2016 MLB Mid-Season Awards

So far in 2016 we’ve seen a handful of celebrity deaths, a presidential primary that has produced arguably the worst two candidates in 40 years, and a country on edge with the tragic and senseless shootings in Orlando and more recently in Dallas. In the world of sports, besides the city of Cleveland winning its first title in over 50 years over a team that suffered an epic collapse in the NBA finals after breaking the regular season wins total, it’s been a pretty bland year so far. Peyton Manning retired after winning a lackluster Super Bowl, the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in front of struggling TV ratings, and we all witnessed the disgrace that was the Kobe farewell tour. In all honesty, none of it was all that memorable.

In baseball there’s been a couple of early season surprises (Baltimore), but nothing too far out of the ordinary. The Minnesota Twins are really bad (which many predicted) and the Cubs are really good (which many also predicted). Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta threw his second career no hitter, but mostly it’s the young superstars that are taking over the game and making headlines.

There were a total of 79 players that made this year’s All-Star teams between injuries and replacements. Of those 79 players, 33 of them were making their first trip to the mid-summer classic. On the American League squad besides Red Sox DH David Ortiz, the remaining starters were all 26 years old or younger, with the infield being the youngest ever. The play from this crop of young talent should make for an enjoyable second half, as well as some close playoff races in both leagues. But as always before we can move on, it’s time to hand out mid-season awards.

A.L. Rookie of the Year – Michael Fulmer, SP, Detroit Tigers

Texas outfielder Nomar Mazara is going to be a player. Since the 21-year-old was called up on April 10^th, he has been a solid contributor to the first place Rangers, batting .282 with 11 home runs. What stands out for Fulmer is his 33 1/3 scoreless inning streak, which lasted from May 21^st through June 17^th. It’s the longest scoreless inning streak by a rookie since Fernando Valenzuela tossed 35 scoreless innings in 1981. On top of that Fulmer has a 9-2 record with a 2.11 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 76.2 innings. He’s been a bright surprise to the Tigers rotation, who are currently fighting for a wild-card spot in the American League.

N.L. Rookie of the Year – Corey Seager, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers

Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story started out the season with a bang, hitting seven home runs in his first six games. He quickly come back down to earth and has cooled off considerably since then. Going into the season Seager was a strong favorite by many to win this award, and so far he hasn’t disappointed, leading all rookies at the break with 105 hits as well as his own team in batting average (.297). Cardinals rookie and fellow shortstop Aledmys Diaz has the edge on Seager in average, RBIs and on base percentage, but Seager has slugged more home runs and the Dodgers currently hold the top wild-card spot in the National League. If Seager continues contributing for a post-season team, look for all of the pre-season predictions to come true.

A.L. Cy Young – Danny Salazar, Cleveland Indians

You can give votes to Chris Sale, Chris Tillman, Cole Hamels, Marco Estrada, Corey Kluber, and even Steven Wright, but Salazar has quietly developed into the best starter on a team with 52 wins. He’s second in the American League in ERA (2.75), has tallied 117 strikeouts, has double digits wins (10), and opponents are batting a mere .204 against him. There’s some good competition, but manager Terry Francona has the Indians headed in the right direction and sitting on top of the A.L. Central. If Salazar can continue his production and leads the Indians to a division title, he should be the favorite for his first Cy Young.

N.L. Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

Madison Bumgarner is having a stellar season for the San Francisco Giants. He holds a 1.94 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP and boasts a 10-4 record for the Giants that lead the N.L. West with a league best 57 wins. Needless to say he’s been pretty dominant, but not as dominant as Kershaw. The Dodgers ace has a better ERA (1.79) and WHIP (0.96), and while Bumgarner has one more strikeout at the break than Kershaw (146 to 145), Kershaw has only walked nine batters in 121 innings pitched.

I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.

Kershaw also has double-digit strikeouts in nine games compared to Bumgarner’s four. Plus in Kershaw’s 16 starts, the Dodgers are 14-2 and are knocking on the post-season door. As good as Bumgarner and other starters in the N.L. have been, (Cueto, Syndergaard, Strausberg, Arrieta, Fernandez) this contest isn’t really that close.

  

A.L. MVP – Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston Astros

There’s no clear cut favorite for this award. Mike Trout would probably run away with it if the Angels weren’t atrocious and sitting at the bottom of the A.L. West. At 40-years-old, David Ortiz is off to an offensive season that we’ve never seen before, but being a DH is going to cost him votes. Manny Machado is one of the main reasons why the Orioles are in first place in the A.L. East. There’s also Robinson Cano, Xander Bogaerts, Josh Donaldson and Ian Desmond. However Altuve is currently leading the A.L. in hits (119), average (.341), is second in stolen bases (23), and is playing gold-glove caliber second base. The Astros ended the month of April with a 7-17 record. Since then they’ve gone 41-24, and Altuve has batted .354 over that time. If Altuve keeps up his stellar play, look for the Astros to keep surging in the second half.

N.L. MVP – Kris Bryant, 3B/OF, Chicago Cubs

You could make a very strong argument that this award should also go to Kershaw for all of the reasons I listed above, but I have to lean more towards Bryant because of his versatility. Known for being a third baseman, Bryant has also played 46 games in left field, 11 in right, five at first base, and he even chipped in one game at short stop. He is also currently leading the N.L. in home runs (25) and runs scored (73). His teammate Anthony Rizzo is also having a good season and both are heating up at the right time, but Bryant is the best all-around player and does more for one of the top teams in the National League.