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Midseason Awards
NL MVP: Paul Goldschmidt, ARI. The heart and soul of the first place Diamondbacks lineup. Great all around numbers and a shitload of power. Knew he had potential but didn't know he'd be this good.
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, LAD. Sub-2 ERA at the break to go along with the expected strikeout totals. I LOVE Matt Harvey and think he should start the All Star Game in NY, but Kershaw has been slightly better.
NL Rookie of the Year: Jose Fernandez, MIA. I don't care that the Marlins suck. What this 20 year old kid is doing having never pitched above Single A before this year is astounding. I imagine he'll be shut down by September and Shelby Miller will pass him, but still what a great first half.
NL Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle, PIT. This is really a no brainer. The Pirates have been good in the first half the past couple of years, but nothing like this. If the Pirates make the playoffs, he's a lock to win the award.
NL Comeback Player of the Year: Marlon Byrd, NYM. Never thought Byrd would be the second best hitter in the Mets lineup. .267/15/50 at the break. Way better than I ever expected and there haven't really been any other clear-cut candidates.
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, DET. His numbers are just fucking ridiculous. Can't even begin to imagine what they'll look like at the end of the year. No disrespect intended to Chris Davis, who's right behind him. Still feel like Davis is bound to slow down at some point but it'd be sick to see him go for the HR record.
AL Cy Young: Max Scherzer, DET. Tough choice between him and Felix Hernandez. I don't put a lot of stock in the wins stat, but 13-1 through 19 starts looks sexy. Beyond that, he's got the second lowest WHIP in the league and a boatload of strikeouts. Could see King Felix passing him by before the year is up, though.
AL Rookie of the Year: Cody Allen, CLE. Ugh, can I just leave this blank? Nothing against Mr. Allen but a set-up guy winning ROTY just feels weird. But really as I look up and down the AL there haven't really been any impressive rookie seasons. Now that Profar's back in the big leagues maybe he'll take it over.
AL Manager of the Year: Terry Francona, CLE. Again this seems to be a bit of a no-brainer. He's done a great job of turning the Indians around and keeping them right on Detroit's ass in the AL Central.
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Mariano Rivera, NYY. I don't know why I didn't pick him in my pre-season predictions really. I always assumed he'd be great again, I guess I just sorta looked past his injury. I figured an everyday player like Lance Berkman would have a good campaign and win the honor but it hasn't happened. Mo should get this as a parting gift.
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