, because he had all those strikeouts and also gave up many of his runs via the home run, unlike Gray. However, looking at the difference between wOBA and xwOBA (i.e., how "unlucky" each pitcher was), Gray was actually more "lucky" than Gausman despite having a worse defense. So where does that leave us? Pretty much in a tie if you ask me. And I'll give the tie to Gausman because he pitched in a tougher division in the AL East, while Gray pitched for the best team in an extraordinarily weak AL Central. Should he get dinged for that, probably not, but I'm really looking for something to separate the two and I'm going to use it. Now looking to Gausman alone, he really had a tremendous season. His 237 strikeouts led the American League, as did his 5.3 fWAR, while his 2.97 FIP was second only to Gray. He allowed four or fewer runs in 27 of his 31 starts, almost always putting the Blue Jays in a position to win.

Honorable mention: RHP Sonny Gray, Minnesota Twins.
Stat line: 8-8, 2.79 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2.83 FIP, 183/55 K/BB in 184 innings.
I may have Sonny Gray a sliver of a hair behind Gausman, but he had a tremendous season. He led the AL in FIP and put up the second best ERA in the league despite pitching in front of a bad defense, making for the best year of his career. He allowed three or fewer runs in 29 of his 32 starts, outdoing Gausman in that regard with his consistency, though he did average fewer than six innings per start. Otherwise, there's not much to say here that I didn't say in Gausman's column.

Others
RHP Pablo Lopez (Twins): 3.66 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 3.33 FIP, 234/48 K/BB in 194 innings
RHP Zach Eflin (Rays): 3.50 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 3.01 FIP, 186/24 K/BB in 177.2 innings
RHP George Kirby (Mariners): 3.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 3.35 FIP, 172/19 K/BB in 190.2 innings
RHP Luis Castillo (Mariners): 3.34 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 3.81 FIP, 219/56 K/BB in 197 innings
RHP Kyle Bradish (Orioles): 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 3.27 FIP, 168/44 K/BB in 168.2 innings

National League Cy Young

Winner: LHP Blake Snell, San Diego Padres.
Stat line: 14-9, 2.25 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 3.44 FIP, 234/99 K/BB in 180 innings.
Look, I can point to lots of advanced statistics that show that Blake Snell wasn't the best pitcher in the National League in 2023, and many of them are very real. He pitched in front of an elite Padres defense, outperformed his xwOBA by 34 points (.300 expected vs .266 real), and was incredibly lucky to strand 86.7% of his baserunners, by far the highest number in all of baseball (Gerrit Cole was second at 80.4%). That last number, let's face it, carries luck as a major factor. For all those reasons, you can galaxy brain yourself into picking someone else in the Cy Young. However, this is an award about what really happened, and at the end of the day, Snell got the job done. Yeah, he was lucky to leave all those guys on base, but there is something to being able to bear down and not let things compound. That led to a 2.25 ERA that led the NL by 0.73, a tremendous margin. Sure, his defense helped him a lot, but nobody came close to keeping runs off the board like Snell did. His 234 strikeouts were also good for second in the league, and the guy ahead of him had an ERA more than a run and a half higher. He allowed three or fewer earned runs in 30 of his 32 starts and didn't allow four or more in a start after May 19th. In fact, in those final 23 starts, he went 13-3 with a 1.20 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, the best pitcher in baseball for four and a half months.

Runner-up: RHP Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves.
Stat line: 20-5, 3.86 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 2.85 FIP, 281/58 K/BB in 186.2 innings.
After Snell (and really including Snell), the rest of the NL Cy Young race is extremely wide open. There are about five names I could put here and feel good about. I'll go with Strider, in no small part because striking out 281 batters in under 190 innings is just incredible. Not just the highest total in the majors, it's the most strikeouts in a season since Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander struck out 326 and 300, respectively, in 2019. And interestingly enough, it's the highest single season total ever for a pitcher who threw fewer than 212 innings – and Strider did it in just 186.2. If you're looking for the next highest total for a pitcher in under 200 innings, that belongs to 2016 Jose Fernandez at 253 in tragically his final season. But the strikeouts aren't just a nice number to look at. It helped him register the lowest FIP in the league, more than a full run lower than his ERA, and while pitching wins don't really matter, winning twenty games is extremely uncommon nowadays. He pitched in front of a mediocre Braves defense that hurt him a bit on balls in play, leading to more baserunners than he could have had, and his 70.3% strand rate (remember that Snell was at 86.7%) means that he was at least partially unlucky that he couldn't spread out his baserunners.

Honorable Mention: RHP Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies.
Stat line: 13-6, 3.61 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 3.15 FIP, 212/39 K/BB in 192 innings.
Zack Wheeler's profile is very similar to Spencer Strider, if a touch less extreme. While he didn't strike out as many batters, his 212/39 strikeout to walk ratio was actually a touch better than Strider's 281/58, while he also slightly cleared him in ERA and WHIP and fell a touch behind in FIP. He did all this while pitching in front of a terrible Phillies defense that seriously inflated his ERA and WHIP, and he similarly struggled to keep runners from scoring on the rare occasions they reached base. In all, he actually led all MLB Pitchers in fWAR at 5.9, which isn't a huge total but was enough to push to the forefront in a season where no pitcher separated himself in either league. While the 3.61 ERA wasn't great (hurt by poor defense behind him and hits tending to clump together), he was extremely consistent and always gave the Phillies a chance to win, allowing four or fewer earned runs in 30/32 starts.

Others
RHP Logan Webb (Giants): 3.25 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 3.16 FIP, 194/31 K/BB in 216 innings.

LHP Justin Steele (Cubs): 3.06 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 3.02 FIP, 176/36 K/BB in 173.1 innings.
RHP Zac Gallen (Diamondbacks): 3.47 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 3.27 FIP, 220/47 K/BB in 210 innings.

RHP Kodai Senga (Mets): 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.64 FIP, 202/77 K/BB in 166.1 innings.
LHP Jesus Luzardo (Marlins): 3.63 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.55 FIP, 208/55 K/BB in 178.2 innings.

American League Rookie of the Year

Winner: 3B Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
Stat line: 28 HR, .255/.325/.489, 10 SB, 123 wRC+, 4.6 fWAR in 150 games.
Gunnar Henderson got off to a bit of a slow start, hitting just .170/.341/.310 into mid-May, but he turned on the jets and hit .274/.321/.528 with 25 home runs and a 131 wRC+ over 117 games from that point on, with his 4.2 fWAR in that span putting him seventh in the AL. Once he shook off that slump, he hit for power, he got on base at a decent clip, and he played solid defense at third base. That's about as well-rounded a profile as you're going to get from a kid who didn't turn 22 until halfway through the season. There were a lot of very good rookies in the AL this year, but none could quite match Henderson's standing as an All Star-caliber regular.

Runner-up: RHP Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians
Stat line: 10-4, 2.98 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 3.52 FIP, 141/45 K/BB in 142 innings.
Gunnar Henderson may have the Rookie of the Year award wrapped up, but Tanner Bibee was truly exceptional in his rookie season in Cleveland making it closer than you'd think. In a year where we have Cy Young contenders posting ERA's in the mid three's, Tanner Bibee got his under three while finishing second among all AL rookies in innings pitched behind Hunter Brown. He allowed three or fewer earned runs in 23 of his 25 starts, meaning only twice all year did he leave a start where he didn't put the Guardians in a very good position to win the game. He was helped by a pretty good defense behind him, but overall we saw borderline ace-caliber stuff from the 24 year old this season.

Honorable mention: C Yainer Diaz, Houston Astros
Stat line: 23 HR, .282/.308/.538, 0 SB, 127 wRC+, 2.0 fWAR in 104 games.

It's hard to find catchers who can hit. The Astros have been rolling with Martin Maldonado, his elite glove, and his mediocre bat and continue to do so, but in 2023, they got a great complement in Yainer Diaz. He only played 104 games, but he blasted 23 home runs and put up a 127 wRC+ that was sixth among all MLB catchers with at least 300 plate appearances, rookie or not. He started slow, hitting .217/.242/.317 over his first 21 games, but turned it around to slash .295/.322/.583 the rest of the way as one of the best hitting catchers in the game once he got his feet wet. Beyond the bat, Diaz is one of the better catch and throw backstops in the game, controlling the running game and saving his pitchers from passed balls, though his overall defensive stats did get dinged for poor framing. Still, the framing and perhaps an aggressive approach were the only holes in his profile this year.

Others

RHP Yennier Cano (Orioles): 2.11 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2.84 FIP, 65/13 K/BB in 72.2 innings.

2B Edouard Julien (Twins): 16 HR, .263/.381/.459, 3 SB, 136 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR in 109 games.
3B Josh Jung (Rangers): 23 HR, .266/.315/.467, 1 SB, 110 wRC+, 2.5 fWAR in 122 games.

RHP Grayson Rodriguez (Orioles): 4.35 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 3.93 FIP, 129/49 K/BB in 122 innings.

RHP Bryce Miller (Mariners): 4.32 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.98 FIP, 119/26 K/BB in 131.1 innings.

National League Rookie of the Year

Winner: OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
Stat line: 25 HR, .285/.362/.506, 54 SB, 133 wRC+, 6.0 fWAR in 155 games.
Corbin Carroll put together one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory. Playing in nearly every game for the Diamondbacks, he finished second in all of baseball with 54 stolen bases while adding 25 home runs, 30 doubles, and ten triples, making for arguably the best power/speed combination in the game behind Ronald Acuña Jr. Not only that, but by getting on base at a .362 clip, he was more or less the complete hitter and put himself into down ballot MVP consideration. One of the fastest runners in the game, his big time speed helped him overcome some otherwise rough edges in his defensive game and play a solid center field as well. All together, his 6.0 fWAR were the most of any rookie not just in 2023, but since Aaron Judge put up 8.8 in 2017. There are other NL rookies that put up standout seasons, but Carroll's stands out above the rest. 

Runner-up: RHP Kodai Senga, New York Mets
Stat line: 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.63 FIP, 202/77 K/BB in 166.1 innings.
You could argue Kodai Senga was the best rookie pitcher in baseball this year, holding an ERA under 3.00 while qualifying for the ERA title, a rarity nowadays, and striking out over 200 even if he was a bit wild. Even more impressive is that ERA's were up among the best pitchers in the game this year, so Senga's 2.98 mark was fifth in all of baseball among qualified pitchers. He got better and better as the season moved along and didn't allow more than three runs in a start after June 23rd. These days, there are fewer and fewer reliable, durable starting pitchers who can keep runs off the board and stay on the mound, and Senga provided one in his first go around.

Honorable mention: CF James Outman, Los Angeles Dodgers
Stat line: 23 HR, .248/.353/.437, 16 SB, 118 wRC+, 4.4 fWAR in 151 games.
It's hard to be quiet on a national brand like the Dodgers, but James Outman quietly put up one of the best seasons of any rookie in either league. Playing in 151 games, he blasted 23 home runs, walked at a high rate to push his OBP up over .350, swiped a few bags, and played standout defense in center field. In all, that's an elite defensive center fielder that was an 18% better hitter than league average and played almost every game, not too shabby for a rookie. Of course, this stat probably means nothing due to the small sample size, but he was one of the more "clutch" hitters in the game this year slashing .378/.472/.822 with five home runs in 53 plate appearances in the ninth inning or later.

Others
LF Nolan Jones (Rockies): 20 HR, .297/.389/.542, 20 SB, 135 WRC+, 3.7 fWAR in 106 games.
RHP Bobby Miller (Dodgers): 3.76 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 3.51 FIP, 119/32 K/BB in 124.1 innings.
1B Spencer Steer (Reds): 23 HR, .271/.356/.464, 15 SB, 118 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR in 156 games.
C Francisco Alvarez (Mets): 25 HR, .209/.284/.437, 2 SB, 97 wRC+, 2.7 fWAR in 123 games.
SS Matt McLain (Reds): 16 HR, .290/.357/.507, 14 SB, 128 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR in 89 games.

2022 Dugout Edge MLB Awards

American League MVP

Winner: OF Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Stat line: 62 HR, .311/.425/.686, 16 SB, 207 wRC+, 11.4 fWAR in 157 games
All due respect to Shohei Ohtani, seriously. I cannot emphasize enough how incredible he is, and if he hits and pitches at a high level every year, I have no problem with him winning the MVP every year. It should take a truly historic season to top an ace pitcher/middle of the order hitter, and unfortunately for Shohei, that's just what Aaron Judge provided this year. We all know his 62 home runs are the most by a hitter since Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa hit 73 and 64, respectively, in 2001, as well as the most home runs ever by an American League hitter. But not only that, his .686 slugging percentage was the highest in a non-shortened season since J.D. Martinez slugged .690 in 2017, while his 1.111 OPS was the highest since prime Albert Pujols reached 1.115 in 2008. What's more is that he did all this in a year where offense was down across the board, so his 207 wRC+ made him the first member of the 200 club since Barry Bonds in 2004. Throw in very solid outfield defense, and Aaron Judge's 11.4 fWAR was the seventeenth highest total in MLB history, again the highest since Barry Bonds in 2004. Only eight different players – Bonds, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, and Honus Wagner – have ever topped that number, and only Bonds and Mantle did so since integration. Overall, he led the American League this year in home runs, RBI (131), runs scored (133), walks (111), total bases (391), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage, OPS, wRC+, and WAR, and many of those weren't even close. Judge hit for tremendous power and got on base at a top-of-the-league clip in a year where offense was down across the board, threw in solid outfield defense and 16 stolen bases, and put up an all time great season. Shohei Ohtani is unbelievable, but there is no denying what Aaron Judge did this year is legendary.

Runner-up: RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Stat line: 34 HR, .273/.356/.519, 11 SB, 142 wRC+, 3.8 fWAR in 157 games
Stat line: 15-9, 2.33 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2.40 FIP, 219/44 K/BB in 166 innings
I am of the belief that if Shohei Ohtani plays at this level every year, then he should win the MVP every year, and he would have this year if Aaron Judge didn't hit 62 home runs and throw up eleven-plus WAR. A year ago, he deservedly won the AL MVP after posting a 3.18 ERA over 130.1 innings and a 151 wRC+ over 158 games as a hitter. This year, he dropped that ERA nearly a run to 2.33, threw 35.2 additional innings, and maintained nearly the same wRC+ at 142 over 157 games as a hitter. All told, he was probably even better this year than he was last year. Just isolating his bat, he was the American League's seventh best hitter by wRC+, ahead of stars like Rafael Devers (141), Carlos Correa (140), Jose Ramirez (139), Alex Bregman (136), and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (132). His 34 home runs also placed third in the league and despite spending all that time on the mound, he still stepped to the plate 666 times, ninth most in the AL. And he still found the time to steal eleven bases. Flip over to the mound, and his numbers were perhaps even more impressive. He accumulated 5.6 fWAR as a pitcher, good for third in the AL behind Justin Verlander (6.1) and Kevin Gausman (5.7), while his 2.33 ERA finished fourth and his 2.40 FIP came in second. So we are talking about perhaps a top ten hitter and a top five pitcher in the league – nobody will ever do that again. In fact, if some player comes around and so much as posts an ERA in the 4's with a league average bat, that would be incredible, but we wouldn't see it that way because Ohtani has spoiled us.

Honorable mention: 2B Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
Stat line: 28 HR, .300/.387/.533, 18 SB, 164 wRC+, 6.6 fWAR in 141 games
I went back and forth, back and forth on this third spot between Jose Altuve and Jose Ramirez, who had extremely similar seasons as all-around well above average hitters with some speed and solid if unspectacular gloves on the infield dirt. Altuve was clearly the better hitter, as he finished 20, 32, and 19 points, respectively, ahead of Ramirez in the three triple slash categories of batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage, while his 164 wRC+ dwarfed Ramirez's very respectable 139. However, Ramirez also played in 16 more games than Altuve, missing just five Guardians games to Altuve's 21. I initially leaned Altuve due to the bat, moved over to Ramirez when I looked closer and decided that his 16 extra games were enough to overcome the offensive gap, then came back to Altuve when I looked at how their production was spread out throughout the year. Ramirez came out of the gate extremely hot, slashing .342/.411/.722 in April and holding a .288/.368/.576 slash line through the first half, but he gradually slowed down throughout the season as his OPS dropped in every month besides October and he hit just .269/.339/.439 in the second half as his teammates stepped up to put the finishing touches on the AL Central title run. Altuve, meanwhile, was a non-factor in April as he missed time with a hamstring injury and didn't hit much when he was on the field, but once he got over that and found his groove, there was no turning back. From May onwards, he was one of the best hitters in baseball as he slashed .310/.396/.554 and picked up all 6.6 of his fWAR – the third most in baseball in that stretch, behind only Aaron Judge's 10.4 and Paul Goldschmidt's 6.8. Wins in April count just as much as wins in September, but there's something to be said about momentum. Altuve was a non-factor in April and was excellent from May onwards, while Ramirez was exceptional to start the season and gradually slowed down.

Others
3B Jose Ramirez (Guardians): 29 HR, .280/.355/.514, 20 SB, 139 wRC+, 6.2 fWAR in 157 games
DH Yordan Alvarez (Astros): 37 HR, .306/.406/.613, 1 SB, 185 wRC+, 6.6 fWAR in 135 games
RHP Justin Verlander (Astros): 1.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 2.49 FIP, 185/29 K/BB in 175 innings
3B Alex Bregman (Astros): 23 HR, .259/.366/.454, 1 SB, 136 wRC+, 5.5 fWAR in 155 games
2B Andres Gimenez (Guardians): 17 HR, .297/.371/.466, 20 SB, 140 wRC+, 6.1 fWAR in 146 games

National League MVP

Winner: 3B Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals
Stat line: 30 HR, .293/.358/.533, 5 SB, 151 wRC+, 7.3 fWAR in 148 games
If you look at the raw offensive numbers for Nolan Arenado, you may not be overly impressed. His .381 wOBA would not stand out in most seasons, but offense was down across MLB in 2022 and it actually came out to the fourth best mark in the National League, and just barely behind Manny Machado's third place .382. He didn't actually lead the NL in any individual stat, but in addition to finishing fourth in wOBA he was also second in fWAR, third in slugging percentage, third in doubles, fourth in wRC+, fourth in OPS, and fifth in extra base hits (73). He did all that while finishing with the third lowest strikeout rate in the league at 11.6%, behind only contact artists Jeff McNeil and Nico Hoerner – in fact, you can throw in Miguel Rojas right behind him and the other three names in the top four combined for just 25 home runs to his 30. Arenado's combination of power and elite ability to put the ball in play was not matched this year, and that's all just in the bat. We all know that he is also one of the best defensive third basemen in the game, sucking up everything that comes his way at the hot corner and turning surefire infield singles or down the line extra base hits into outs at first base. Per Statcast, his 15 outs above average were second among all NL third basemen behind only Pittsburgh's Ke'Bryan Hayes, if you want confirmation. Take that bat in a down year for offense combined with the elite glove, and you can make a pretty strong case that no National League player was better than Nolan Arenado in 2022.

Runner-up: 3B Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
Stat line: 32 HR, .298/.366/.531, 9 SB, 152 wRC+, 7.4 fWAR in 150 games
One man did have a nearly identical season to Arenado, and that's Manny Machado. Like Arenado, Machado is an elite defensive third baseman that provides significant value with his glove. His eight outs above average at the hot corner were fourth in the NL, but because Arenado nearly doubled him in that category, he gets the edge despite nearly identical offensive stats (his 11.6% strikeout rate to Manny's 20.7% also helps). Mchado actually beat Arenado by five points in batting average and eight points in on-base percentage while falling two points short in slugging percentage, which gave him a one point advantage in the all-encompassing stats of wOBA (.382) and wRC+. It also meant that Manny led the NL in fWAR while finishing third in wRC+, third in wOBA,third in OPS, fourth in batting average, fourth in slugging percentage, and fifth in total bases (307). Overall, it was one of the best all-around seasons in the NL, but his excellent defense vs Arenado's elite defense and his higher strikeout rate contributed to him falling just short in my book.

Honorable mention: 1B Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
Stat line: 35 HR, .317/.404/.578, 7 SB, 177 wRC+, 7.1 fWAR in 151 games
Paul Goldschmidt was the single best hitter in the National League this year, and I don't think there are any two ways around it. He led the league in wRC+, wOBA (.419), slugging percentage, and OPS, all by a very healthy margin, and finished second in total bases (324), second in on-base percentage, third in hits (178), third in batting average, fourth in extra base hits (76), and fifth in home runs. He was so good, in fact, that I very nearly put him ahead of defensive whizzes Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado, though his being limited to first base does hurt his value just a little. Goldschmidt did look like the favorite for much of the season and was slashing .338/.423/.633 on August 27th, but his bat quieted a bit towards the finish line and he hit just .229/.325/.349 over his final 31 games, allowing Arenado and Machado to overtake him.

Others
1B Freddie Freeman (Dodgers): 21 HR, .325/.407/.511, 13 SB, 157 wRC+, 7.1 fWAR in 159 games
RHP Sandy Alcantara (Marlins): 2.28 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 2.99 FIP, 207/50 K/BB in 228.2 innings
OF Mookie Betts (Dodgers): 35 HR, .269/.340/.533, 12 SB, 144 wRC+, 6.6 fWAR in 142 games
C J.T. Realmuto (Phillies): 22 HR, .276/.342/.478, 21 SB, 128 wRC+, 6.5 fWAR in 139 games
2B Jeff McNeil (Mets): 9 HR, .326/.382/.454, 4 SB, 143 wRC+, 5.9 fWAR in 148 games

American League Cy Young

Winner: RHP Justin Verlander, Houston Astros
Stat line: 18-4, 1.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 2.49 FIP, 185/29 K/BB in 175 innings
Justin Verlander may have thrown just the sixteenth most innings in the American League this year, behind names like Jordan Lyles and Nick Pivetta, but those 175 innings were some of the most dominant we have seen in some time. In fact, only two live ball era pitchers have EVER had a lower ERA and a lower WHIP while throwing that many innings in a season: Greg Maddux in 1995 (1.63 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 209.2 IP) and Pedro Martinez in 2000 (1.74 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 217 IP). That's it, that's the list. For my money, that is plenty enough to award him the AL Cy Young Award. He may not be striking out as many batters as he used to, with his 27.8% rate (sixth best in the AL) actually by far his lowest mark with the Astros, but pinpoint command meant he walked just 4.4% of his opponents, third best in the league. He was untouchable from start to finish this season, allowing three or fewer earned runs in 26 of his 28 starts and allowing one or zero earned runs in 20 of 28. He also never walked more than three batters in a start, walked more than two just twice, and walked one or zero in 21 of 28 starts. His worst ERA in any month was 2.27, while his worst WHIP was 1.01. That ERA would have finished fourth in the AL and that WHIP would have finished sixth. Just unbelievable stuff from the 39 year old future first ballot Hall of Famer.

Runner-up: RHP Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox
Stat line: 14-8, 2.20 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 3.10 FIP, 227/78 K/BB in 184 innings
So Dylan Cease led the entire American League with 78 walks and a 10.4% walk rate, which isn't ideal, but he actually did almost everything else well. He finished second in ERA, second in strikeouts, second in opponents' batting average (.190), third in games started, and third in strikeout rate (30.4%), and he did all of that despite playing in front of one of the worst defenses in the AL that did him no favors. So he walked a lot of guys, but he stranded most of them on base and did pretty much everything else as well as you could. And even though he was a bit wild, he only hit three batters, the fifth fewest among the 22 qualified starters in the AL. It's a low ERA, high strikeout, large sample season that is comfortably behind Justin Verlander's but in my opinion just a touch better than everyone else in the league. To this point in his career, he has now dropped his ERA and WHIP in each of his four major league seasons.

Honorable mention: RHP Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Stat line: 15-9, 2.33 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2.40 FIP, 219/44 K/BB in 166 innings
We already talked about Shohei Ohtani's pitching in the AL MVP section, and in my opinion he had the third best season of any AL pitcher this year, bat notwithstanding. Not only did he blast 34 home runs with a .356 on-base percentage as a hitter, but he was a legitimate ace and the best pitcher on the west coast. He led the American League in strikeout rate (33.2%), finished second in FIP, third in strikeouts, fourth in ERA, and fifth in WHIP, and additionally only allowed two unearned runs so he didn't allow errors to hurt him. He had ten different double digit strikeout games, kept the ball in the ballpark with just 14 home runs allowed (fourth fewest among qualified AL starters), and pitched like an ace nearly every time he went out there.

Others
RHP Shane Bieber (Guardians): 2.88 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 2.87 FIP, 198/36 K/BB in 200 innings
RHP Alek Manoah (Blue Jays): 2.24 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 3.35 FIP, 180/51 K/BB in 196.2 innings
LHP Shane McClanahan (Rays): 2.54 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 3.00 FIP, 194/38 K/BB in 166.1 innings
RHP Emmanuel Clase (Guardians): 1.36 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 1.98 FIP, 77/10 K/BB in 72.2 innings
LHP Nestor Cortes (Yankees): 2.44 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 3.13 FIP, 163/38 K/BB in 158.1 innings

National League Cy Young

Winner: RHP Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins
Stat line: 14-9, 2.28 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 2.99 FIP, 207/50 K/BB in 228.2 innings
Sometimes, old fashioned is better. Sandy Alcantara led all of Major League Baseball in innings pitched by 23.2 over second place Aaron Nola, with his 228.2 representing the highest total for any pitcher since David Price threw 230 innings for the 2016 Red Sox. Additionally, his six complete games (five of the nine inning variety) doubled second place Framber Valdez's total of three this year, and again represented the highest total since Chris Sale's six for the 2016 White Sox. Alcantara's shortest start this year was 4.2 innings, and he completed seven innings in 22 of his 32 starts. But you don't get the Cy Young Award just for throwing a bunch of innings, and Alcantara pitched like an ace throughout. Not only was he on the mound far more than anybody else this season, he also finished second in the NL in ERA, fourth in strikeouts, fifth in FIP, and sixth in WHIP. That kind of dominance over such a large sample is just too easy a choice for this award.

Runner-up: RHP Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
Stat line: 11-13, 3.25 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 2.58 FIP, 235/29 K/BB in 205 innings
Aaron Nola's 3.25 ERA may have been just the thirteenth best in the National League, but it was an otherwise exceptional season. Pitching in front of an poor Phillies defense that finished 29th out of 30 teams in terms of outs above average and in a hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, his 2.58 FIP (second in the NL) and 2.74 xERA (per Statcast) point to significant bad luck, mostly owing to that bad defense behind him. And yet he still threw the most innings in MLB by pitchers not named Alcantara, led all NL pitchers in fWAR (6.3) and walk rate (3.6%), and finished third in strikeouts, third in games started, and fourth in WHIP. It was about as well as you could expect anybody to pitch on their own, and if you swapped any other pitcher into his circumstances, I'm not sure you would have seen better numbers from anybody.

Honorable mention: RHP Carlos Rodon, San Francisco Giants
Stat line: 14-8, 2.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 2.25 FIP, 237/52 K/BB in 178 innings
Carlos Rodon found himself in a similar position to Aaron Nola, pitching in front of the third worst defense in the majors in San Francisco. In fact, if you take his defense out of it, his 2.25 FIP led all of Major League Baseball, so he controlled the three true outcomes better than anybody. In addition to leading the league in FIP, he also led the NL in strikeout rate (33.4%) and finished second in strikeouts (237), second in fWAR (6.2), sixth in ERA, and ninth in WHIP. He had eleven double digit strikeout games and was overall just a bat missing machine, which is exactly what the Giants needed given their relative inability to field the baseball.

Others
LHP Max Fried (Braves): 2.48 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2.70 FIP, 170/32 K/BB in 185.1 innings
RHP Corbin Burnes (Brewers): 2.94 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 3.14 FIP, 243/51 K/BB in 202 innings
RHP Edwin Diaz (Mets): 1.31 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 0.90 FIP, 118/18 K/BB in 62 innings
RHP Spencer Strider (Braves): 2.67 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 1.83 FIP, 202/45 K/BB in 131.2 innings
RHP Ryan Helsley (Cardinals): 1.25 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 2.34 FIP, 94/20 K/BB in 64.2 innings

American League Rookie of the Year

Winner: C Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles
Stat line: 13 HR, .254/.362/.445, 4 SB, 133 wRC+, 5.3 fWAR in 113 games
Adley Rutschman and Julio Rodriguez are so neck and neck, with fWAR assigning them both the same value at 5.3 and bWAR giving Rodriguez a 6.0 to 5.2 edge. You really can't go wrong with either here, and I'm only choosing Rutschman because you can't have two rookies of the year. Rutschman played 19 fewer games than Rodriguez and fell 13 points behind in wRC+, but he was also one of the better defensive catchers in baseball. The Orioles as a team had a 3.97 ERA this year, but that was down to 3.79 with Rutschman behind the plate versus 4.39 with Robinson Chirinos. He didn't only help the pitching staff, he helped the whole team. The Orioles were 16-24 (.400 WPCT) when he got called up, then went 67-55 (.549 WPCT) from there on out. To come in and immediately improve not only a pitching staff, but a team like that is even more impressive as a 24 year old rookie, and his presence is looking to kickstart an era that could bring the best Orioles teams since the Jim Palmer/Eddie Murray golden era of the 1970's and early 1980's. Rutschman isn't just notable for his glove, though, as his 133 wRC+ shows he brings a serious bat as well. His .362 on-base percentage would have been fourteenth best in the American League and his 13.8% walk rate sixth best if he had enough at bats to qualify, while his 35 doubles clocked in at thirteenth. Obviously those numbers won't blow you away, but again, this is a 24 year old rookie whose glove and clubhouse presence have already helped transform a team.

Runner-up: OF Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
Stat line: 28 HR, .284/.345/.509, 25 SB, 146 wRC+, 5.3 fWAR in 132 games
Like I mentioned, Julio Rodriguez is equally deserving of the Rookie of the Year Award, and Adley Rutschman only beat him by a hair. Rodriguez's season was very different than Rutschman's, but just as impressive. He played in 19 more games, hit 15 more home runs, and posted a wRC+ 13 points higher, just about making up for Rutschman's prowess behind the plate. And don't forget about Rodriguez's glove, because even though center field might not be quite as important as catcher, his seven outs above average came in thirteenth among American League outfielders. In what was a down year for hitters, his 146 wRC+ was the fifth best in the entire AL, behind only Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, and Yandy Diaz (yep, Yandy Diaz quietly finished at 146). His 5.3 overall fWAR finished ninth in the league, just edging Rutschman. Rodriguez played the entire season at just 21 years old, in a very pitcher-friendly home stadium, and early in the season was the recipient of some of the worst called strike luck in recent memory, but you would't know that from his final numbers that included a 25-25 season. And we can't forget the show he put on at the Home Run Derby, either. He'll likely be worth every penny of that mega contract he signed with Seattle.

Honorable mention: OF Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians
Stat line: 6 HR, .298/.373/.400, 19 SB, 124 wRC+, 4.4 fWAR in 147 games
It's a two horse race for the AL Rookie of the Year this year, but let's not forget about Cleveland outfielder Steven Kwan. An elite contact bat, he was one of just five qualified American League hitters to draw more walks than strikeouts, and his 9.4% strikeout rate was the second lowest in the league behind only Luis Arraez. His .373 on-base percentage was also ninth best in the league, so overall Kwan was just relentless about putting the ball in play and getting on base. The power wasn't quite there, but he did add significant value on defense with eight outs above average, good for eighth among AL outfielders. He fits in perfectly with Cleveland's contact-first style of play, and his big rookie season deserves recognition in the shadows of Adley Rutschman and Julio Rodriguez.

Others
RHP Jhoan Duran, Twins: 1.86 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 2.52 FIP, 89/16 K/BB in 67.2 innings
RHP George Kirby, Mariners: 3.39 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 2.99 FIP, 133/22 K/BB in 130 innings
RHP Joe Ryan, Twins: 3.55 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 3.99 FIP, 151/47 K/BB in 147 innings
SS Jeremy Peña, Astros: 22 HR, .253/.289/.426, 11 SB, 102 wRC+ in 136 games
LHP Brock Burke, Rangers: 1.97 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 3.30 FIP, 90/24 K/BB in 82.1 innings

National League Rookie of the Year

Winner: RHP Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
Stat line: 11-5, 2.67 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 1.83 FIP, 202/45 K/BB in 131.2 innings
The NL Rookie of the Year Award will come down to two Braves, and I think Spencer Strider gets the edge. He accrued the fifth most fWAR (4.9) of any National League pitcher this year, rookie or not, enough to earn the #6 spot on my NL Cy Young ballot. Though he only threw 131.2 innings, he was one of just six NL pitchers to record 200 strikeouts this year while his 38.3% strikeout rate and 1.83 FIP led the NL (min. 130 innings) by a huge margin ahead of second place Carlos Rodon's 33.4% and 2.25, respectively. He actually began the year in the Atlanta bullpen and made eleven relief appearances with a 2.22 ERA and a 37/11 strikeout to walk ratio in April and May, but jumped to the rotation at the end of the month and never looked back. He recorded his first double digit strikeout game in his third start and pitched the game of the year on September 1st, when he allowed jut two hits and no walks over eight shutout innings against the Rockies, striking out 16 along the way. Now Strider did walk 8.5% of his opponents, the ninth highest mark in the NL among pitchers who threw at least 130 innings, but if he can get that down, the league could have its next true ace.

Runner-up: OF Michael Harris, Atlanta Braves
Stat line: 19 HR, .297/.339/.514, 20 SB, 136 wRC+, 4.8 fWAR in 114 games
Like Spencer Strider, Michael Harris didn't play enough to qualify for rate-based stats, but he was so great once he did come up in late May that he deserves a good long look for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. I gave it to Strider because I see him fitting much better into the down ballot Cy Young discussion than Harris fits in the down ballot MVP discussion, but it is fairly close. Harris came one home run short of a 20-20 season despite missing a third of the season, and his .514 slugging percentage topped Julio Rodriguez for the best among MLB rookies (min. 100 games played) while his .297 batting average fell just behind Steven Kwan's .298 and his .853 OPS fell just behind Rodriguez's .854. He was also a very strong defender whose seven outs above average were enough to finish fourth among all NL outfielders. It's a pretty similar season overall to Rodriguez (in 18 fewer games), who got much more media attention.

Honorable mention: LHP Nick Lodolo, Cincinnati Reds
Stat line: 4-7, 3.66 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 3.90 FIP, 131/39 K/BB in 103.1 innings
It was a forgettable season in Cincinnati, but four rookie pitchers had seasons to remember. Nick Lodolo was perhaps the best among them and earns the third spot on my NL Rookie of the Year ballot, but Hunter Greene was right there behind him while Alexis Diaz was the best rookie reliever in the NL and Braxton Ashcraft made it to one hundred innings as well. Lodolo earns this spot despite throwing 22.1 fewer innings than Greene over five fewer starts because when he was on the mound, he was better. His 3.66 ERA, 3.90 FIP, and 1.25 FIP all compare very favorably to league averages, as the 24 year old gave the Reds 103.1 very effective innings in the rotation right off the bat. He got better as the season went along, too, and figures to stick around near the top of that Reds rotation for a very long time.

Others
RHP Hunter Greene (Reds): 4.44 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 4.37 FIP, 164/48 K/BB in 125.2 innings
RHP Alexis Diaz (Reds): 1.84 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 3.32 FIP, 83/33 K/BB in 63.2 innings
2B Brendan Donovan (Cardinals): 5 HR, .281/.394/.379, 2 SB, 129 wRC+ in 126 games
1B Joey Meneses (Nationals): 13 HR, .324/.367/.563, 1 SB, 156 wRC+ in 56 games
OF Seiya Suzuki (Cubs): 14 HR, .262/.336/.433, 9 SB, 116 wRC+ in 111 games

American League Reliever of the Year

Winner: RHP Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians
Stat line: 1.36 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 1.98 FIP, 77/10 K/BB in 72.2 innings
If you want to talk untouchable, then Emmanuel Clase is a great place to start. Opponents hit a paltry .167/.200/.225 against him as virtually nobody could barrel his triple digit cutter from start of the season to finish. His 28.4% strikeout rate was strong but not elite, but when hitters did make contact, it was weak contact galore as they wound up with a barrage of weak ground balls. He didn't walk anybody, either with just a 3.7% walk rate, so you really just had to get lucky to reach base. In fact, his longest stretch of consecutive appearances allowing a baserunner was just three appearances. In other words, he never went four games without posting at least one perfect appearance.

Others
RHP Jason Adam (Rays): 1.56 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 2.86 FIP, 75/17 K/BB in 63.1 innings
RHP Andres Muñoz (Mariners): 2.49 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 2.04 FIP, 96/15 K/BB in 65 innings
RHP Jhoan Duran, Twins: 1.86 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 2.52 FIP, 89/16 K/BB in 67.2 innings

National League Reliever of the Year

Winner: RHP Edwin Diaz, New York Mets
Stat line: 1.31 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 0.90 FIP, 118/18 K/BB in 62 innings
There were some great relievers in the National League this year, dare I say a deeper group than in the American League, but Edwin Diaz ultimately made this an easy choice. The man ran a 1.31 ERA as he allowed just nine runs in 62 innings, but even more impressive was a 0.90 FIP that represents the fourth lowest mark of all time (min. 50 innings) behind only 2012 Craig Kimbrel (0.78), 2003 Eric Gagne (0.86), and 2014 Aroldis Chapman (0.89). He was certainly helped by striking out 118 of the 235 batters he faced, good for a 50.2% strikeout rate that made him the third pitcher ever to strike out more than half the hitters he faced (min. 50 innings) after 2014 Chapman (52.5%) and 2012 Kimbrel (50.2%). Yeah, that'll play.

Others
RHP Ryan Helsley (Cardinals): 1.25 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 2.34 FIP, 94/20 K/BB in 64.2 innings
RHP Evan Phillips (Dodgers): 1.14 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 1.94 FIP, 77/15 K/BB in 63 innings
RHP Devin Williams (Brewers): 1.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2.01 FIP, 96/30 K/BB in 60.2 innings

2021 Dugout Edge MVP's and Cy Young's

AL MVP

Winner: RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani, Angels.
46 HR, .257/.372/.592, 26 SB, 152 wRC+, 5.1 fWAR in 158 games.
9-2, 3.18 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 156/44 K/BB, 3.0 fWAR, in 130.1 innings.

Runner-up: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays.
48 HR, .311/.401/.601, 4 SB, 166 wRC+, 6.7 fWAR in 161 games.

Honorable mention: SS Marcus Semien, Blue Jays.
45 HR, .265/.334/.538, 15 SB, 131 wRC+, 6.6 fWAR in 162 games.

To me, this wasn't particularly close. Yeah, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a great season at the plate, but it wasn't an outlier even just looking at the past few seasons. His AL-leading 166 wRC+ was four points behind Bryce Harper for the MLB lead, and it would have placed fourth in 2019 behind Mike Trout (177), Christian Yelich (174), and Alex Bregman (167). Combine Guerrero's 166 wRC+ with little defensive value and you still have a very good, MVP-caliber season, but I don't think we can pretend it was some historical run that Shohei Ohtani is unjustly overshadowing because of some novelty. "If he's always going to pitch and hit, should we just give it to him every year?" If he does it at this level, and nobody steps up with a better season, then yes. It's not just "some novelty" and here's why.

Ohtani owns this award through and through. Critics will point to his .257 batting average and 189 strikeouts, but that's about it and it's a terrible argument. The guy walked in nearly 15% of his plate appearances to turn that unremarkable .257 average into a very strong .372 on-base percentage, while his 46 bombs (just one less than Vladdy) meant that he slugged nearly .600 on the year. His 152 wRC+ was actually the second highest in the American League behind only Guerrero and directly ahead of Aaron Judge (149), Matt Olson (147), and Kyle Tucker (146). And he stole 26 bases. Are you going to tell me that's not a great season? On its own, it's definitely not enough to unseat Guerrero as the best hitter in the American League, but it's reasonably close, isn't it? Throw in the fact that he pitched to a 3.18 ERA and struck out nearly 30% of his opponents while making 23 starts, and it more than makes up for the not-that-big gap in offensive production.

Other critics might point to the Blue Jays finishing fourteen games ahead of the Angels in the standings, but Guerrero was teaming with a star-studded cast including Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernandez, Robbie Ray, etc., etc., while Ohtani had, like, a month and a half of Mike Trout? I mean I'm sorry he couldn't will an Angels team that didn't have *a single other pitcher* complete one hundred innings to the playoffs, but he did more than anybody else could have. I don't use WPA (win probability added) when choosing my MVP's, but for those that value tangible contributions to winning real baseball games, it's about as accurate a stat as you can get. And Ohtani led all MLB hitters with 5.36, not including his pitching. That's right, just his bat did more to put the Angels in a position to win real baseball games than any other MLB hitter, including Guerrero.

If I sound negative towards Guerrero, I don't mean to. I absolutely believe Ohtani is the AL MVP, but Guerrero had a damn fine season in his own right. He and Bryce Harper were the only two hitters to reach the .300/.400/.600 threshold, and going back to the last full season in 2019, it was only Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich. Not only was he the best hitter in the American League by a comfortable margin, he did it while playing in all but one game and striking out in just over 15% of his plate appearances, something that you just don't often see from power hitters. In fact, he was one of just two American League hitters (along with Jose Ramirez) to hit at least 32 home runs while striking out less than 16% of the time, and he hit 48. I also want to give some love to Marcus Semien, who blasted 45 home runs while playing standout defense at shortstop and appearing in every single game. Jose Ramirez was also considered here.

NL MVP

Winner: OF Bryce Harper, Phillies.
35 HR, .309/.429/.615, 13 SB, 170 wRC+, 6.6 fWAR in 141 games.

Runner-up: SS Trea Turner, Nationals/Dodgers.
28 HR, .328/.375/.536, 32 SB, 142 wRC+, 6.9 fWAR in 148 games.

Honorable mention: OF Juan Soto, Nationals.
29 HR, .313/.465/.534, 9 SB, 163 wRC+, 6.6 fWAR in 151 games.

I actually think Trea Turner provided the most value of any player in the NL, and not just because he led in fWAR, but I can't bring myself to give my MVP to a player who split his season between two teams. So it comes down to Bryce Harper and Juan Soto, who had extremely similar seasons, with Harper showing a little more pop and Soto getting on base a touch more and playing ten more games. They also both started (relatively) slowly before heating up in the second half. Harper hit .282/.378/.520 in the first half before turning it around to a .338/.476/.713 line, while Soto was even more extreme at .283/.407/.445 and .348/.525/.639. Additionally, both played moderately decent defense, with Soto winning in OAA (5 to -5) and DRS (3 to -6) and Harper getting the edge by UZR (1.8 to 1.3).

Beyond WAR, I value longevity and consistency highly, and Soto played more while Harper was more consistent. Ultimately, I had to give it to Harper because in the first half of the season, Soto just didn't hit for power. He had just eight extra base hits in his first forty games, so even his second half power surge meant he finished with just 51 to Harper's 78. Soto got on base a lot more, but to be fair, pitchers just weren't throwing to him in the second half with Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Yan Gomes gone from the lineup, and he saw the seventh fewest strikes of any qualified NL hitter in the second half (and all the names above him were extremely aggressive, chase-happy hitters). Absolutely huge credit to him for taking his walks and still doing massive amounts of damage on the balls he did get in the zone, but I still see more value in Harper's second half power surge than Soto's willingness to take his walks.

As a Nationals fan, I don't mean to downplay Juan Soto or his second half discipline – I think he's the single most impressive hitter I've seen since prime Albert Pujols, when I was too young to meaningfully analyze what I was watching beyond emulating his batting stance in backyard wiffleball games. Soto is incredible, and he had an incredible season that's borderline MVP-worthy. And I wouldn't fight you too hard if you picked him over Harper. The consistency and power surge just won me over a tiny bit more than the discipline, while the slow start in terms of Soto's power sits with me a little too much.

Now back to Trea Turner. He led all MLB position players with 6.8 fWAR, but his value goes beyond that. 28 home runs is good, as is a .375 on-base percentage, especially when it's driven by extra base hits and not walks. He went 32/37 in stolen base attempts and played great defense at two positions. It's the most well-rounded profile out there. But I think there's a certain unquantifiable value add that comes with true game-breaking speed like Turner's. When he's on base, it becomes a different baseball game altogether, with pitchers focusing as much on him as they are on the batter. And they have to, because if they forget about him, he'll be on the next base. He wasn't quite the hitter that Juan Soto or Bryce Harper was, but he was on a similar level and added much more defensive value plus that speed. Not just useable speed, but game changing speed. I guess that's where the subjectivity comes in, because he's the MVP if it weren't for the split season.

AL Cy Young

Winner: LHP Robbie Ray, Blue Jays.
13-7, 2.84 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 248/52 K/BB in 193.1 innings.

Runner-up: RHP Gerrit Cole, Yankees.
16-8, 3.23 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 243/41 K/BB in 181.1 innings.

Honorable mention: LHP Carlos Rodon, White Sox.
13-5, 2.37 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 185/36 K/BB in 132.2 innings.

This one was fairly easy for me. Robbie Ray led the AL in innings, ERA, RA9, WHIP, strikeouts, and starts (tied), and he did so in a division with four ninety win teams while traveling around without a home park. Those are traditional stats to value, but I value them. I understand and agree with managers' decisions to shorten the leashes on their starting pitchers because that's what wins ballgames, but that doesn't mean I devalue a pitcher who can pitch deep into games and continue to be effective like Ray. Really, the only blemish was his 33 home runs allowed, fourth most in the AL and enough to inflate his FIP to 3.69, but good pitchers give up dingers. He limited baserunners, he limited runs both earned and unearned, he did it over a large body of work, and he didn't have a home stadium for much of the season. That's a job well done to me.

Gerrit Cole was a pretty easy runner-up for me, too. He was second in strikeouts, WHIP, and FIP, third in ERA and RA9, and fifth in innings. He also did so in a hitter-friendly park and like Ray pitched in that gauntlet AL East. Thirteen of his thirty starts came against the Rays, Red Sox, and Blue Jays, making for very consistent tough matchups week in and week out. Cole was gutsy and always a competitor, going at least five innings in 28/30 starts, matching Ray's mark of 28/32 in two fewer starts.

For the last spot, I went between Carlos Rodon and Nathan Eovaldi, who each had very unique pitches for this spot. Rodon's 132.2 innings weren't the traditional big body of work I like to see, but batter for batter, he was the most dominant starting pitcher in the majors. If we dropped the innings qualification to 130, he would have led in ERA, RA9, FIP, and strikeout rate. It's too bad he couldn't tack on perhaps ten to twenty more innings or I might have considered him for the #1 spot. Eovaldi, meanwhile, did not have the traditional stats with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, but he was playing in a hitters' park in a strong division with a poor defense behind him, so a 3.75 ERA in that context becomes a lot more impressive. His .327 opponents' BABIP (batting average on balls in play) was the worst in the league, again pointing to a defense that was of no help to him, while his 195/35 strikeout to walk ratio was a strong note. Lance Lynn also earned consideration.

NL Cy Young

Winner: RHP Corbin Burnes, Brewers.
11-5, 2.43 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 234/34 K/BB in 167 innings.

Runner-up: RHP Max Scherzer, Nationals/Dodgers.
15-4, 2.46 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 236/36 K/BB in 179.1 innings.

Honorable mention: RHP Zack Wheeler, Phillies.
14-10, 2.78 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 247/46 K/BB in 213.1 innings.

This was the toughest one to decide, and I actually wouldn't argue putting these three in any order. I typically value large numbers of innings, which would put Zack Wheeler ahead, but Corbin Burnes and Max Scherzer were significantly better on a batter-for-batter basis, so much so that I think they eclipse Wheeler – barely. Burnes was the best starting pitcher in MLB on that batter-for-batter basis, absolutely dominating the three true outcomes to turn up a ridiculous 1.63 FIP, the second best mark of the entire live ball era behind only Pedro Martinez's 1.39 in 1999. You can forgive the low innings total when your success has to be categorized on an all-time scale. The Brewers had a very strong defense this year, but he still managed a relatively high .309 BABIP that indicated bad luck. In addition to FIP, he led the NL in ERA, RA9, fWAR, and strikeout rate. If he had thrown perhaps ten more innings, then I don't think this race would have been close at all.

I originally leaned towards Wheeler over Scherzer given his larger body of work, which I value, but then I checked what exactly Wheeler had on Scherzer. In order to get from Scherzer's line to Wheeler's, you'd have to post a 3.97 ERA, a 1.76 WHIP, and an 11/10 strikeout to walk ratio over 34 innings. I wouldn't necessarily have been looking for Cy Young-caliber numbers in those 34 innings to put Wheeler ahead, but I would have at least wanted #3 starter-caliber performance and that's more like a #5. Throw in that Wheeler pitched his entire season in the weak NL East while Scherzer's final seven starts were a gauntlet (Padres, Braves, Cardinals, Padres, Reds, Rockies at Coors, Padres), and that seals Scherzer's edge for second place (though he only had to face one Giants batter all season, LaMonte Wade, when he was still a National). In Scherzer's "smaller sample" 179.1 innings, he was virtually untouchable, leading the NL in WHIP while finishing second in strikeouts and ERA, third in RA9, and fourth in FIP.

Zack Wheeler had a very strong season, one that was more than deserving of consideration. I really value that he led the NL in innings pitched and strikeouts while also finishing fifth in ERA and WHIP. He went at least five innings in 30/32 starts and at least six in 27/32, and he allowed four or fewer earned runs in 30/32. He also never struck out fewer than four batters and never walked more than he struck out. Wheeler was as consistent a workhorse as they come, and he did so without the traditional pitch to contact method. Behind this trio was Walker Buehler, who earned some consideration but was safely behind.

Reviewing my 2018 Breakout Predictions

Before the season, I wrote about "one breakout star to watch" for each team, with one article for the AL and one for the NL. I'll go team by team and review each pick. Unfortunately, while I had some hits, many of my breakout picks flopped and three had Tommy John surgery before the season even started, so overall I am a little disappointed in the way this list turned out. If I still have time, I'll try again for the 2019 season.

Baltimore Orioles: Chance Sisco (2 HR, .181/.288/.269, 1 SB, 59 wRC+, 0.0 fWAR)
As with all things Orioles related in 2018, this didn't quite work out. Sisco's bat proved to be overmatched by major league pitching, and he struck out in 35.9% of his plate appearances while slashing .181/.288/.269 over 63 games. He turns 24 in February so he is still plenty young and will try again next year, but so far, not so good for Sisco.

Boston Red Sox: Rafael Devers (21 HR, .240/.298/.433, 5 SB, 90 wRC+, 1.0 fWAR)
While Devers didn't exactly flop in 2018, his .240/.298/.433 line was still somewhat disappointing after he slashed .284/.338/.482 in a smaller sample size last season. While the power was pretty good, he struggled to get on base and a .298 OBP won't exactly cut it unless you're hitting 30+ home runs. He did slash .294/.351/.382 in the postseason and picked up some timely hits, and having just turned 22 during the World Series, he has plenty of time to move past his moderately disappointing 2018.

New York Yankees: Miguel Andujar (27 HR, .297/.328/.527, 2 SB, 128 wRC+, 2.7 fWAR)
Here's one that I definitely got right. There was an opening for Andujar at third base and he took it, clubbing 76 extra base hits in 149 games and holding down a critical lineup spot for one of baseball's better teams. While his 4.1% walk rate cut into his production and left him with a pedestrian .328 OBP, it's hard to ask for more out of a 23 year old rookie than what Andujar gave in 2018.

Tampa Bay Rays: Brent Honeywell (did not play - injured)
Shortly after I picked Honeywell as the Rays' breakout star to watch, he tore his UCL and had to miss the season. My runner up was Jake Bauers, who slashed .201/.316/.384 with eleven home runs in 96 games and was more in the Rafael Devers boat of "not necessarily disappointing, but not great either."

Toronto Blue Jays: Teoscar Hernandez (22 HR, .239/.302/.468, 5 SB, 107 wRC+, 0.3 fWAR)
While Hernandez didn't exactly light the world on fire, he did break out for 22 home runs in his first full season. Overall, 58 extra base hits in 134 games is pretty good, and a 107 wRC+ meant he was an above average hitter despite a low .302 OBP. I'll consider Hernandez a success here, though with his poor defense he was barely above replacement level.

Chicago White Sox: Yoan Moncada (17 HR, .235/.315/.400, 12 SB, 97 wRC+, 2.0 fWAR)
Put Moncada in the same category as Rafael Devers. He was very inconsistent in 2018, slashing as high as .274/.361/.516 in April and as low as .197/.242/.350 in June. Overall, though, his numbers turned out quite decently: 17 home runs, a .235/.315/.400 line, and 2.0 fWAR. He hit the ball hard, but his 33.4% strikeout rate kept him from sustaining hot stretches and kept his overall production more pedestrian. Let's see what happens in 2019.

Cleveland Indians: Bradley Zimmer (2 HR, .226/.281/.330, 4 SB, 63 wRC+, 0.3 fWAR)
Zimmer was limited to just 34 games in 2018 due to injuries, so his big breakout did not come. However, he's just about to turn 25 and Michael Brantley, Rajai Davis, and Brandon Guyer are all free agents, so Zimmer does have a good chance to make 2019 the year.

Detroit Tigers: Jeimer Candelario (19 HR, .224/.317/.393, 3 SB, 95 wRC+, 2.5 fWAR)
Candelario hit 19 home runs, walked at a healthy 10.7% clip, and played good defense in 2018 as a 24 year old near-rookie, but a .224 batting average limited his overall slash line. While expectations may have been a little higher, his 2.5 fWAR shows he was more than solid, and the Tigers should feel comfortable moving forward with him as their starting third baseman.

Kansas City Royals: Adalberto Mondesi (14 HR, .276/.306/.498, 32 SB, 114 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR)
Before the season, I asked "could 2018 finally be Mondesi's year?" and as it turns out, the answer was yes. Mondesi was on the MLB.com top fifty prospect list way back in 2013, and now the 23 year old is finally producing after disappointing 2016 and 2017 seasons in the majors. This year, he slashed .276/.306/.498 with 14 home runs and 32 stolen bases in just 75 games, putting up 2.8 fWAR in less than half a season. Honestly, even I didn't realize Mondesi has that good of a year. His future was in doubt for a while, but now it looks like he can take over at shortstop for the departing Alcides Escobar.

Minnesota Twins: Byron Buxton (0 HR, .156/.183/.200, 5 SB, -3 wRC+, -0.4 fWAR)
Well...whoops. I was hoping Buxton would finally take the step forward into stardom or at least semi-stardom after slashing .300/.347/.546 in the second half of 2017, but he was hurt on and off in 2018, spent time in the minors, and ultimately never got anything going. It's hard to believe after four up and down years in the majors, he's still just 24 years old and has plenty of time to make things click, but he'll likely never become the superstar the Twins envisioned when they drafted him second overall in 2012 or when he was widely considered the game's top prospect after slashing .334/.424/.520 with 12 home runs and 55 stolen bases at Class A and High A in 2013.

Houston Astros: David Paulino (1-0, 1.35 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 6/2 K/BB, 6.2 IP)
Paulino's prospect status is still intact after pitching parts of three seasons in the majors, and he's still just 24, but ultimately 2018 was not his year after he ended up sitting out much of it with injuries. Traded to the Blue Jays for Roberto Osuna, he'll give it another try in 2019.

Los Angeles Angels: Shohei Ohtani (22 HR, .285/.361/.564, 3.31 ERA, 63/22 K/BB, 3.8 fWAR)
Aside from the Tommy John surgery, 2018 could not have gone much better for Ohtani. He became baseball's first legitimate two-way star since Babe Ruth, both hitting and pitching at All Star levels. It's so, so awful that he won't get to pitch in 2019 due to the surgery, but Ohtani was everything even his wildest optimists hoped for in 2018, at least on a per-game basis.

Oakland Athletics: Jharel Cotton (did not play - injured)
Like Honeywell, Jharel Cotton did not appear in 2018 due to Tommy John surgery, and it looks like Matt Chapman would have been a better pick for this spot. My #2 pick behind Cotton, Franklin Barreto, played just 32 games and slashed .233/.253/.493, with his power looking great but his horrid plate discipline holding him back.

Seattle Mariners: Marco Gonzales (13-9, 4.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 145/32 K/BB, 166.2 IP)
Hey look, a success that wasn't necessarily an obvious pre-season choice like Ohtani. After battling injuries for years, Gonzales was finally healthy in 2018, and he responded in a great way by going 13-9 with a 4.00 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and a very solid 145/32 strikeout to walk ratio in 166.2 innings. He was pretty inconsistent start to start, but when he was on, he looked like the future ace the Cardinals thought they drafted in the first round (19th overall) out of Gonzaga back in 2013.

Texas Rangers: Willie Calhoun (2 HR, .222/.269/.333, 0 SB, 55 wRC+, -0.6 fWAR)
Ah, another bust (at least for now). For the second straight season, Calhoun struggled to catch on in the majors, and we'll have to wait another year to see whether his power is the real deal. Among rookies expected to make an impact in 2018, Calhoun was among the biggest disappointments.

Atlanta Braves: Ronald Acuna (26 HR, .293/.366/.552, 16 SB, 143 wRC+, 3.7 fWAR)
I don't think the prediction that Acuna would break out was a particularly novel one, and Acuna certainly lived up to the hype by slashing .293/.366/.552 with 26 home runs as a 20 year old. Before the season, there was plenty of praise heaped on him as a future superstar, and so far he has only made those claims stronger. Acuna will be one of the game's better outfielders, if not one of the best, for a long time.

Miami Marlins: Lewis Brinson (11 HR, .199/.240/.338, 2 SB, 56 wRC+, -1.0 fWAR)
On the flip side, Lewis Brinson sucked, to put it frankly. Though he had occasional outbursts of power, he struggled to make contact and only got as much playing time as he did because the Marlins just plain needed him there. I'd rank him ahead of Calhoun as the biggest disappointment of the season just because of his higher pre-season expectations, but the 24 year old can try again next year.

New York Mets: Amed Rosario (9 HR, .256/.295/.381, 24 SB, 85 wRC+, 1.5 fWAR)
While Rosario's numbers don't pop out, good defense at shortstop and better performance later in the season helped him put up an admirable year for a 22 year old. I expect Rosario to continue to develop in 2019 and may then have the breakout we're all waiting for.

Philadelphia Phillies: J.P. Crawford (3 HR, .214/.319/.393, 2 SB, 96 wRC+, 0.3 fWAR)
While Crawford finally began to get some regular playing time after years of being a top prospect, his .214/.319/.393 line over 49 games is still well short of expectations. There's talk that the Phillies might bring in Manny Machado, but if they decide to stick with Crawford, he'll have another opportunity to prove himself next year. He turns 24 in January so he's still young, but he has been stagnant for long enough that some doubt is beginning to creep in.

Washington Nationals: Victor Robles (3 HR, .288/.348/.525, 3 SB, 131 wRC+, 0.5 fWAR)
Victor Robles was supposed to do what Juan Soto did this year, but an arm injury in April knocked him out for three months and by the time he returned, Soto was basically already Babe Ruth. Still, once he was called up for 21 games in September, he looked very good, slashing .288/.348/.525 with three home runs and playing his trademark great defense. It's not Robles' fault he was hurt for much of the season, and I see no reason to think he can't challenge for the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year Award.

Chicago Cubs: Eddie Butler (2-3, 5.62 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 29/19 K/BB, 49.2 IP)
I picked Butler as the Cubs' best breakout candidate, though I did note at the time that the roster was pretty much set and nobody was really likely to have a breakthrough season. Butler couldn't make it work in Chicago and was ultimately sent to Texas in the Cole Hamels deal, where he has been a mediocre reliever.

Cincinnati Reds: Luis Castillo (10-12, 4.30 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 165/49 K/BB, 169.2 IP)
So no, Castillo didn't break out, with his 3.12 ERA and 1.07 WHIP from 2017 being better than this year's marks of 4.30 and 1.22, respectively, though he did only throw 89.1 innings in 2017. However, Castillo looked much better in the second half, going 5-4 with a 2.44 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP over 11 starts, striking out 69 and walking 14 in 66.1 innings. He's perfectly capable of maintaining that over a full season, and I would not be surprised if next year was the big breakout.

Milwaukee Brewers: Josh Hader (6-1, 2.43 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 143/30 K/BB, 81.1 IP)
I was a little bit disappointed when the Brewers did not end up using Hader as a starter, but he was so good in relief this year (143 strikeouts...really??) that it's hard to regard 2018 as anything but an absolute success. Hader went from intriguing upside prospect to bullpen monster in one year, and he's likely not going anywhere.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Tyler Glasnow (2-7, 4.27 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 136/53 K/BB, 111.2 IP)
So Glasnow didn't exactly break out in 2018, but he did have consistent major league success for the first time in his career, so this is should be regarded as a partial success. I think the Rays will be a good place for him and that he could continue to build on his success next year.

St. Louis Cardinals: Miles Mikolas (18-4, 2.83 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 146/29 K/BB, 200.2 IP)
I don't think 2018 could have possibly gone better for Mikolas. He was very mediocre in his first three seasons in the majors from 2012-2014, but after three years in Japan from 2015-2017, he came back looking like an ace. He didn't overpower hitters, but he hit his spots and induced weak contact to make the NL All Star Team.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Taylor Clarke (did not play - spent year in AAA)
So Clarke did go 13-8 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP in 2018 - at AAA Reno. He never got his shot in the Arizona rotation in 2018, so he'll try again in 2019, when he'll be 26.

Colorado Rockies: Ryan McMahon (5 HR, .232/.307/.376, 1 SB, 68 wRC+, 0.0 fWAR)
So he got his first significant MLB playing time, but ultimately he could not hang onto the first base job and slashed just .232/.307/.376 in 91 games. At this point, I'm not as confident in McMahon's ability to hold onto a first base job, with Ian Desmond currently getting time there and Grant Lavigne looking to make a quick run through the minors.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Walker Buehler (8-5, 2.62 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 151/37 K/BB, 137.1 IP)
Buehler had a fantastic rookie season in 2018, putting up a 2.62 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP over 24 games (23 starts) before dominating in the postseason. That marks three straight seasons in which a rookie put together not just a good but a great season, following Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger. Buehler looks like an ace in the making and will likely remain in the LA rotation for a long time.

San Diego Padres: Dinelson Lamet (did not play - injured)
Okay so in all, I lost three of my breakout picks to Tommy John surgery. That's unfortunate, because I was really looking forward to what Lamet could do in 2018 after striking out 28.7% of his opponents as a rookie in 2017. My second pick, Luis Perdomo, wasn't much better: 1-6, 7.05 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, 39/22 K/BB.

San Francisco Giants: Chris Stratton (10-10, 5.09 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 112/54 K/BB, 145 IP)
The numbers weren't great, but on the positive side, Stratton pitched a full season for the first time in his career and even threw a complete game, two hit shutout on September 14th against the Rockies. He'll never reach the potential the Giants thought he had when they took him in the first round (20th overall) out of Mississippi State in 2012, but he looks like he could be a moderately useful back-end starter.

Biggest Takeaways From the 2018 Season

In my second installment of this piece (see 2017 version here), I'll be looking at exactly what the most important and most memorable developments from the 2018 season were. First off, congratulations to the Boston Red Sox, taking home their ninth World Series title and fourth in the past fourteen years. What else should we remember about 2018?

Pitching Staff Management is Fundamentally Changing
When Buck Showalter failed to use relief-ace Zach Britton in the 2016 AL Wild Card Game because he was waiting for a "save situation," even as the game went into extra innings, it provided the spark that would slowly change pitching staff management forever. We saw it a little bit in the 2017 playoffs, then in 2018, the ball really got rolling. Starters are throwing less than ever, and the Rays (and to a lesser extent the A's) even experimented with openers. Guys like Ryne Stanek, Diego Castillo, Hunter Wood, and Sergio Romo served as openers for Ryan Yarbrough and Yonny Chirinos, and the Rays benefited. I'd expect more teams to join the trend next season. In the playoffs, hooks came quicker than ever, and many of us were surprised to see starters come out for the seventh inning at all when they did. Closers came in in the eighth inning, and hopefully we'll see more of that next season. Whatever you think about bullpening or openers, the starting pitcher is going to continue to recede.

Data Analytics Works
The final four teams in the playoffs - the Red Sox, Astros, Dodgers, and Brewers - were four of the teams that relied the most heavily on analytics. All those high school coaches, barstool pundits, and opinionated uncles who think "the nerds are ruining the game," they might want to either thank them for their favorite team's success. The "eye test" and "gut feelings" just don't match up to empirical data, and we're getting more and more of the latter every year. Sabermetricians already nearly perfected offensive evaluation with stats like wOBA and wRC+, and Statcast is even beginning to dip its foot into quantifying something we have struggled to understand forever: defense. Fielding percentage is an awful judge of ability, and sabermetric stats like DRS (defensive runs saved) and UZR (ultimate zone rating) just began to scratch the surface. With Statcast, we're at least beginning to understand outfield defense with stats like catch probability and outs above average. We still haven't quite figured out how to quantify infield defense with Statcast; that's up next.

Parity is Becoming a Thing of the Past
Unless the MLB does something, our divisions will look more and more like the 2018 AL East, with the Red Sox and Yankees blowing everyone out and the Blue Jays and Orioles sitting at the bottom with no chance. Rebuilds work, and the more you commit to them, the better they do. Look at the Astros. Playing .500 ball is not much better for your fanbase than playing .400 ball, which is in turn not much better than playing .300 ball. Simply put, if you're not winning, then it pays to tear down the team and just lose until your stockpiled prospects reach the majors. That's what we're seeing in Miami, Baltimore, Chicago (White Sox), and Detroit. This is both good for baseball and bad; it's good because it enables small market teams like the ones listed to compete with the Boston's, New York's, and Los Angeles's of the world, but it is bad because it just leads to awful teams and boring division races. I'm not sure what the solution is, but don't expect more than two or three exciting division races per season until something is done.

Mike Trout Might Be the Best Player Ever
The idea that Mike Trout might be one of the best who ever lived entered the national conversation a few years ago, but he might actually end up being the best player ever. Eight years into his career and only a few months after turning 27, he has 240 home runs, a .307/.416/.573 slash line, 189 stolen bases, and 64.7 fWAR. His 172 career wRC+ ranks sixth all time, behind only Babe Ruth (197), Ted Williams (188), Lou Gehrig (173), Rogers Hornsby (173), and Barry Bonds (173). The 64.7 fWAR are already 89th on the all time list, despite every single player ahead of him on the list having played more than 500 more games than him. He's already ahead of plenty of Hall of Famers, from Yogi Berra to Duke Snider to Ernie Banks to Willie Stargell, and he's likely to catch Tony Gwynn and Craig Biggio within the first month of 2019. And he just turned 27 on August 7th.

Clayton Kershaw is No Longer the Best Pitcher in Baseball
It's been a great run for Clayton Kershaw. From 2011-2017, his age 23-29 seasons, he went 118-41 with a 2.10 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, and a 1623/283 strikeout to walk ratio over 1452 innings, good for a 29.1% strikeout rate and a 5.1% walk rate. By those numbers the average season saw him go 17-6 with a 2.10 ERA and a 232/40 strikeout to walk ratio in 207.1 innings. Kershaw's 47.4 pitching fWAR led the majors by a massive margin, 11.2 ahead of second place Max Scherzer's 36.2. That's not only a great run, but one of the best in history. However, there is reason to believe that that run is coming to an end. Kershaw turns 31 in March, and while that's not old, he figures to be past his prime. This past season, he went 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over 26 starts, striking out 155 and walking 29 in 161.1 innings. Those numbers are great, yes, but not Kershaw great. His fastball velocity has been steadily declining from 94.2 MPH in 2015 to 93.6, 92.8, and 90.8 in the last three seasons as he has battled back problems. That's not to say Kershaw isn't still good; he's one of the best in the game and I expect him to contend for the NL Cy Young Award next season, but he's not *the best* anymore.

Something is Happening in Oakland
The A's went 97-65 in 2018 and captured the second AL Wild Card, though based on that record they deserved better. What people might not realize, though, is that they are here to stay. Their entire core outside of Jed Lowrie and second half addition Mike Fiers was young, with guys like Khris Davis (48 HR, .247/.326/.549), Matt Chapman (24 HR, .278/.356/.508), Matt Olson (29 HR, .247/.335/.453), and Lowrie (23 HR, .267/.353/.448) leading the offense and Sean Manaea (12-9, 3.59 ERA), Fiers (5-2, 3.74 ERA post trade), Daniel Mengden (7-6, 4.05 ERA), Blake Treinen (0.78 ERA, 100/21 K/BB), and Lou Trivino (2.92 ERA, 82/31 K/BB) leading the pitching staff. Out of that entire list, only Lowrie is a free agent, though Manaea might not pitch at all in 2019 due to shoulder surgery. However, on the flip side, Jharel Cotton will be back from Tommy John surgery. There are also prospects on the horizon, with Jesus Luzardo, Franklin Barreto, Jorge Mateo, and Ramon Laureano looking to break through sooner rather than later. Nobody saw it coming, but this team is very good and it's built to last. They're not going anywhere in 2019.

New Faces Everywhere
In 2017, we saw the rise of Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Corey Seager, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and others to stardom, and this year, the youth movement continued. Mookie Betts, after a relative down year in 2017 (.264/.344/.459), bounced back with a huge 2018 that saw him slash .346/.438/.640 with 32 home runs and 30 stolen bases, and he's likely to take home the AL MVP Award. Now with 28.7 fWAR over the past three seasons, he has elevated himself to superstar levels. Alex Bregman had a huge season, building on his .284/.352/.475 2017 season by slashing .286/.394/.532 with 31 home runs and 51 doubles, surprising many by being the best hitter in a formidable Houston lineup. The A's have a of young defensive wiz that can also swing the bat in Matt Chapman (24 HR, .278/.356/.508). On the mound, quite a few new starting pitchers turned into aces. Aaron Nola posted a 2.37 ERA and looks poised to lead the Phillies into contention, while Blake Snell dropped his ERA below 2.00. Kyle Freeland even got in on the fun from Colorado, becoming the first Rockies' starter since Ubaldo Jimenez in 2010 to drop his ERA below 3.00. Josh Hader was an unstoppable force in the Milwaukee bullpen, striking out 143 batters in just 81.1 innings (but not without dodging controversy). Oh, and out of Betts, Bregman, Chapman, Nola, Snell, Freeland, and Hader, Betts is the oldest and even he will play the entire 2019 season at just 26 years old.
Don't Forget the Rookies
This year's rookie class was among the best we've ever seen. Shohei Ohtani fulfilled the lofty expectations placed on him and while he won't get to pitch in 2019 due to Tommy John surgery, he has already elevated himself to stardom with both his bat and his arm. Teenager Juan Soto took the baseball world by storm by sprinting up from Class A to the majors in just one month, then slashed .292/.406/.517 with 22 home runs against much, much older competition. Ronald Acuna, less than a year older than Soto, was equally impressive by slashing .293/.366/.552 with 26 home runs and 16 stolen bases for the Braves. Walker Buehler was incredible in Los Angeles, posting a 2.62 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and a 151/37 strikeout to walk ratio before dominating in the postseason. Miguel Andujar stepped up when the Yankees needed him, slashing .297/.328/.527 with 27 home runs and 47 doubles, while his teammate, Gleyber Torres, slashed .271/.340/.480 with 24 home runs. Harrison Bader showed a decent bat (12 HR, .264/.334/.422) but immediately established himself as one of the best defensive outfielders in the game. Even in that long paragraph of names, I left out guys like Joey Wendle, Ryan Yarbrough, Jack Flaherty, Lou Trivino, Brian Anderson, Jaime Barria, Brad Keller, and Joey Lucchesi.

And Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is coming in April

2018 Dugout Edge Regular Season Awards: Rookies, Managers, and Relievers

These awards are based on how I would assign them, not on how I believe they will end up. MVP's and Cy Young's were posted previously.

American League Rookie of the Year
Winner: Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels)
Hitting Stats: 22 HR, .285/.361/.564, 10 SB, 152 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR in 104 games
Pitching Stats: 4-2, 3.31 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 63/22 K/BB, 51.2 IP in 10 starts
Honestly, I don't think this race should be particularly close. Shohei Ohtani was clearly the superior rookie to me, generating more offensive fWAR than Miguel Andujar and adding more than 50 innings of above average pitching to roughly match Andujar's number of plate appearances/total batters faced. At the plate, Ohtani slashed .285/.361/.564 with 22 home runs for a 152 wRC+, the latter of which would have placed him fourth in the American League if he had qualified, right between Alex Bregman's 157 and Jose Ramirez's 147. As a pitcher, he posted a 3.31 ERA and a 63/22 strikeout to walk ratio over ten starts, including an absolute gem on April 8th when he tossed seven shutout innings on one hit, one walk, and 12 strikeouts against the A's. The numbers alone make him the best rookie in the American League, but if you put them in context and just think about how amazing the fact that he was pitching and hitting at All Star levels is, and it really should be no competition here.

Runner-Up: Joey Wendle (Tampa Bay Rays)
Stats: 7 HR, .300/.354/.435, 16 SB, 116 wRC+, 3.7 fWAR in 139 games
In the Ohtani-Andujar Rookie of the Year race, Joey Wendle didn't get nearly enough credit. An older rookie at 28, Wendle slashed .300/.354/.435 with 16 stolen bases and very good defense, impacting the game in very way except power. Even with only hitting seven home runs, he still knocked 33 doubles and six triples for a total of 46 extra base hits, good for third among AL rookies behind only  Miguel Andujar (76) and Niko Goodrum (48): pretty good for a guy where power is his worst attribute.

Honrable Mention: Miguel Andujar (New York Yankees)
Stats: 27 HR, .297/.328/.527, 2 SB, 128 wRC+, 2.7 fWAR in 149 games
I'm just not as high on Andujar as many people are, though you could make a very good argument to put him ahead of Wendle and it's pretty close in my book. He did still have a great season for a rookie. The 23 year old slashed .297/.328/.527 with 27 home runs and 47 doubles, his power stroke helping the Yankees get plenty of production out of what looked like a murky infield situation pre-season. He didn't get on base much, but the power was unmatched by any AL rookies outside of Ohtani. He also got better as the season went on and had his best month in August, slashing .320/.344/.623 with ten home runs in 30 games, again having difficulty getting on base but really showing off the power. On defense, he helped the Yankees just about as much as Ohtani did as a DH, as in not much.

Others
Gleyber Torres (NYY, 24 HR, .271/.340/.480, 6 SB, 120 wRC+, 1.9 fWAR)
Brad Keller (KC, 9-6, 3.08 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 96/50 K/BB)
Ryan Yarbrough (TB, 16-6, 3.91 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 128/50 K/BB)
Jaime Barria (LAA, 10-9, 3.41 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 98/47 K/BB)
Willy Adames (TB, 10 HR, .278/.348/.406, 6 SB, 109 wRC+, 1.3 fWAR)

National League Rookie of the Year
Winner: Ronald Acuna (Atlanta Braves)
Stats: 26 HR, .293/.366/.552, 16 SB, 143 wRC+, 3.7 fWAR in 111 games
This was a difficult decision because Ronald Acuna and Juan Soto had virtually identical seasons, with their OPS's (Acuna .917/Soto .923), wOBA's (.388/.392), and fWAR's (3.7/3.7) knotting them together. While they were essentially equal offensively (Acuna has the upper hand in power, Soto in on-base percentage/plate discipline), Acuna was the better defender. Fangraphs didn't like his defense, but Statcast gave him five outs above average to Soto's four below average. Add in his 16 stolen bases, and I think Acuna has just enough to beat Soto by a hair. The 20 year old finished his rookie year slashing .293/.366/.552 with 26 home runs and 16 stolen bases, heating up as the season went on and slashing .322/.403/.625 with 19 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 68 games after the All Star Break. In fact, in August, he slashed .336/.405/.698 with eleven home runs and six stolen bases in 30 games, a pace that would give him nearly 60 home runs and over 30 stolen bases over a full season. Regardless of where he stands with regard to Juan Soto, Ronald Acuna had a fantastic rookie year.

Runner-Up: Juan Soto (Washington Nationals)
Stats: 22 HR, .292/.406/.517, 5 SB, 145 wRC+, 3.7 fWAR in 116 games
As you can see from the stat line, Juan Soto had a very, very similar season to Acuna. While I think Acuna beats him by a hair, I want to go over just how incredible the year was. Soto missed all but 32 games of the 2017 season with injuries, then turned 19 that October. Since he had only played 29 games above complex league baseball (the lowest level of the minors), it made sense to start him at Class A Hagerstown and let him work his way up. 16 games and a .373/.486/.814 slash line later, he was at High A Potomac, where he slashed .371/.466/.790 over 15 games. Up at AA Harrisburg, a feat in and of itself considering his situation, he slashed .323/.400/.581 over eight games and found himself in the majors by May. In the majors, he still didn't stop mashing, slashing .292/.406/.517 with 22 home runs over 116 games. Perhaps even more incredible than the production was the plate discipline he showed, as evidenced by a 99/79 strikeout to walk ratio (20% to 16%). In fact, his 21.9% swing rate on pitches outside the zone was 14th best in baseball among players with at least 450 plate appearances, which is pretty cool in its own right but downright incredible when you consider he's a teenager who began the season in Class A. In the box, he looked as poised and professional as anyone on the field, though his defense and base running could definitely use some work.

Honorable Mention: Walker Buehler (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Stats: 8-5, 2.62 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 151/37 K/BB, 137.1 IP in 24 games (23 starts)
Walker Buehler was about as good as rookie pitchers get. Over 24 games (23 starts), he posted a 2.62 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP while striking out 151 and walking just 37 over 137.1 innings, good for a 27.9% strikeout rate and just a 6.8% walk rate. Component ratios like that tend to be sustainable, and while he wasn't Corey Seager or Cody Bellinger this year, Buehler is yet another great Dodger rookie. While he did have a tendency to get blown up from time to time, allowing at least four earned runs in five separate games, he closed the season on absolute lockdown mode, going 4-2 with a 1.55 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and an 87/23 strikeout to walk ratio over 75.1 innings from July 31st onwards. He held the Padres hitless for six innings on May 4th and limited the Cardinals to just four baserunners over eight shutout innings on September 14th, striking out nine in the process.

Others
Harrison Bader (STL, 12 HR, .264/.334/.422, 15 SB, 106 wRC+, 3.5 fWAR)
Jack Flaherty (STL, 8-9, 3.34 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 182/59 K/BB)
Brian Anderson (MIA, 11 HR, .273/.357/.400, 2 SB, 113 wRC+, 3.4 fWAR)
Dereck Rodriguez (6-4, 2.81 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 89/36 K/BB)
Joey Lucchesi (SD, 8-9, 4.08 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 145/43 K/BB)

American League Manager of the Year
Winner: Kevin Cash (Tampa Bay Rays)
Record: 90-72, .556 WPCT (3rd in AL East), 10 game improvement over 2017
I don't think anybody expected the Rays to win 90 games in the stacked AL East this year, but they did just that in Kevin Cash's first year as manager. The team won not by hitting for power (.406 slugging percentage was 17th in baseball), but by getting on base (.333 on-base percentage was third best) and by mixing up their pitching staff. They did so by famously employing the opener, starting many games with a reliever to get the opposing team's best hitters out before going to a starter for the longer run. The results were great; their 90 ERA- beat last year's 94 ERA- and was far better than 2016's 102 ERA-, and they got these results without burning anybody out. In fact, only two pitchers (Blake Snell and Ryan Yarbrough) threw more than 100 innings, and no true reliever threw more than 70 innings. Instead, ten different pitchers threw between 50 and 70 innings as the workload was evenly balanced out, and almost all were effective with only one posting an ERA above 4.65 (Jacob Faria at 5.40). Cash pioneered a change in baseball that I think will have a lasting impact on how teams try to win.

Runner-Up: Bob Melvin (Oakland Athletics)
Record: 97-65, .599 WPCT (2nd in AL West), 22 game improvement over 2017
While I stand by giving the award to Kevin Cash, Bob Melvin did a fantastic job in helping his team improve 22 games, going from last in the AL West to a Wild Card spot. The A's put up the fourth highest slugging percentage in the majors (.439) on the backs of Khris Davis (.549), Matt Chapman (.508), and Stephen Piscotty (.491). Melvin was able to bring out the best in his offense, and it paid dividends. On the pitching side, he also experimented (to a lesser extent) with the opener, and his team's 92 ERA- was significantly better than 2017's 109.

Honorable Mention: Scott Servais (Seattle Mariners)
Record: 89-73, .549 WPCT (3rd in AL West), 11 game improvement over 2017
Based on the fact that they scored 34 fewer runs than their opponents in 2018, the Mariners significantly over-performed on their win-loss record mostly due to their 36-21 record in one run games and 14-1 record in extra innings games. While that doesn't bode well for future, sustained success in Seattle, I think it reflects well on Servais's ability to manage in close games. I also think the 89 wins is pretty impressive for a team where, frankly, I don't think there was too much talent.

Others
Aaron Boone (NYY, 100-62)
Alex Cora (BOS, 108-54)

National League Manager of the Year
Winner: Brian Snitker (Atlanta Braves)
Record: 90-72, .556 WPCT (1st in NL East), 18 game improvement over 2017
Brian Snitker took a very young team coming off a 72-90 record and reversed it straight up to a 90-72 record. How young were the Braves? Touki Toussaint, who turned 22 in June, was the sixth youngest player to appear for the Braves this year, with four players being born in 1997. To be able to take a team that young and get this much success out of them is extremely impressive. Next year, I think the Braves will be even better.

Runner-Up: Craig Counsell (Milwaukee Brewers)
Record: 96-67, .589 WPCT (1st in NL Central), 9.5 game improvement over 2017
Craig Counsell was dealt an interesting hand, with baseball's deepest outfield and an infield that seemed somewhat mismatched. However, he handled it seemingly with ease, shuffling around his position players to get the right guys playing time while maintaining production. His team got hot at just the right time, winning their last eight games (including game 163) to win the NL Central. I think you could make a strong case for Counsell as the NL Manager of the Year.

Honorable Mention: Bud Black (Colorado Rockies)
Record: 91-72, .558 WPCT (2nd in NL West), 3.5 game improvement over 2017
Bud Black has done a great job turning Colorado into a pitching-oriented team, helping facilitate the rise of Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela, Tyler Anderson, Scott Oberg, and more. I really don't think the Rockies' roster is *that* good, so to be able to squeeze so many wins out of a team with no offense and very young pitchers stuck pitching half their games in pitchers' hell is very impressive. If Rockies management ever got Black some hitters outside of Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, and Trevor Story, this could be a very good team going forward.

Others
Dave Roberts (LAD, 92-71)
Joe Maddon (CHC, 95-68)

American League Reliever of the Year
Winner: Blake Treinen (Oakland Athletics)
Stats: 0.78 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 38 SV, 100/21 K/BB, 80.1 IP in 68 appearances
Blake Treinen completely turned his career around when he was traded from Washington to Oakland in 2017. With a 5.73 ERA and an 18.9% strikeout rate pre-trade and a 2.13 ERA and a 26.9% strikeout rate post trade, he successfully made the long-awaited transition from thrower to pitcher. This year, he was off the charts: 0.78 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and a 100/21 strikeout to walk ratio in 80.1 innings. He struck out 31.7% of those that he faced while walking just 6.7%, and he allowed just one earned run after July 21st. In fact, in those final 30.1 innings, he had a 0.30 ERA, a 0.56 WHIP, and a 36/3 strikeout to walk ratio. That's a 32.7% strikeout rate and a 2.7% walk rate if you're keeping track at home. 98 mile per hour diving two seamers will do that.

Runner-Up: Edwin Diaz (Seattle Mariners)
Stats: 1.96 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 57 SV, 124/17 K/BB, 73.1 IP in 73 appearances
Edwin Diaz finished with the second most saves (57) ever for a single season, but that's not why he ranked second on this list because personally, I don't care. What's more astounding is Diaz's 124/17 strikeout to walk ratio, which translates to a 44.3% strikeout rate and a 6.1% walk rate. Imagine for every time you go through the lineup, four of the nine hitters strike out. That was what facing Diaz was like this season, with the 44.3% rate leading the American League this year (min. 50 IP).

Others
Jose LeClerc (TEX, 1.56 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 85/25 K/BB, 57.2 IP)
Collin McHugh (HOU, 1.99 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 94/21 K/BB, 72.1 IP)
Chad Green (NYY, 2.50 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 94/15 K/BB, 75.2 IP)

National League Reliever of the Year
Winner: Josh Hader (Milwaukee Brewers)
Stats: 2.43 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 12 SV, 143/30 K/BB, 81.1 IP in 55 appearances
I find it just a but counter-intuitive to give this award to a pitcher with a 2.43 ERA, but Josh Hader was so good in every other facet of pitching that it had to go to him. While his ERA was a bit elevated in the realm of elite relievers, his 143/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 81.1 innings was absolutely incredible. His 46.7% strikeout rate (nearly half) not only led all of baseball (min. 50 IP), it was the fourth highest strikeout rate ever, behind only 2014 Aroldis Chapman (52.5%), 2012 Craig Kimbrel (50.2%), and 2017 Kimbrel (49.6%). In addition, by only allowing 36 hits and 30 walks, his WHIP was just 0.81. On April 30th, he had perhaps his best game of the season, striking out eight of the nine batters he faced (including Joey Votto), walking the other batter.

Runner-Up: Jeremy Jeffress (Milwaukee Brewers)
Stats: 1.29 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 15 SV, 89/27 K/BB, 76.2 IP in 73 appearances
The Brewers' bullpen was pretty good, wasn't it? Jeremy Jeffress bounced back from a down 2017 (4.68 ERA, 51/34 K/BB) to post his best season this year, finishing with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. His 89/27 strikeout to walk ratio led to a 29.8% strikeout rate and a 9% walk rate, but by keeping the hits from falling and especially limiting extra base hits (just 12 allowed all year), Jeffress kept the damage to a minimum even in the worst case scenarios, never allowing more than two runs in any of his 73 appearances. He even had a stretch from April 9th to May 27th in which he tossed 22.2 shutout innings on five hits, six walks, and 21 strikeouts for a 0.49 WHIP.

Others
Adam Ottavino (COL, 2.43 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 112/36 K/BB, 77.2 IP)
Kirby Yates (SD, 2.14 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 90/17 K/BB, 63 IP)
Sean Doolittle (WSH, 1.60 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 60/6 K/BB, 45 IP)