2012 MLB Awards - Who is Most Deserving

These are not projections, but rather who I personally would vote for. 

AL Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin, Oakland A's

This was a close decision over the Orioles' Buck Showalter, who may well win the award. Both made the most out of what appeared to be putrid rosters heading into the season (although the O's looked a bit better than the A's). While both are worthy, Melvin should win because he was able to lead his team to a division crown, while the Orioles won a wild card.

Runners up (in order): Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles; Robin Ventura, Chicago White Sox


NL Manager of the Year: Davey Johnson, Washington Nationals

Manager of the Year often goes to a skipper whose team turned it around in the standings, which makes Davey Johnson a favorite. He took his team from below .500 a year ago to the best record in baseball (98-64) this season. Johnson's main opposition is Dusty Baker, whose Reds pioneered on without former MVP Joey Votto for six weeks

Runners up (in order): Dusty Baker, Cincinnati Reds; Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants


AL Comeback Player of the Year: Fernando Rodney, Tampa Bay Rays

A lot of people campaign for Adam Dunn for this award, but I don't care how many home runs he hit; he struck out 222 times and batted a paltry .204. If it wasn't for his pop, all that would be deserving of is a demotion. Alex Rios is intriguing, but recently his career path has included up and down seasons, and all he seems to be doing is following that. Then there's Fernando Rodney, who came out of nowhere to convert 48/50 saves with a 0.60 ERA. Case closed.

Runners up (in order): Alex Rios, Chicago White Sox; Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins; Rafael Soriano, New York Yankees


NL Comeback Player of the Year: Kris Medlen, Atlanta Braves

Buster Posey is probably going to win this award. But I'd rather give it to a relative unknown than a superstar returning from injury, Kris Medlen, (who is also coming back from injury: Tommy John surgery). He was an afterthought when the Braves announced their Opening Day rotation, as they had five young starters and a recovering Tim Hudson. To start the season, Medlen posted a 2.48 ERA in 38 bullpen appearances. But this is where it gets nasty: Since joining the Braves' staff on July 31, Medlen has gone 9-0 with a 0.97 ERA. 24 innings short from the required 162 to qualify for percentage stats, Medlen can't qualify for any of them. If 138 innings was the cutoff, though, he would lead the NL in ERA (1.57), winning percentage (.909), and HR/9 IP (0.4). There's almost a better argument for him for Cy Young than teammate Craig Kimbrel.

Runners up (in order): Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves; Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants; Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals; David Wright, New York Mets


AL Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Yoenis Cespedes could have won it almost any other year.

Runners up (in order): Yoenis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics; Matt Moore, Tampa Bay Rays; Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers


NL Rookie of the Year: Wade Miley, Arizona Diamondbacks

No, it shouldn't be Bryce Harper, in fact, he could even be argued for fourth place. Wade Miley won sixteen games with an anemic offense behind him, and possessed a 3.33 ERA. Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario hit .270 with 28 home runs, and could be an offensive force for years to come. But he's a liability behind the plate. Statistically, Miley deserves this award, but in five years, he will likely not be the most talked about candidate on this list.  

Runners up (in order): Wilin Rosario, Colorado Rockies; Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals; Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds; Norichicka Aoki, Milwaukee Brewers; Jordan Pacheco, Colorado Rockies


AL Cy Young: David Price, Tampa Bay Rays

Fernando Rodney will sure have support, but I'm of the belief that a closer, no matter what, should not win the Cy Young. The award is basically a toss-up between Justin Verlander and David Price. Price's ERA is seven points lower and he has three more wins on a worse offensive ballclub. Verlander, though, has tossed 27.1 more innings (in two more starts) and has 34 more strikeouts.

Runners up (in order): Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers; Fernando Rodney, Tampa Bay Rays; Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners; Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox


NL Cy Young: R.A. Dickey, New York Mets

Craig Kimbrel's situation is the same as Rodney's. He pitched about as well as he could, but for no more than an inning a night. Johnny Cueto pitched in a bandbox and finished with a 2.78 ERA and nineteen wins, both third in the league. Clayton Kershaw, going for back-to-back Cys, led the league in ERA and WHIP, but with such similar stats to the others a 14-9 record won't cut it. Gio Gonzalez won 21 games but simply wasn't quite as impressive as R.A. Dickey or Cueto. Dickey led the league in complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts, finished second in ERA and wins and third in WHIP, all while throwing a power knuckler and being 37. He gets my vote.

Runners up (in order:) Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers; Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds; Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants; Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves; Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals


AL Most Valuable Player: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

The rookie Mike Trout will get his in due time. But Miguel Cabrera hit for the Triple Crown. I value defense as much as anyone, but c'mon, Cabrera hit for the Triple Crown.

Runner up: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
(Oh, and to discount that WAR argument made by Trout's supporters: Baseball-reference.com has Darwin Barney's WAR this season at 4.5, and Josh Hamilton's at 3.6. Using WAR alone, Ben Zobrist would be a two-time MVP winner.)


NL Most Valuable Player: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

Andrew McCutchen was the favorite for most of the season, but like his team, he cooled down once August started, batting only .252 from then to now. It's essentially between Buster Posey and Ryan Braun. Braun led the NL in home runs, runs scored, slugging percentage and OPS, finished second in RBI and third in batting average. Posey, the National League batting champion, was second in OPS, third in slugging percentage and sixth in RBI. Both play stellar defensively, but Posey will win because he is a catcher. When both had such similarly impressive seasons, that is certainly a deciding factor.

Runners up (in order): Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers; Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates; Chase Headley, San Diego Padres; Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals

2012 MLB Predictions at the Break

American League MVP: Josh Hamilton. His incredible power numbers will be able to fend off rookie phenom Mike Trout, who will probably have a few of these awards by the time his career is done.

National League MVP: Andrew McCutchen. Joey Votto has gotten on base more, but Cutch has done everything else more effectively thus far. Even if the power numbers stack up similarly at the end, McCutchen's 25-30 steals and stellar centerfield play will give him the edge over the first baseman. The deciding factor might end up being which team makes the playoffs.

American League Cy Young: Jered Weaver. The popular pick is Justin Verlander, and while he leads Weaver in most pitching statistical categories, Weaver's ERA is 62 points lower (1.96). Pitchers starting off this hot have a tendency to stumble down the stretch (Weaver's ERA on August 5 of last season was 1.78. He finished at 2.41), but I think he'll be able to learn from last year. Another dark horse candidate is 23-year-old Chris Sale, who has posted a 2.19 ERA to go along with a 0.95 WHIP and 98 Ks in 102.2 innings.

National League Cy Young: R.A. Dickey. Even if Johnny Cueto and James McDonald (I have absolutely no clue how they weren't all-stars by the way) finish with slightly better statistics, Dickey will take the award if he keeps pitching as he is. The fact that he is a 37-year-old knuckleballer with a heartwarming story will appeal to voters. I have a feeling that Cueto and McDonald, at 26 and 27 years old respectively, will be in the Cy conversation for years to come.

American League Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout. Yu Darvish or anyone else won't come close.

National League Rookie of the Year: Bryce Harper. I don't know if he'll deserve it, but he'll win nonetheless. There were about 25 guys that should have made the all-star game before he did, but his hype wins out. He's not outhitting the Reds' Todd Frazier, a guy whom many of you probably don't know who he is. Wade Miley, the owner of a 9-5 record and 3.04 ERA, could make things interesting of he keeps things up.

AL East winner: New York Yankees. No one's catching them.

AL Central winner: Chicago White Sox. Youk is coming alive, they've found a diamond in the rough in Jose Quintana, Adam Dunn and Alex Rios are rejuvenated, and Paul Konerko is still hitting the lights out. Robin Ventura's crew should be able to pull off the improbable and hold off Verlander, Prince and the Tigers for the division crown.

AL West winner: Texas Rangers. This division is all but assured of having two playoff teams, as the Angels will probably take a wild card if they can't bounce the Rangers from first place. Texas looks October-ready in July.

AL Wild Cards: Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers. I'm pretty much positive the Angels are going to grab one, but the second spot is up in the air. It's pretty much in between the second-place Central team (White Sox or Tigers) and the Tampa Bay Rays. Detroit looks like they are coming together while the Rays are barely getting by. I think this is the year when the Rays' lack of cash will bite them as they await Evan Longoria's return.

NL East winner: Washington Nationals. I know they had a great core coming in, but still, who would have thought that the Washington Nationals would have the best record in the NL at the break? That's like saying "The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl!" from a few years back. Maybe the Nats would compete for a wild card, sure, but not this.

NL Central winner: St. Louis Cardinals. They have the most talent in the division, and it's all but certain the Pirates will fade at least a little bit. As far as the Reds go, if they want to win the division, they are going to need Drew Stubbs (.215/.286/.367) to come alive. It's certainly possible this division is the first in baseball history to have three playoff teams.

NL West winner: San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers are free fallin'. Even Matt Kemp's return won't be able to save them at this point. Despite Tim Lincecum's terribleness, San Fran will take advantage and win the division.

NL Wild Cards: Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves. This will be baseball's most intense race. Atlanta is a shoo-in, and Pittsburgh is, well, a gut pick. I want it to happen. The Mets' lack of talent will get to them and they will fade, but the Reds, Cardinals, and Bucs will duke it out until the finish.