Baseball’s 162-game regular season is done, and it’s time to figure out who will be taking home the individual awards—which won’t be announced until after the World Series—starting with the American League.
AL Rookie of the Year—Carlos Correa, SS Houston Astros: .279/.345/.512 (average/on-base/slugging), 22 home runs, 68 RBIs.
Correa, the first overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, led all AL rookies in home runs and he did it in just 99 games. The shortstop, with a canon for an arm, just turned 21 in September and has a very bright MLB future ahead.
Runner-up—Francisco Lindor, SS Cleveland Indians: .313/.353/.482, 12 home runs, 51 RBIs.
AL Cy Young—Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros: 20–8 record, 2.48 ERA, 216 strikeouts, 1.017 WHIP (walks/hits per inning pitched).
Before he shut down the Yankees in the wild card, Keuchel shut down the rest of the league in the regular season. The lefty was especially dominant at home, posting a dominant 15–0 record with a 1.46 ERA at Minute Maid Park.
Runner-up—David Price, Detroit Tigers/Toronto Blue Jays: 18–5 record, 2.45 ERA, 225 strikeouts, 1.076 WHIP.
AL MVP—Josh Donaldson, 3B Toronto Blue Jays: .297/.371/.568, 41 home runs, 123 RBIs.
Donaldson was especially hot in the second half of the season, hitting 20 home runs in 69 games after the All-Star break as the Blue Jays were on fire. Like Keuchel in Houston, Donaldson enjoyed the home stadium advantage posting a .330/.398/.647 line in 81 games at the homer-friendly Rogers Centre, as opposed to .263/.343/.487 on the road. (FYI, Mike Trout was right there with him all season—and might have been a tad better—but voters will tend to give it to a player on a division winner over a non-playoff participant.)
Runner-up—Mike Trout, OF Los Angeles Angels: .299/.402/.590, 41 home runs, 90 RBIs.
NL Rookie of the Year—Kris Bryant, 3B Chicago Cubs: .274/.369/.488, 26 home runs, 99 RBIs.
Bryant made the All-Star team and finished second on the Cubs in hits (154), home runs, and RBIs. He was especially hot down the stretch hitting .330/.422/.620 in August as the Cubs made their move.
Runner-up—Matt Duffy, 3B San Francisco Giants: .295/.334/.428, 12 home runs, 77 RBIs.
NL Cy Young—Zack Greinke, Los Angeles Dodgers: 19–3 record, 1.66 ERA, 200 strikeouts, 0.844 WHIP.
The closest race on the board is Greinke over Jake Arrieta and teammate Clayton Kershaw for the NL’s Cy Young award. Greinke led the league in ERA—which was never even above 2.00 after any start—as well as winning percentage and WHIP. In addition, his midseason 45 2/3 inning scoreless streak was the longest in the majors since Orel Hershiser’s record of 59 innings was set in 1988.
Runners-up—(tie) Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs: 22–6 record, 1.77 ERA, 236 strikeouts, 0.865 WHIP; Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers: 16–7 record, 2.13 ERA, 301 strikeouts, 0.881 WHIP.
NL MVP—Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals: .330/.460/.649, 42 home runs, 99 RBIs.
Harper had one of the greatest seasons ever for a 22-year-old. The former first overall pick of the 2010 MLB Draft led the league in runs (118), home runs, on-base average, and slugging percentage, while drawing 124 walks—second-most in the majors.
Runner-up—Zack Greinke, Los Angeles Dodgers: 19–3 record, 1.66 ERA, 200 strikeouts, 0.844 WHIP.
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