The All-Star break is upon us, signaling that the first half of the 2016 Major League Baseball season has come to a close. Rookies have made a name for themselves, MVP candidate have come to the forefront, and teams have overachieved while others underperformed. With this performance, comes recognition, whether good or bad. That being said, let’s take a look at who earned our mid-season MLB awards.
National League
MVP:
Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs: .286 AVG, 25 HR, 65 RBI’s, .962 OPS
The reigning NL Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant is having an even better sophomore campaign leading the National League in home runs with 25, runs (73), and third in RBI’s with 65. Bryant is on pace to hit over 40 home runs and knock in 120-plus runs this season. The award came down to Clayton Kershaw, Nolan Arenado, Anthony Rizzo. Daniel Murphy, and Kris Bryant. Kershaw is already getting the CY Young and we want to give some variety here. Anthony Rizzo is having just as good of a season as his teammate Kris Bryant, batting .299 with 21 home runs, 63 RBI’s, and an NL best 1.006 OPS. Rizzo gives you a more complete game, but right now you cannot argue with Bryant’s home run and RBI pace. Arenado is never a surprise being talked about for MVP and if his team was doing better, he could have easily been given the honor. Murphy has been a hits machine leading the NL in hits with 117, average (.348), and second in slugging behind Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks. Murphy will certainly win the batting title award now named for Tony Gwynn, but his numbers don’t get him the MVP yet.
CY Young:
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers: 11-2, 1.79 ERA, 145 K’s, 0.73 WHIP
Picking a CY Young out of the slew of options the National League is probably one of the toughest to make for this article. It came down to Kershaw, Mad Bum, Arrieta, Strasburg, Cueto, and Fernandez, but Clayton Kershaw is just too good. He leads the National league in ERA (1.79), ERA+ (220), FIP (1.70), WHIP (0.73), and second opponent’s batting average (.185) Obviously Kershaw could be leading in more categories if he weren’t on the shelf, but no one comes even close to his 0.73 WHIP which is a big stat. If you look at the past five years, Kershaw has been the most dominant pitcher in the game and he is on his way to another CY Young caliber season.
Rookie of the Year:
Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies: .260 AVG, 21 HR, 57 RBI’s, .874 OPS
Corey Seager, Aledmys Diaz, and Trevor Story were the finalists for our rookie of the year and because of the home run and RBI pace, we went with Story for now. He leads all NL rookies in home runs, RBI’s, and slugging percentage (.545), however, he also leads NL rookies and the whole National League in strikeouts with 114. Diaz and Seager can certainly overtake Story and with strong second halfs could be the front-runners for the award. Diaz is tied with Seager in doubles with 22 and Seager has scored more runs than Diaz by three and has him beat in hits as well. Diaz does lead all NL rookies in average (.315), on-base percentage (.380) and OPS (.915). Seager and Diaz show a more complete game, but for the moment you cannot ignore the home run and RBI pace Trevor Story is on right now.
Reliever of the Year:
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers: 3-2, 1.16 ERA, 27 saves, 51 K’s
There was a lot of temptation to give the award to Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez who has been equivalent to Superman for them, but that would be bad because it should go to a closer on a winning team and a better ERA. Kenley Jansen has just that, leading NL closers in ERA, opponent batting average (.145), and WHIP (0.65). Jansen has been hitters worst nightmare coming out the pen in the 9th, making them look ridiculous trying to hit his Marianoesque cutter. The Dodgers can practically ride him to the postseason because he is as lights out as they come and he is doing it with less strikeouts, which is even more impressive.
Most surprising team:
Miami Marlins (47-41, tied for second in the NL East)
If you told me the Marlins would be tied for second place in the NL East at the All-Star break, I would have said you were crazy because this team can never do anything right. Led by their stacked outfield of Marcell Ozuna (.307 AVG, 17 HR, 47 RBI’s, .892 OPS), Christian Yelich (.317 AVG, 7 HR, 45 RBI’s, .873 OPS), and home run derby champ Giancarlo Stanton (.233 AVG, 20 HR, 50 RBI’s, .823 OPS), the Marlins have been able to compete at high level even though only one starter has an ERA below 3.00 and they are not even close to being one of the highest scoring teams. It helps to have Martin Prado who’s playing like he’s 22-years-old with a .324 batting average and your catcher who leads off sometimes coming out of nowhere with a .317 average. The bullpen has been decent for Marlins with A.J. Ramos doing a pretty nice job of shutting the door only blowing one save so far. The way the Marlins have been surviving, it will be interesting to see if they can sustain this pace in the second half and it may not matter if the Nationals keep winning.
Most disappointing team:
Arizona Diamondbacks (38-52, last place in the NL West)
After selling your whole farm system and bankrupting your team for the next nine years, it is no surprise the Diamondbacks have been the most disappointing team the NL, sitting in last place in the NL West and has the third-worst record the National League. Sure they’re a little banged up, but they are terrible and really have nothing to fall back on. They are basically the Padres of 2016 and it seems winners of the offseason never fare well when it’s actually time to play games. The rotation has been an absolute mess with none of pitchers tallying five wins except for Zack Greinke who has 10. Shelby Miller, who they gave an arm and a leg for, has more losses than wins and an atrocious 7.14 ERA. The offense has been decent, but it’s hard to maintain any consistency when basically all of your production is coming from three players and the rest are almost nonexistent. The Diamondbacks have a lot to think about the next couple of weeks with the trade deadline looming and the move of closer Brad Ziegler could only being the beginning for them.
American League
MVP:
David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox: .332 AVG, 22 HR, 72 RBI’s, 1.107 OPS
It was a tight race for MVP between for MVP between Josh Donaldson, David Ortiz, and Mark Trumbo, but we had to give it to the ageless wonder Big Papi. In his farewell season, Ortiz is leading the AL in doubles (34), on-base percentage (.426), slugging percentage (.682), and OPS (1.107). Big Papi is also ranks top three in average, home runs, and RBI’s and honestly seems to be in the best shape of his life. David Ortiz is no doubt on his way to Cooperstown after he hangs up the cleats, but should he call it quits when he can still put up these types of numbers. Despite any theories about him coming back for another year, Ortiz has not changed his mind about retiring and it would be a fitting way to end Big Papi’s career with his first ever MVP award.
CY Young:
Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox: 14-3, 3.38 ERA, 123 K’s, 1.04 WHIP
There is only person who can deem CY Young in a hitter dominant American League and that is none other than Chris Sale. Salem leads the AL in wins (14), innings pitched (125.0), and is top five in strikeouts, opponent’s batting average, and WHIP. Sale is as nasty as they come and can dominate a game when he takes mound. He has that killer instinct you look for in the pitcher and it’s one of the reasons why he’s tossed three complete games this year. Sale looks like he can easily make it to 20 wins this year and may get his first taste of the postseason, where we can see what he’s really made of.
Rookie of the Year:
Michael Fulmer, Detroit Tigers: 9-2, 2.11 ERA, 72 K’s, 1.10 WHIP
Not much debate when it comes deciding the Rookie of the Year in the American League because it’s only two horse between Nomar Mazara of the Rangers and Michael Fulmer of the Tigers. Mazara has been incredible this season and I can see why the Rangers didn’t want to trade him for Cole Hamels. But when have 23-year-old rookie like Fulmer who is tasked to anchor the aging rotation of the Tigers, you can’t help but be impressed with what this kid has been able to accomplish. Fulmer leads all AL rookies in wins (9), ERA (2.12), and strikeouts (72) and has gone five innings in 11 of his 13 starts this year. He has been by far the Tigers’ most reliable pitcher and he is their only starter with an ERA under 3.00. Fulmer probably won’t sustain the pace he’s been on, but there is little resistance for the award aside from Nomar Mazara.
Reliever of the Year:
Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles: 2-1, 0.72 ERA, 27 saves, 43 K’s
There is really no question who the best reliever of the American League is and that’s Zach Britton of the Orioles. Britton, a former starter, has found a home as closer for the Orioles and he’s been almost unhittable, yet to blow a save.. He leads all AL closers in ERA (0.72), saves (27), opponent’s batting average (.160), and WHIP (0.82). With the Orioles’ offense and Britton at the backend of the bullpen, the Orioles can definitely keep hold of first place in the AL East and be a dangerous team in the postseason.
Most surprising team:
Cleveland Indians (52-36, 1st place in the AL Central)
For some reason I can never picture the Indians being contenders and this year they have been one of the best teams in the entire league. The Indians have a solid rotation with former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, and Josh Tomlin and they have been able to ride that for the first half. How this group of pitchers did not make my top five rotation list is something I cannot explain. The Tribe have been unbelievable this year with a 14-game winning streak at one point and they are receiving stellar seasons from Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis, Mike Napoli, Carlos Santana, and rookie Tyler Naquin. There certainly starting to look like true contenders and have a pretty comfortable lead in the AL Central.
Most disappointing team:
Kansas City Royals (45-43, 4th pace in the AL Central)
The defending champs have been able to find the same magic from last year and find themselves in 4th place in the AL Central, seven games out of first place and four and a half games out of a wild card spot. The main problem has been the starting pitching where they do not have one starter with an ERA under 3.00 and only two of their starters have winning records, but that’s in limited starts. If they want to even dream about competing then they need to find pitching help from somewhere because you can score all the runs you want, but it doesn’t matter if you’re already behind. Their core of Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, and Kendrys Morales have played extremely well and warrant belief that there still is chance for them to climb out of the hole. If anybody can do it, it’s the Royals and they do love being in the underdog role.
