Skip to main content

AL Mid Season Awards




By Zane Robidoux

With baseballs Midsummer Classic coming to a close, now is as good a time as ever to take a look at who the frontrunners for the MVP and Cy Young awards are. Rookie of the Year won’t be covered in this article, only because it feels like that race has already been decided (AL- Gleyber Torres, NL- Juan Soto). Instead, we’ll focus more on the awards that could go to a multitude of people, all equally deserving. To round the whole MLB out, the NL awards portion will be covered in a second article. Just to finish up my predictions, how the AL will shape up come the postseason can be found here too. Let’s jump in. 


AL MVP:

Mookie Betts (.359 AVG/23 HR/53 RBI/.448 OBP/.691 SLG/1.139 OPS)

Mookie leads the MLB in BA, SLG %, OPS and OPS+, is second in the AL in runs and OBP, and is third in the MLB in WAR at 6.3. After being the MVP runner up to Mike Trout two years back and following that up with a solid 2017 campaign, Mookie has elevated his game to a place that we haven’t seen it before. He’s on pace to set a number of career highs, including homeruns and stolen bases.

Image result for mookie bettsHis RBI total might be down, but that can be directly linked to the fact that he has hit leadoff for the Red Sox all season. Even while batting leadoff, he’s still managed to start a game with a homer 5 times this season, which helps add to his Red Sox franchise record of 16. 

On top of everything, his RC27 (runs created per game) is at 11.99, which is over a run higher than 2nd place (Trout) and two runs higher than third place (Jose Ramirez). Betts missed two weeks this season with a short DL stint, so it’s astounding that he is still at the top or near the top of the American League in so many categories. 

The thing with Betts is that he doesn’t just do it with the bat or on the base paths, he is an outstanding fielder as well. He has the third highest fielding percentage among qualified American League right fielders and ranks second in the AL in defensive War. He is a legitimate threat to win both the Silver Slugger as well as a Gold Glove and seems to be comfortably in the driver’s seat for the Batting Title. 

This MVP race is a lot closer than it has been in years past. Trout, Ramirez, J.D. Martinez and Mookie are all incredibly deserving, but at this point in time, Betts has the slight advantage over the rest of the field. 

2. Mike Trout 
3. Jose Ramirez
4. J.D. Martinez

AL CY Young: 

Chris Sale (W-L 10-4/2.23 ERA/188 SO/0.90 WHIP/129 IP/13.12 K/9)

This might be the toughest choice of them all. One day you think Sale deserves it, but then Luis Severino makes a start and you talk yourself into him. And then a few days later Justin Verlander pitches a gem and you’re on that bandwagon. It’s been a never-ending cycle this season. 

Image result for chris saleHowever, as of this moment, Sale is the frontrunner. 

What has really propelled him to the top spot has been his ridiculous performance in his last 7 outings. In those 7 starts, Sale is 5-1 with a 0.94 ERA, has only given up 5 ER and has struck out 78. Sale has thrown 48 innings in those 7 starts, and has kept his WHIP to a preposterous 0.77.

He’s been pretty good the rest of the year too. He currently leads the American league in ERA and strikeouts, and leads all of baseball in Strikeouts Per Game. He’s been utterly dominant this year. Sale is also on pace for 324 strikeouts, which would set a new Red Sox record, and be the most in baseball since Randy Johnson had 334 in 2002. Oh, and he has the highest WAR of all American League pitchers at 5.6. 

The way he can mix his 100 MPH fastball in with his slider while coming from his funky delivery is what makes him so dominant. Sale has been great all season, and probably would have been in consideration for the CY Young at the end of the year. But his recent dominance has propelled him to the front, and if he keeps up what he’s doing, he’ll end up with some historic numbers at years end. 

2. Luis Severino
3. Justin Verlander
4. Trevor Bauer

American League Post Season Prediction:

AL East- Boston Red Sox
AL Central- Cleveland Indians
AL West- Houston Astros
Wild Card- 1.New York Yankees 2. Seattle Mariners

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A push for Bobby Lashley is needed now more than ever

By: Fabrizio Salerno Twitter @fabriziosa1erno  When Bobby Lashley returned to the WWE, it was a monumental moment for the whole WWE Universe.  Another Power house star has arrived and can potentially take our eyes away from Roman Reigns.  Though Roman is a great performer and superstar, the WWE creative is always forcing him to be in the biggest matches and that doesn't go well with the WWE Universe. Now that Bobby came back to dominate and set his eyes on the ultimate prize of becoming a Universal Champion, it wasn't going to be an easy climb up the mountain.  You have experienced superstars that are also worthy for a match like Seth Rollins, Elias, Finn Balor and you guessed it Roman Reigns.  All these superstars have the track record and the faith of the WWE Universe to become a worthy champion and dethrone the current champion Brock Lesnar. Now it has been a couple of months since Lashley made his return and though his matches were pretty much all...

Top 10 Best Overall Sport Cities

(10) Miami The Dolphins surprisingly have a winning record, but you would’ve never guessed that after watching they were blown out by the Ravens. And to make matters worse, Jay Ajayi is out and on his way to Philadelphia. The Heat are still trying to regain their success of the Lebron-era by building around star center Hassan Whiteside but the Heat seem set for mediocrity yet again this season. Giancarlo Stanton is another promising player for the Marlins. (9) Denver The Broncos are riding a three-game losing streak and are playing the best team in football this upcoming week. The Nuggets are looking mediocre at the moment but it is too early to tell how they will turn out come February. (8) Chicago Mitch Trubisky has entered the building! The young quarterback has a way to go before teams will start to fear him, but his first few games have not been as bad as some expected. The Bears continue to rely on their underrated defense and strong run game. The Bulls ha...

Cubs' Darvish continues to be bad news

Despite the best of intentions, the Chicago Cubs have gotten more than they bargained for with signing right handed pitcher Yu Darvish over the offseason. After coughing up $126 million over 6 years, Darvish has been on the disabled list twice this year, has only had 4 starts, and hasn’t pitched since late May after experiencing significant inflammation in his triceps. The expectation was that Yu, after pitching 5 innings in Single A on Monday, would finally return to the Cubs this weekend, right? Wrong. While throwing a bullpen session this Thursday at Dodger Stadium, the 31 year old hurler experienced pain in his triceps. The Cubs are sending him back to team doctors to see if their pain could be more significant than inflammation. This setback, combined with star third baseman Kris Bryant landing on the 10 day DL with shoulder inflammation, continues a streak of bad luck to befall the reigning NL Central Champs. Ironically, this occurs while the Cubs are in LA facing Darvish...