1st Half Awards

When the All Star break started, we set up polls to see who our followers deemed worthy of 1^st half awards. With the All Star game in the books and all the polls finished, we decided we would share who we believe are the award winners to compare with how the polls turned out.

AL Rookie of the Year

4) Ben Gamel

               Since Gamel was called up by the Mariners on April 26^th, he’s done nothing but hit. His 82 hits are the 4^th most by an AL rookie good for a .323 batting average. He has scored 42 runs this season, the 3^rd most among AL rookies. Gamel has hit 4 HRs and has 23 RBIs.

3) Andrew Benintendi

               Many pegged Benintendi as the favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year this season and he his production has not disappointed. He has 85 hits (3^rd most among AL rookies), 12 HRs (4^th most), 51 RBIs (2^nd most), and has a .357 OBP (2^nd highest for those qualified for the batting title).

2) Trey Mancini

               In most years, Mancini might be the favorite at this point in the season to win this award based on his production. Not this year though. However his is putting up a great season, hitting .312 (2^nd highest among AL Rookies qualified for the batting title). Mancini also has 14 HRs (3rd most) and 44 RBIs (T3rd most).

1) Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge looks like a create-a-player and has put up similar stats this season to one. He leads the Major Leagues in HRs with 30 and OBP at .448. He is 2^nd in the AL in RBIs with 66 and 4^th with a .329 batting average. Judge is on pace to shatter Mark McGwire’s rookie record of 49 HRs, with his pace currently putting him at 57. Only 10 players in MLB history have reached the 57 HR mark in a single season.

Here we agree for the most part with the fan vote except Benintendi over Mancini.

NL Rookie of the Year

4) Josh Bell

               Bell broke a 70 year old Pirates rookie record held by Ralph Kiner by hitting 16 HRs before the All Star break. This was tied for the 2^nd most among NL Rookies. His 72 hits were the 2^nd most as were his 44 RBIs and 16 2Bs.

3) Antonio Senzatela

               Senzatela went 9-3 in the 1^st half of the season with a 4.63 ERA. His 9 wins tied him with teammate Kyle Freeland for the most by an NL rookie. Lately, he has not been as effective causing his ERA to swell up. His ERA was however under 4 until June 16^th.

2) Kyle Freeland

               As mentioned, Freeland has 9 wins tying him with Senzatela for the most by an NL rookie. His 3.77 ERA is the lowest among qualified NL rookies. His best start of the season was his last as he took a no hitter into the 9^th inning, losing it with 1 out.

1)  Cody Bellinger

Though Bellinger wasn’t called up until April 25^th, he is 2^nd in the Majors among rookies with 25 HRs. his 58 RBIs are also 2^nd to only Aaron Judge among rookies and his 67 hits are the 3^rd most by an NL rookie. It took him only 45 games to record 4 multi HR games (he has 6 on the season), breaking Bob Horner’s record of 63. Bellinger is the first rookie to hit 10 HRs in a span of 10 games and tied Gary Sanchez and Wally Berger for the fastest players to reach 20 career HRs.

The fans in our poll agreed with our choices.

Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year

4) Roberto Osuna

               Osuna is 22/25 in saves this season with a 2.06 ERA and a WHIP of 0.71, good for 3^rd in the AL with a minimum of 20 innings pitched. Though he started off slow with a 5.63 ERA in April, he has had a decreasing ERA each month since. In May, June, and so far in July, he had ERAs of 1.42, 0.79, and 0.00 respectively enroute to his 1^st All Star appearance.

3) Chris Devenski

               Devenski has been the Swiss army knife of relievers this season for the Astros. He leads relievers with 52.2 innings pitched thus far and has an ERA of 2.73 along with a WHIP of 0.835. He has been called on to pitch multiple innings as well as end games. He recorded 11 holds, 3 saves and struck out 12.6 batters per 9 innings. Though we loved the enthusiasm in our poll from Astros nation for their guy, we just couldn’t put him above the next two relievers.

2) Andrew Miller

               Used in the setup role, Miller is third in the Majors with 18 holds. His 0.68 WHIP is behind only Craig Kimbrel in the AL and his 1.42 ERA is 6^th among relievers in the Majors. He has struck out 13.6 batters per 9 innings and when called upon to save games he was 2/2. He will be seeing more save opportunities in the 2^nd half of the season, at least temporarily as Terry Francona announced that Miller will be switching roles with Cody Allen.

1) Craig Kimbrel

               Kimbrel has been dominant to historic proportions this season. In the entire month of May, he allowed only 2 base runners, one via walk and one via base hit. For the season opponents are hitting a mere .110 against him. Righties have it the worst, hitting only .056 (4/71) against him. Kimbrel is 23/25 in saves with a 1.19 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP. With a minimum of 37 innings pitched (He has thrown 37.2) Kimbrel has the lowest WHIP of all time this season.

                This was possibly the biggest shock out of all the fan votes. We fully expected Kimbrel to run away with this one. Astros nation had other plans though and we have to give them props for stepping up big for their guy. However, we had to disagree with them.

Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year

4) Corey Knebel

Knebel in the 1^st half appeared in 43 games and had a 1.70 ERA to with a solid 1.181 WHIP and aamazing 15.9 strikeouts per 9 innings. He set the modern record for consecutive appearances with a strikeout by striking out a batter in all 43 games he’s appeared in, shattering the previous record of 37 held by Aroldis Chapman. He is 14/18 in save situations on the season.

3) Felipe Rivero

               As we mentioned on Twitter previously, Rivero may have been the biggest All Star snub this season. Rivero began the season as the Pirate’s setup man but was eventually moved to closer following Tony Watson’s ineffectiveness. He has thrown the 2^nd most innings by a relief pitcher with 47.1, trailing only Chris Devenski. His 0.76 ERA is also the lowest in the Majors and his 0.72 WHIP is the 2^nd lowest in the NL. Rivero is a perfect 6/6 in save situations to go along with 14 holds.

2) Greg Holland

               Holland has been a key contributor in the back of the Rockies bullpen saving a Major League leading 28 games and finishing a league leading 34. He has a 1.62 ERA to go along with a 1.02 WHIP and 11.6 strikeouts per 9 innings.

1) Kenley Jansen

The start to Jansen’s season was nothing short of video game like. He went 31.1 consecutive innings without issuing a walk and in doing so broke the record for the most strikeouts without a walk with 51. During this streak, he faced 112 batters without walking any. For the season, he has only walked 2 batters and is a perfect 21/21 in save situations. His 0.96 ERA is 2^nd to only Felipe Rivero’s and his 0.56 WHIP is 2^nd to only Craig Kimbrel’s. With a minimum of 37 innings pitched (He has thrown 37.2) Jansen this season has the 2^nd lowest WHIP of all time.

    It appears we agreed with the fans here outside of Corey Knebel. We slotted him 4th due to his 4 blown saves. Otherwise, his stats certainly justify him being in the conversation for the 2nd best NL reliever of the 1st half.

AL Cy Young

4) Craig Kimbrel

               With Kimbrel’s previously mentioned historic numbers, it would be insane not to include Kimbrel in the running for this award.

3) Ervin Santana

Santana has been an innings eater for the Twins this season, throwing 120.1 innings, the 3^rd most in the AL. He leads the Majors with 4 complete games and 3 shutouts. A stat that’s becoming increasingly rare, only one other player in the AL has thrown more than 1 complete game and more than 1 shutout. Santana is 10-6 on the season and has a 2.99 ERA, good for the 4^th lowest among qualified in the AL. His 1.08 WHIP is tied for the 4^th lowest.

2) Chris Sale

               Chris Sale has been so dominant this season that many consider him to be the frontrunner for this award. He is 11-4 with a 2.75 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. His 11 wins are the 2^nd most in the AL, his ERA is the 2^nd lowest among AL qualified, and his WHIP is the lowest. Sale has been a strikeout machine this season, with a Major League leading 178 thanks to having a 12.55 strikeouts per 9 ratio.

1) Jason Vargas

This may be a slightly controversial choice, but Vargas is certainly a deserving recipient of the Cy Young thus far. He is has an AL leading 12 wins against only 3 losses. His 2.62 ERA is the lowest among qualified in the AL and he has thrown 1 shutout.

          While writing this and viewing the historic context of Kimbrel's first half, we decided to name him 4th over Carrasco, although Carrasco had a solid first half. We chose Vargas over Sale in large part because his numbers outside of strikeouts were better. Strikeouts are just a fancy way of getting batters out. It really shouldn't matter in what manner you get your batters out, as long as you get the job done.

NL Cy Young

4) Zack Greinke

This Zack Greinke looks much more like the Greinke the Dodger’s had. While his season hasn’t been on the same level as his 2015 Cy Young season, he has put up very good numbers. His 11 wins are the 2^nd most in the NL and his 2.86 ERA is the 4^th lowest among qualified in the NL. Greinke’s WHIP is the 3^rd lowest and he has tossed 1 complete game.

3) Alex Wood

Wood has been elite this year after starting out as a reliever and transitioning into a starter. He is a perfect 10-0 with a 1.67 ERA and a WHIP of 0.893. The 10 wins tie him for the 3^rd most in the NL. The biggest knock on Wood is he has only thrown 80.2 innings which isn’t enough to qualify him for the ERA title.

2) Clayton Kershaw

What year isn’t Kershaw in the running for this award though? He has a Major League leading 14 wins to only 2 losses as well as the 2^nd lowest qualified ERA (2.18) and the 2^nd lowest WHIP (0.88). An innings eater yet again, he leads the Majors with 132.1 innings pitched and has struck out 159 batters.

1)      Max Scherzer

Scherzer edges Kershaw here by putting up historic numbers. He is 10-5 this season with a Major League leading 2.10 ERA. His 2 complete games are tied for the most in the NL and his 173 strikeouts are 2^nd in the Majors to only Chris Sale. Only 22 starters since 1913 have struck out at least 170 batters before the All Star break. Scherzer’s WHIP is where he is truly historic. At 0.779, it is the 3^rd lowest among qualified pitchers ever. The only pitchers ahead of him are Guy Hecker (who?) in 1882 and Pedro Martinez in 2000 (0.737).

     We agreed completely with the fan polling here. Scherzer and Kershaw are neck and neck, with Scherzer holding a slight lead in this one.

AL MVP

4) George Springer

Though one could argue Jose Ramirez belongs on this list, Springer is more than deserving. His 27 HRs are the 2^nd most in the Majors to go along with a .310 batting average, a .380 OBP, and 61 RBIs.

3) Carlos Correa

Correa has 20 HRs this season, 6 more than the next SS. His .325 batting average, 65 RBIs, 103 hits, 62 runs and .402 OBP are also tops amongst his positon. For the AL, his batting average is the 4^th highest qualified, his OBP is the 3^rd highest, as are his run and RBI totals.

2) Jose Altuve

It’s not often that a team has 3 potential MVP candidates. Unfortunately that makes it tough to distinguish who is actually the most valuable and they end up splitting the votes. I don’t think the Astros mind though as these 3 have helped them win 60 games before the All Star break. Of the 3, Altuve is the most valuable. His .347 batting average is a commanding 1^st in the Al as are his 116 hits. His OBP of .417 is the 2^nd highest and his 62 runs scored are tied with Correa for the 3^rd most.

1) Aaron Judge

As stated earlier, Judge has been dominant this year. To go along with these numbers, Judge leads the Majors with a 5.3 WAR, the only AL player over 5.

In our poll, we included Jose Ramirez because we didn't want to include 3 Astros. Springer however is more deserving, though Jose Ramirez has had a good season in his own right. We gave a slight edge to Altuve over Correa, although even in the polling it was very close.

NL MVP

4)  Daniel Murphy

One could argue Bryce Harper here, but Murphy is equally deserving. His .342 batting average is the highest in the NL and he has a .393 OBP. Murphy’s 64 RBIs are tops among 2^nd basemen in the Majors and his 111 hits are the 3^rd highest among NL players. He has only struck out 33 times this season and his 9.8 strikeouts per AB are 2^nd in the Majors.

3)  Charlie Blackmon

One could also argue Arenado over Charlie Blackmon but Blackmon has the superior numbers. He has hit .319, good for 5^th in the NL, along with 20 HRs this season. His 117 hits are tops in the NL and his 72 runs are 2^nd in the NL.

2)  Paul Goldschmidt

Goldschmidt unluckily finishes 2^nd again. His numbers are great this season however and he could easily win the MVP by the end of the year. Goldschmidt has a solid .312 batting average, a .428 OBP (2^nd in the NL), 20 HRs, and 67 RBIs (4 most in the NL). His surprising base running instincts have led to 13 steals this season, tied for 8^th most in the NL and tops at his position.

1)  Joey Votto

Joey Votto very well may break the streak of MVPs on winning teams. His numbers this year are similar to, some better than, his previous MVP season. The last NL player to win the MVP on a losing team was Andre Dawson in 1987. Votto’s 26 HRs are tied with Giancarlo Stanton for the most in the NL, his 68 RBIs are the most, and he has 62 walks to only 42 strikeouts. Votto has a .315 batting average and a .427 OBP. For comparisons sake, for his MVP season in 2010, he had a .324 batting average with a .424 OBP along with 37 HRs and 113 RBIs. At his current pace, he would hit a career high 48 HRs and 125 RBIs.

We chose Votto from a numbers stand-point, although it was a very tough decision to give it to him over Goldschmidt. We felt like he was the best first half player, regardless of their record. The Red's team record is more indicative of their poor pitching (a team ERA of 5.05) than anything else and that shouldn't be what holds back an MVP candidate.

It will be exciting to see how the 1st half pans out to see if these awards pan out, or if there will be new player(s) sitting at the top of their respective award at the end of the season. We would also like to take the time to thank everyone who participated in our polls on Twitter.