The MLB season is nearing the halfway mark and we are projecting our yearly awards at this point in the campaign. There are lots of deserving players, but ultimately only one guy wins. From early season smashes to shut out performances, here are our mid-season American League awards picks for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Manager of the Year.
MVP
Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angels
I have said it before and I’ll say it again, we should all feel incredibly lucky that we are here to see Ohtani play baseball. He is as one of a kind as they get. As of this writing, Ohtani leads the league in home runs, RBIs, and OPS. On the pitching mound he averages the most strikeouts per nine innings, has a 3.13 ERA, and his WAR is 5.1.
Ohtani is doing things that aren’t comprehensible in the modern game. The only real knock on him is that he is playing for a team that is third place in their division. With the MVP award, it is fair to say that he should come from a playoff team. Ohtani won it two years ago and that wasn’t the case. Outside of Shohei, Aaron Judge and Bo Bichette should be getting looks as well.
Cy Young
Sonny Gray – Minnesota Twins
The resurgence of Sonny Gray has been fun to watch as the 33-year-old is off to the best start of his career. He has a 2.54 ERA and has given up just 23 earned runs this season which stems from his .2 home runs allowed per nine innings which as you can imagine, ranks first in the league.
The Cy Young award is less about playing for a winning team since you get just one start per five games, but Gray is still on a first-place team in the Twins who should be making a push for the postseason which helps his chances even more. Outside of Gray, I could make a case for Nathan Eovaldi who has been the unexpected ace of the Texas Rangers.
Rookie of the Year
Masataka Yoshida – Boston Red Sox
This is going to be a tough choice because Yoshida is a 29-year-old rookie who himself admits that he doesn’t want to win this award because he doesn’t feel like a rookie. But when you look at his numbers, how can you deny him? As of this writing, he is hitting .308 with a .486 slugging percentage and .866 OPS. He has set numerous Red Sox rookie records already and has paid off big time as a major investment.
The other name you must look at is Josh Jung, from the Texas Rangers, who has lived up to the prospect hype and as of this writing has already belted 15 home runs with a .865 OPS. He and Yoshida may race to the end here.
Manager of the Year
Bruce Bochy – Texas Rangers
The Rangers made efforts to rebuild their roster two seasons ago, but it didn’t really pay off in year one. Then they made the real difference which was hiring Bochy. The three-time World Series winner with the Giants is proving he still has it as the Rangers sit at the top of the AL West.