MLB Awards

The MLB awards will start rolling out this week.  Here are my picks.  Much like the Heisman committee chooses how many invites to give to New York, I will list as many as I feel like listing.  Just like the vote for BBWAA, these awards do not consider the postseason.

AL MVP

1. Josh Hamilton - OF, Rangers
2. Robinson Cano - 2B, Yankees
3. Adrian Beltre - 1B, Red Sox
4. Evan Longoria - 3B, Rays
5. Jose Bautista - OF, Blue Jays
6. Miguel Cabrera - 1B, Tigers

Since Josh Hamilton missed most of September, he ends up winning this award by just a little instead of by a lot.  Hamilton hit better than all of these players except for Cabrera, but he gets the nod over Miguel because of his defensive advantage.  There were a lot of other great seasons in the AL, but no one dominated quite like Josh Hamilton.

AL Cy Young

1. Cliff Lee - Mariners/Rangers
2. Felix Hernandez - Mariners
3. Jered Weaver - Angels
4. Justin Verlander - Tigers
5. Francisco Liriano - Twins
6. Jon Lester - Red Sox
7. CC Sabathia - Yankees

Part of the reason that this Cy Young race was so contentious this year was that there were so many good candidates.  A number of great pitchers such as David Price and Zack Greinke didn't even make it onto my list.  The other reason of course, is that we have a fantastic battle between "old stats" and "new stats."  CC Sabathia won 21 games in the AL East, while other metrics favor some of the people listed above him on my list (Lee led in FIP, Liriano led in xFIP, and Weaver had the best SIERA).  While most sabre-enthusiasts have gotten aboard the Felix train, I pick Cliff Lee, primarily because of this:

28 starts, 212.1 innings, 18 walks

Felix Hernandez may have had the advantage in innings, but Cliff Lee had historically good command.  In his month where he supposedly struggled (August), he still struck out more than a batter per inning.  I won't be disappointed one bit if Felix wins the award this week, but my vote is for Lee.

AL Rookie

1. Austin Jackson - OF, Tigers
2. Brian Matusz - P, Orioles
3. Neftali Feliz - P, Rangers

Three solid players here, but not a particularly great rookie crop overall.  Austin Jackson continues the AL Rookie tradition of having a career year in his rookie year.  He'll join Angel Berroa, Ben Grieve, Bobby Crosby and Eric Hinske in that respect.  While Feliz was lights out for the Rangers this year.  Matusz gets the nod over Feliz for second because he threw more than twice as many innings, and wasn't too bad himself. 

NL MVP

1. Joey Votto - 1B, Reds
2. Albert Pujols - 1B, Cardinals
3. Ryan Zimmerman - 3B, Nationals
4. Roy Halladay - P, Phillies
5. Adrian Gonzalez - 1B, Padres
6. Troylos Gonzawitzki - CF/SS, Rockies

If he didn't miss a month and a half in the middle of the season, Tulowitzki might have won this (he didn't dominate quite like Hamilton in the AL, save for his 14 HR in 15 games stretch in early September).  Not to worry though; there were plenty of deserving candidates in the NL this year.  Joey Votto gets the nod from me with his ridiculous .324/.424/.600 season (.349/.452/.641 on the road!).  Ryan Zimmerman continues to be the most underrated player in MLB....once the Nationals win a few more games, he'll get his due.

NL Cy Young

1. Roy Halladay - Phillies
2. Adam Wainwright - Cardinals
3. Josh Johnson - Marlins
4. Ubaldo Jimenez - Rockies

This is the one award where there's been little argument.  Halladay was dominant this year, pitching in a hitters park with some of his best defenders on the shelf for part of the year.

NL Rookie

1. Jason Heyward - OF, Braves
2. Buster Posey - C, Giants

There were roughly a dozen other rookies of significance, but these two were far above the rest.  Heyward gets the nod from me for his ridiculous .393 OBP in spite of being hobbled part of the reason with a thumb injury.  Too bad there's no sophomore of the year award for next year....that would be a good race.