Believe it or not, the MLB season is more than halfway over and the All-Star game break is right around the corner. While hitting has been down this season, there have still been some insane power hitters putting up big numbers while a couple of surprise pitchers have impressed. Here’s our list of the 2024 American League midseason awards.
Most Valuable Player
Aaron Judge – New York Yankees – CF
Judge is on another planet right now. He could challenge his own record for most home runs hit in a season in the American League. As of this writing, he has already smashed 30 home runs, he is hitting over .300, he is playing excellent defense, and he has the Yankees playing really good baseball. It is what we expect out of him at this point, but it still blows my mind every time I watch Judge play baseball. His teammate Juan Soto is pretty close in the MVP talks but my runner-up would be Gunnar Henderson from Baltimore who is proving that he is an absolute star and will be for a long time.
Cy Young
Tanner Houck – Boston Red Sox – SP
What a surprise this would be from our American League predictions at the start of the season. Houck was a guy who was potentially going to come out of the bullpen at the beginning of the year and is now dominating Cy Young talks. The reason why? Houck’s 2.18 ERA is the lowest in the AL by .11 points. He has allowed just 25 earned runs in 16 starts. A big part of his emergence this year has been his control as he has allowed just 18 free passes all year. Garrett Crochet is a VERY close second but playing for the White Sox doesn’t help his case much.
Rookie of the Year
Luis Gil – New York Yankees – SP
Gil has been a stud for the Yankees as he has impressed this year and become an ace for the Yanks. They needed it too as the team was without reigning Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole for much of the first half. He is averaging 10.4 strikeouts per 9 innings, and he has a 1.12 WHIP thus far which is a really solid number for a rookie pitcher. As to who could catch him? He’s a small name and not many people know of him but Sox SS David Hamilton who is filling in for Trevor Story has been awesome. He is hitting over .280 and his biggest stat is stolen bases, he already has 21.
Manager of the Year
Stephen Vogt – Cleveland Guardians
I love when a rookie manager wins this award and man does Stephen Vogt deserve it right now. The former journeyman big-leaguer has really impressed at the helm thus far in Cleveland. It’s no easy task taking over for Terry Francona, but Vogt has done it exceptionally well. The Guardians are just two wins off the best record in baseball and one win off the best record in the AL. They have built a strong 8-game lead in the AL Central and I have no doubt they will win 92+ games, win the division, and be much better than a 76-win team from a year ago.