With the playoffs right around the corner, the Prime Time Sports Talk Red Sox team casted their picks for some of the games most prestigious awards.
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Analysis/Recap
AL MVP: Jose Altuve (6-0)
What Altuve has done this season with the Houston Astros is incredible, he might just be the best player in the game of the baseball. He leads the AL in batting average and hits, is second in runs and stolen bases, is third in on-base plus slugging and sits sixth in slugging percentage. … His WAR also leads the league. … His leadership is second to none. … Take him off the Astros and they may be fighting just to get into the playoffs.
NL MVP: Nolan Arenado/Gincarlo Stanton (2-2)
- Nolan Arenado/Gincarlo Stanton 2 votes apiece
- Joey Votto 1 vote
- Paul Goldschmidt 1 vote
This is going to be one of the closest races is baseball. Picking between candidates of the caliber such as Arenado and Stanton is difficult. Both are far superiors in their own right. I guess this comes down to how do you define valuable. Are you only valuable if your team is in the playoffs? Arenado leads Stanton in average by nearly 20 points, has more hits and has a higer on-base percentage. And he is on a playoff bound team. On the other hand, Stanton is NL’s best power hitter, and it’s not really close. 59 home runs speak for themselves.
AL Cy Young: Corey Kluber (4-2)
- Corey Kluber 4 votes
- Chris Sale 2 votes
Besides Sale leading the MLB in strikeouts with 308, which is 42 more than Kluber, it seems as if Kluber is going to win this contest. The Cleveland Indians right-hander leads the AL in wins (18), ERA (2.25), WHIP (0.87) and complete games (five). Sale, however, does hold the upper hand in innings pitched with 214.1 to 203.2, but Kluber did miss some time.
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw/Max Scherzer (3-3)
The Prime Time staff have Kershaw and Sherzer going toe-to-toe for the NL Cy Young. Here’s why it’s so difficult to choose. Well, if you’re going to go by wins, Kershaw gets the upper hand as he has 18. Kershaw is also the ace of a team who has an MLB leading amount of wins. His 2.31 ERA is also tops in the NL. For Scherzer, he leads the NL in WHIP at 0.90 (0.05 better than Kershaw), and has nearly 60 more strikeouts. The Washington Nationals ace has also tossed roughly 25.0 innings more than Kershaw and is holding opponents to a 1.77 average. Meanwhile batters are hitting 2.12 against the Los Angeles Dodgers southpaw. Does that mean he’s been more dominant? Maybe.
AL Rookie of the Year: Aaron Judge (6-0)
Man is there anything this kid can’t do? 52 home runs and 114 driven in as a rookie. His 33 dingers at home this season is more than Babe Ruth. His one rough patch came when he fanned in 37 consecutive games, but who even remembers that anymore?
NL Rookie of the Year: Cody Bellinger (6-0)
The 22-year-old Bellinger was one of the best hitters on the top team in baseball, the Dodgers. The first baseman showed incredible poise at the plate and hit an eye-popping .268 with runners on base. Yes, that’s pretty impressive for a rookie. His 36 home runs and 96 driven in both led the Dodgers.
AL Manager of the Year: Terry Francona (4-2)
- Terry Francona 4 votes
- Joe Girardi 1 vote
- Paul Molitor 1 vote
After a fairly slow start to begin the year, in which the Indians found themselves at .500 62 games in, they now sit at over 100 wins and surpassed the Astros as the AL’s top team. Let’s not forget Cleveland went nearly a month (22 games) without losing a game. Francona’s ability to utalize his bullpen, and pen out a top-tier lineup night in and night out gives him the edge.
NL Manager of the Year: Torey Lovullo (5-1)
- Torey Lovullo 5 votes
- Dave Roberts 1 vote
12 months ago, the Arizona Diamonbacks finished their 2016 campaign 69-93 and were one of the worst teams in baseball. A change was made at manager, and Lovullo was brought in. The D-Backs now sit at 92 wins, and everyone on the squad is playing up to their true potential, including Zack Greinke. What a turnaround, with no real key pieces added, but the likes of Fernando Rodney in the offseason and J.D. Martinez at the trade deadline.
*Headshots via ESPN
