Because (a) teams are a few games over the halfway point in the season and (b) I don't have time to think of anything original tonight, here are my picks for the awards in each league so far:

AL MVP: Justin Morneau, 1B, Twins (.342/.436/.620, 17 HR, 4.9 WAR)
Robinson Cano had passed him for a while, but Morneau's put some space between them again. Per FanGraphs' measures, he's been the most productive hitter in the Major Leagues and, in terms of runs saved over average, their tenth best fielder (first by a long shot among first basemen). It's a pretty easy choice right now.
Runners-up: Cano and Josh Hamilton.

NL MVP: Joey Votto, 1B, Reds (.316/.419/.595, 4.1 WAR)
No, it wouldn't be the first time the MVP didn't make the All-Star team (Morneau, for one, didn't make it in '06), but it would probably be the first time the first-half MVP didn't make the All-Star team. Way to go, Charlie. David Wright is actually ahead of Votto in WAR (by 0.1 on FanGraphs and 0.6 on BBREF), but I have to account for the fact that Wright's UZR is 3.3 this year after being -10.0 last year, so I trust Votto's current numbers more than Wright's.
Runners-up: Wright and Zimmerman. Yeah, that's right, one of the three most valuable players in the league so far -- and they're both bona fide superstars, not just guys having a good three months -- is guaranteed not to make the All-Star team. Ugh.

AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee, Mariners (103 IP, 8-3, 2.34 ERA, 2.22 FIP, 4.0 WAR)
FanGraphs WAR and my heart both say Liriano (another non-All-Star somehow), but while I know he's been awesome, I can't completely ignore the actual results. (And the difference is just two runs.)  BBREF treats pitchers entirely differently, and ranks those two guys 4th and 5th in the league.
Runners-up: Jon Lester and Jered Weaver (yep, another non-All-Star).

NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Phillies (139 IP, 10-7, 2.33 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 4.1 WAR)
People have already given this award to Ubaldo Jimenez for his 14-1 won-loss record, and he's got to be a heavy favorite to win anyway, but I preferred Halladay and the Marlins' Josh Johnson even before Jimenez got knocked around a little bit. Jimenez just hasn't been as good as his record and ERA indicate. Johnson has been the most dominant pitcher in the league by a long shot, but Halladay has pitched a whopping 25 more innings.
Runners-up: Johnson and Jimenez.

AL Rookie of the Year: Brennan Boesch, Tigers, OF (.341/.394/.594, 2.5 WAR)
I don't want to give this to Boesch -- a totally mediocre minor leaguer who is happening to have the 61 games of his life in the first 61 games of his major league career -- but there's really no other option right now. His teammate Austin Jackson has been close, and will probably surpass him before the year is over, but right now, Boesch has been the best. Bob Hamelin won a ROY once, too.
Runners-up: Jackson and I have no idea. Carlos Santana and his phenomenal 98 PA?

NL Rookie of the Year: Jason Heyward, Braves, OF (.251/.366/.455, 2.0 WAR)
A huge slump and an injury have made this a much less exciting pick, but it's still his until Steven Strasburg takes it from him with another three or four good starts. Really, it's pretty close to being Strasburg's already, even after just 37 innings. He's just that good.
Runners-up: Strasburg and the Marlins' Gaby Sanchez

Comments (3)

YES
written by College Wolf, July 08, 2010

Morneau is a beast. TOTAL STUD.

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written by Mark Smith, July 08, 2010

Nice picks. Though, I will disagree with just a few if I might.

1) I'd put David Wright over Votto. You mention the difference in UZR from last season, but 3 out of the last 4 seasons for Wright have been positive. I've heard that it takes about three years to see the actual benefits of defensive metrics, so I'll take Wright ever-so-slightly over Votto.

2)I might also take Johnson over Halladay. Johnson's innings are down from Halladay's, but Manuel gives Halladay more of a leash and lets him throw more innings (Johnson doesn't really throw more than a 100 consistently until June, when he really takes off). I don't know if it's fair to knock Johnson on that. And doesn't WAR account for innings pitched when it accounts for value? Though, I will say that I like xFIP more than FIP, and Halladay has the ever-so-slight lead (3.02 to 3.0. So maybe I shouldn't quibble too much.

Anyway, nice choices. When it gets down to these choices, it's all about splitting hairs, and it just depends on where and how you split the hair to see who you prefer.

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written by The Common Man, July 09, 2010

God, I want to disagree with you about something. But I can't. You're right on all, as far as I can tell. Instead, let's all take a moment to remember and silently mock in our heads the great Bob Hamelin.


Ah, that was fun.

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