The Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the recently completed baseball season, which will be announced next week. It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate. Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.
American League
Most Valuable Player: Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Bobby Witt Jr.
While Witt led the league in hitting while posting a 30-30 season and leading the surprising Royals back to the post-season, Judge’s 58 home runs and 1.159 OPS, the highest number since Barry Bonds in 2004, should take this with no problem.
Cy Young Award: Emmanuel Clase, Seth Lugo, Tarik Skubal
In his breakout season, Skubal looks like the logical choice, winning the AL triple crown by leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.
Manager of the Year: A.J. Hinch, Matt Quatraro, Stephen Vogt
As usual, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season. Three teams from the AL Central made the post-season and all three of their skippers show up here. I’m guessing that A.J. Hinch, whose Tigers were left for dead before going on a tremendous stretch run to get into the playoffs, will get the award.
Rookie of the Year: Colton Cowser, Luis Gil, Austin Wells
Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season. The two Yankees both had impressive stretches throughout the season but also faced significant struggles at times. Cowser, meanwhile, tied for the rookie lead with 24 home runs and led AL rookies with a 123 OPS+, which should earn him the nod.
National League
Most Valuable Player: Francisco Lindor, Ketel Marte, Shohei Ohtani
After becoming the first player to hit 50+ home runs and steal 50+ bases in the same season, Ohtani is about to become the first player to win the MVP in both leagues in back-to-back seasons and just the second to accomplish the feat overall.
Cy Young Award: Chris Sale, Paul Skenes, Zack Wheeler
This one is a little tough. Skenes has great numbers but only threw 133 innings. Wheeler had arguably the best season of his career. Sale, however, looks to be the favorite, making a big comeback with Atlanta after an injury-filled end of his tenure with the Red Sox by leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.
Manager of the Year: Carlos Mendoza, Pat Murphy, Mike Schildt
The Brewers were expected to struggle after Craig Counsell bolted for the Cubs, but Pat Murphy took over and let them to yet another division title over their richer rivals to the south, so I expect him to get the nod.
Rookie of the Year: Jackson Chourio, Jackson Merrill, Paul Skenes
Skenes would probably be a runaway pick any other year, but I’m thinking that Merrill, who spent the entire year in the big leagues and led all MLB rookies in home runs, RBIs, hits, batting average, and OPS, will take home the award.