The world series may be over but there’s plenty of exciting news for the next few months until spring training. One of the most notable is the MLB award announcements.
The major awards, the manager of the year, rookie of the year, cy young and MVP will be announced from November 18 through the 21. Here are my picks for who should win each award in the AL and NL.
MLB award winner 1- AL manager of the year- A.J Hinch- Detroit Tigers
The Tigers entered this season tied for the longest playoff drought in baseball. They had some young talent, but very few expectations for success. The first 82 games didn’t go well for them as they went 37-45. However, they bounced back strong with a 17-11 record in August and a 17-8 record in September to clinch the third wild card. The Tigers didn’t have much SP depth but A.J Hinch managed the bullpen perfectly.
MLB award winner 2- NL manager of the year- Pat Murphy- Milwaukee Brewers
In the offseason, the Brewers traded away their star SP Corbin Burnes. This signaled a rebuilding direction for Brewers. However, the team was not going down without a fight. Pat Murphy was temporarily the Padres manager in 2015, but this was his first real shot in the big leagues. However, he has plenty of experience managing, doing it at the college level from 1988-2009. His experience proved valuable to keeping the Brewers steady.
MLB award winner 3- AL rookie of the year- Colton Cowser- LF- Baltimore Orioles
The AL rookie of the year award race is the most interesting of all the award races this year. There are several good players in the rookie class, but nobody pushed themselves far and above the rest of the candidates. Colton Cowser of the Orioles provided value on both ends of the field, hitting 24 home runs and finishing as a gold glove MLB award finalist. He also had the best ability, availability, with 153 games played.
Photo via X, formerly known as Twitter account of Colton Cowser
MLB award winner 4- NL rookie of the year- Jackson Merrill-CF- San Diego Padres
This is probably my hottest take for any of the awards. Many have crowned Paul Skenes as the NL rookie of the year, but I’ll make a case for Jackson Merrill. Merrill’s offensive production was far above a normal rookie, most notably he had a .500 slugging percentage. He also played 156 games and was a big reason for the Padres getting to the playoffs. As good as Skenes was, he didn’t even qualify for the ERA title.
MLB award winner 5- AL Cy Young- Tarik Skubal-SP- Detroit Tigers
Tarik Skubal showed potential in 2023 in 15 starts. He was able to translate that potential into becoming the best SP in the American League in 2024. He finished with the lowest ERA and FIP in the AL. Along with that he had the most wins and highest ERA+ (for plus stats the higher the better.) Skubal’s stability as the ace of the Tigers staff was another big reason the Tigers broke their playoff drought.
MLB award winner 6- NL Cy Young- Chris Sale- SP-Atlanta Braves
Chris Sale has always had great stuff, but injuries held him back. He hadn’t qualified for the ERA title since 2017 before this season. After many years of injuries Sale finally was able to stay (mostly) healthy and had one of the best seasons of his career. He won the first ERA title of his career with an ERA of 2.38. His 225 strikeouts and 18 wins were also the best in the national league.
MLB award winner 7- AL MVP- Aaron Judge- CF- New York Yankees
It almost feels like if Aaron Judge can stay healthy he’s an effective lock for MVP. Despite not breaking his home run record, his 58 home runs are still a very impressive feat. Of course it’s easy to get lost in Judge’s power numbers, but what may be even more impressive is that he managed a .322 batting average and a .458 on base percentage, both the best marks of his career. Judge’s 1.159 OPS is the 8th highest OPS in a season since 2000, and best for an American league player.
MLB award winner 8- Shohei Ohtani- DH- Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani had become famous in his career for his two way abilities, hitting and pitching at a high level. After having Tommy John surgery, he was unable to pitch this season. To win MVP he was going to have to hit better than he ever has. Ohtani set career highs in each of the triple crown categories, batting average, home runs and RBIs. Despite not fielding a position or pitching Ohtani was more valuable than any other player in the NL, which is proven with his 9.2 wins above replacement.
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