In what has seemed like a blink of the eye the MLB season is almost over. The 60-game sprint is nearly over as it only has one weekend to go and while the AL is set for the most part discussing the playoffs (seeding needs to be sorted out), the NL is still up in the air for two teams. This final weekend is going to be insane, filled with its ups and downs and there is bound to be some heartbreak for a couple of teams.
While there are still five teams in the NL that are vying for a playoff spot, there is less competition when discussing award season. Most teams still have about three games to go so while things may be mostly resolved, what is clear is who is at least in the picture at this point.
We are going through all of the awards here from MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the year, all the way down to Manager of the year. Most of these awards have more than one person in contention so three players/managers will be discussed for all the awards. The final weekend will be the final determent as to who wins, but let’s take a stab at it with one weekend to go.
Important note: in a shortened season there are so many players who are fighting for each and every award, since that is the case each award will be limited to three. If your leading candidate or favorite player is not on the list do not fret, three players is tough to choose from and there are about 5-8 players who could win a majority of these awards.
AL MVP
Shane Bieber: 8-1, 1.63 ERA, 77.1 IP, 122 K, 21 BB, 2.05 FIP, .866 WHIP, 282 ERA+, 5.81K/BB
Should pitchers be able to win MVP when they are clearly the best players in the league? Of course, but does that translate over in a shortened season? That is when things start getting more complicated. There is no doubt that Bieber has been the most dominant pitcher over the course of the season but is it fair to give it to someone who hasn’t been on the field as often as the position players. Again, yes, but while it is fair it does not seem likely it will happen. Bieber’s stats are posted above and while it seems like he is a virtual lock for Cy Young it all depends on voter preferences for MVP. I believe that Bieber should be a top candidate even if that means he does not win; however, I don’t see him winning with the way the voters vote.
José Abreu: .319 AVG/.369 OBP/.625 SLG/.994 OPS, 43 R, 19HR, 57 RBI, 16 BB, 56 K, 168 OPS+, 58 G
Chicago has been a surprise team to some this season and while part of the reason is that their offseason additions have done exceedingly well, the big part is that their previous talent stepped up to sensational numbers. While Abreu has not been the only great player on the White Sox this season it is fair to say that they would not sit in the position they do today if it were not for Abreu. Abreu is bringing up memories from his rookie season all while being potentially the best first baseman in the game. Abreu leads the league in hits (74), RBI (57), and slugging percentage (.625), all of which make a very compelling case as to why he should win MVP this season.
Jose Ramirez: .288 AVG/.382 OBP/.599 SLG/.981 OPS, 43 R, 17 HR, 46 RBI, 31 BB, 42 K, 160 OPS+, 56 G
Ramirez started the season off great in July, then in August he completely fell off the map and it looked like it was going to be another disappointing season. Then, September came, and he started to look like an MVP once again. After the trade deadline hit and Cleveland traded away some of their pitching the hitting needed to step up, that is exactly what Ramirez did. Since the start of September Ramirez is batting .360/.448/.840/1.288 with 10 HR and 24 RBI, right now there is no better hitter than Ramirez. Ramirez is the reason that the Cleveland offense has improved so much and while his defense drops him a little bit in this race Ramirez should easily be in the top three for voting.
Prediction
The AL MVP is easily one of the toughest races to choose right now and the final weekend will be huge in determining who is going to win the award. This race has much more than just three people fighting for the award. Guys like DJ LeMahieu, Mike Trout, and Tim Anderson are all in the race as well. It all depends on who the voters want (obvious right) so based off that I don’t think that Shane Bieber will win. As for the other two, they are tied in the standings right now and even though the team standings should not matter, they do, therefore whichever team ends up with a better record I see winning.
Winner: José Ramirez
NL MVP
Freddie Freeman: .341 AVG/.461 OBP/.644 SLG/1.105 OPS, 50 R, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 43 BB, 37 K, 186 OPS+, 58 G
The Braves dealt with a lot of injuries to their pitching staff earlier in the year, so it was going to be the lineup that kept them as division favorites. Freeman is a huge reason as to why the offense has been so good and though he may not be leading in many statistical categories (as we will see) he deserves to be in the voting. This season there has been no better first baseman than Freeman and on top of being a great first baseman, he has led this team to the current position they sit in. Freeman has been Mr. Consistent, finishing in the top eight for MVP four times, could this be the year that he finally takes home the coveted award? Maybe, but he has some tough competition for the award.
Juan Soto: .351 AVG/.487 OBP/.703 SLG/1.189 OPS, 38 R, 13 HR, 37 RBI, 38 BB, 27 K, 214 OPS+, 44G
Soto missed the early part of the season after testing positive for COVID-19, that could very well be the reason he does not end up winning the award. But that’s ridiculous, okay, he missed the first part of the season, but his stats have been so good since he has been back it would be crazy not to have him in the discussion. Soto is the person who is denying Freeman the lead in many categories, leading in AVG (.351), OBP (.487), SLG (.703), OPS (1.189), and IBB (12). It is understandable if the reason he does not win is because of his time missed, but it would be criminal to not have him at least in the discussion. Maybe his stats would not have been there if he played a full 60, but maybe they would have. The Nationals may not be doing well as a team overall, but Soto has not been part of that.
Mookie Betts: .292 AVG/.363 OBP/.562 SLG/.925 OPS, 46R, 16 HR, 39 RBI, 24 BB, 34 K, 148 OPS+, 54 G
Betts is looking to become the first player to win MVP in both leagues since Frank Robinson (1961 NL, 1966 AL), winning in the National League would also make him the second player ever to Robinson to do so. Betts has his competition set out for him, but there has to be something for being the best player on the best team in the league. Well, there most likely won’t be any help on that side for Betts, but Betts has years to win an MVP in the NL and join Robinson after he signed the huge contract extension earlier this season. To go along as a great offensive talent, he is also one of the best defensive players in the game, but will it be enough to win his second MVP?
Prediction
These are not the only three players in competition for the MVP in the NL and this race is still wide open, however, what these players have done is excellent so if any of them do end up winning then it is well deserved. It will be interesting to see how much team success is weighed into the choice for MVP, if it is then Soto is out, if not he could easily win. No matter what happens though, it looks like we will see history on the NL side.
Winner: Freddie Freeman
AL CY
Shane Bieber: 8-1, 1.63 ERA, 77.1 IP, 122 K, 21 BB, 2.05 FIP, .866 WHIP, 282 ERA+, 5.81K/BB
I will direct you back to my reasoning as to why he should win MVP. Bieber has easily been the best pitcher in the game this season and while MVP may be a bit of a stretch, Cy Young should not. This one honestly isn’t even a race.
Hyun-Jin Ryu: 5-2, 2.69 ERA, 67 IP, 72 K, 17 BB, 3.00 FIP, 1.149 WHIP, 166 ERA+, 4.24 K/BB
Who would have thought that even with the expanded playoffs that the Blue Jays would end up making the playoffs? Well, they did add some players over free agency in hopes that they would end up making the playoffs. The biggest one, Hyun-Jin Ryu. Ryu looked like a potential Cy Young winner last season and he has the opportunity to be in the conversation once again. Ryu has easily been the ace in the Blue Jays rotation and even though this race clearly belongs to Bieber, it is not a bash to Ryu at all.
Dallas Keuchel: 6-2, 1.99 ERA, 63.1 IP, 42 K, 17 BB, 3.07 FIP, 1.089 WHIP, 222 ERA+, 2.47 K/BB
The White sox did a lot of adding in the offseason, but a majority of it was to improve their lineup, however, they did add a former Cy Young winner in Keuchel to help the staff out. Keuchel has seemingly returned to his Cy Young days and even though he is not going to win the Cy Young, he was exactly the pitcher that the White Sox needed. Keuchel’s biggest issue is that he is not a strikeout guy, but he induces a lot of weak contact and that weak contact has translated to outs this season so not being a strikeout pitcher is not a worry.
Prediction
While the AL MVP may be one of the toughest races to choose between the AL Cy Young may be the easiest race to choose. This race would be a lot tougher to choose from if Shane Bieber were not here, sadly, that is not the case, so it is pretty clear who the winner is going to be no matter what happens from here on out.
Winner: Shane Bieber
NL CY
Trevor Bauer: 5-4, 1.73 ERA, 73 IP, 100 K, 17 BB, 2.86 FIP, .795 WHIP, 275 ERA+, 5.88 K/BB
Bauer had a tough time in Cincinnati last season after he was traded midway through the season, well, this season he looked like the all-star that we saw in season’s past. Bauer is the NL leader in ERA, K, and WHIP, he is doing exactly what he was brought in to do and now he has a chance to win Cy Young for his fantastic performances. Win-loss is an overrated stat and while it can be helpful it should not be weighted upon heavily and it should not negatively affect Bauer.
Yu Darvish: 8-3, 2.01 ERA, 76 IP, 93 K, 14 BB, 2.22 FIP, .961 WHIP, 220 ERA+, 6.64 K/BB
Darvish has been great all season long and if not for some of the stiffest competition that we may have ever seen it would be an easy call for Darvish. However, we have some very tough competition, so tough in fact that Darvish does not lead in any stat except for wins. Despite the fact he does not lead in any category except wins, this should not automatically exclude him from winning the award, Darvish has been great, and he has the stats to back it up.
Jacob deGrom: 4-2, 2.14 ERA, 63 IP, 94 K, 16 BB, 1.99 FIP, .921 WHIP, 197 ERA+, 5.88 K/BB
deGrom is a mainstay when talking about Cy Young. Even if he does not win Cy Young, is it really a discussion as to who the best pitcher in baseball is. deGrom has been like this since 2018 and since then he has won two Cy Young’s, he could easily make it a third this season. It is not too often that a pitcher has a lower FIP (1.99) then ERA (2.14) but that is exactly what we have seen from deGrom. Making it three straight will not be easy, but if he can win his third he will join Randy Johnson (1999-2002) as the last player to win three straight.
Prediction
There is no wrong choice when discussing who should win the award. These three players are not the only players in the discussion, so along with AL MVP this could easily be the toughest decision to make when it comes to awards. The call is so tough to make that personally, it makes me want to see deGrom win his third straight, but that could also be the reason why he does not win.
Winner: Jacob deGrom
AL ROY
Luis Robert: .222 AVG/.292 OBP/.433 SLG/.725 OPS, 30 R, 11 HR, 30 RBI, 19 BB, 71 K, 97 OPS+, 54 G
The talent is there, and he has showed some great things in his first season in the big leagues, the next step is consistency. Robert was right in the race with Kyle Lewis before the past month hit. In September he is batting an abysmal .096 with a .202 OBP, .137 AVG, and .339 OPS, if he were not the defender that he is then he would not be seeing the lineup. Robert will be a threat in this league for years to come and ROY is not indicative of future performance, so he should be just fine.
Kyle Lewis: .271 AVG/.372 OBP/.452 SLG/.824 OPS, 37 R, 11 HR, 28 RBI, 33 BB, 65 K, 132 OPS+, 56 G
The way Kyle Lewis was playing at the beginning of the season made it look like he was a veteran coming back for another good season. Since then he has slipped in production, but there is a lot to look forward to with Lewis. Like Robert, he has slowed down over the last month, but he had put up such a good performance that he is still the clear favorite when it comes to ROY.
Christian Javier: 5-2, 3.48 ERA, 54.1 IP, 54 K, 18 BB, 4.93 FIP, .994 WHIP, 130 ERA+, 3.00 K/BB
Javier hasn’t been great, but he has been very good for a rookie in a depleted starting staff. Javier still has room to grow if he is going to be a top of the line starter, but he has shown that he can be a very reliable number three with room to get even better come playoff time. What Javier has showed is that he could grow and become an even bigger threat in the upcoming seasons.
Prediction
This was really a two-man race until this past month hit. Both Robert and Lewis have decreased their production this month, but the drastic drop from Robert has proved to be too much that this race is all but over now.
Winner: Kyle Lewis
NL ROY
Jake Cronenworth: .299 AVG/.370 OBP/.500 SLG/.870 OPS, 25 R, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 18 BB, 29 K, 138 OPS+, 52 G
Cronenworth has played like many of the other rookies who have been with their team all season have played, slowing down in September. Just because Cronenworth slowed down in September does not mean any less in terms of the season he had. Cronenworth was a huge addition from the Rays in the Tommy Pham trade and he has turned into a very important cog in the Padres machine.
Devin Williams: 4-1, 0.33 ERA, 27 IP, 53 K, 9 BB, 0.84 FIP, .630 WHIP, 1368 ERA+, 5.89 K/BB
27 innings pitched make it a somewhat cop out for him to be on this list, but there is nothing he can do about it as a reliever in a shortened season. Williams has been a shutdown reliever in every single game he has played in and not only is he in contention for ROY, but he is also right in the mix for reliever of the year. Williams looks like a star reliever in the making and if this year was any indication of his future then he will be one.
Alec Bohm: .338AVG/.404OBP/.483SLG/.887OPS, 24 R, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 16 BB, 35 K, 138 OPS+, 42 G
Bohm has been great for the Phillies this season and it looks like the Phillies have found their third baseman of the future. Since being called up early in the season, all he has done is produce. The Phillies may not end up making the playoffs this season, but in no way can it be blamed on Bohm. Bohm has only been getting better and with a full season under his belt and man this could be a future multiple time all-star.
Prediction
All three of these players have their own reason as to why they deserve this award and there is not really a right or wrong choice. With that being said, it would seem a little unfair to leave a pitcher out of that choice due to the shortened season. What Cronenworth and Bohm have done this season has been great, but Williams has been another level of good and I give the nod to him.
Winner: Devin Williams
AL MOY
Kevin Cash: 38-20
The Rays started this season off on a slow start, but even in a shortened season that was not enough to keep them out of it for long. In early August they were 6-8, since then they have been 32-12, that is a good team right there. Yes, the Yankees have dealt with numerous injuries this season and it is unclear whether or not the Rays would have won the division if they were healthy, but either way they have been great. Kevin Cash has always done well with the Talent in Tampa, now he just needs to show it in the playoffs.
Bob Melvin: 35-22
The Athletics won the AL West this season by a healthy margin, whether you want to say it was because they are better than Houston or Houston underperformed is up in the air. What can’t be debated is that the Athletics are a great team and Melvin is behind all of it. While they lost their star 3rd baseman when they were already in a good spot to make the playoffs it is clear that Melvin helped push them through without him.
Charlie Montoyo: 31-27
It was possible that the Blue Jays were going to make the postseason this year, but it would have been as an eight seed that was under .500. Well, it may still be as an eight seed (depending in the Yankees), but they are already over .500 and have been able to overcome adversity. Montoyo did not have the greatest season in his managerial debut last year, but he has all but made up for it by bringing the Blue Jays back to the playoffs.
Prediction
While Melvin and Cash have been great like expected, it was expected. The Rays and the Athletics were supposed to be in this position and the start of the season, the Blue Jays were not. Although Montoyo has his downfalls like every manager, the team overperformed and therefore it seems he is the clear choice.
Winner: Charlie Montoyo
NL MOY
Jayce Tingler: 35-23
The Padres were big buyers at the deadline in hopes of returning to the playoffs, that is exactly what they did and if it were not for the Dodgers being in their division then they could have been a division winner. Even though they are not the division winner they are still better than they were projected to be. Obviously, that is what happens when the lineup and the pitching staff show up but who is in charge of all of the, Tingler is. The Padres has definitely overperformed this season and they are looking to carry that over to the playoffs.
Dave Roberts: 41-17
The Dodgers once again have the best record in the league and that is in large part to the team they have. While they have one of the best rosters in the league it cannot be taken for granted what Roberts does with the team. Even with former MVP Cody Bellinger having a very poor season they are still set up in a great position. Again, that may say more about the team, but with the best record in the league Roberts has to be here.
Don Mattingly: 30-28
Raise your hand if you had the Marlins making the playoffs. That’s right, almost no hands are up and if they were it would have been as the eighth-place team in the league. After the start this team had during the season with all of the positive COVID-19 cases it just seemed like it was another dumpster fire season. Mattingly though worked around all of that and helped lead the team to stay relevant all season long and now they are in the playoffs. No matter if he wins or not, what the Marlins have done is very impressive.
Prediction
Like the American League decision, this should go to the surprise team to make the playoffs. While both of the other managers have certainly made their cases as to why they should win, it is very impressive what Mattingly has done and if he does not win it will be a complete shock.
Winner: Don Mattingly