Brian Handzel | July 16th, 2018
The All-Star game marks the halfway point in the MLB season, even though all teams have played over half of their games. I want to take a look at the first half of the 2018 season and hand out my first half awards.
Current Standings
American League East
Boston Red Sox (68-30)
New York Yankees (62-33, 4.5 GB)
Tampa Bay Rays (49-47, 18.0 GB)
Toronto Blue Jays (43-52, 23.5 GB)
Baltimore Orioles (28-69, 39.5 GB)
American League Central
Cleveland Indians (52-43)
Minnesota Twins (44-50, 7.5 GB)
Detroit Tigers (41-57, 12.5 GB)
Chicago White Sox (33-62, 19.0 GB)
Kansas City Royals (27-68, 25.0 GB)
American League West
Houston Astros (64-35)
Seattle Mariners (58-39, 5.0 GB)
Oakland Athletics (55-42, 8.0 GB)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (49-48, 14.0 GB)
Texas Rangers (41-56, 22.0 GB)
National League East
Philadelphia Phillies (53-42)
Atlanta Braves (52-42, .5 GB)
Washington Nationals (48-48 5.5 GB)
Miami Marlins (41-57, 13.5 GB)
New York Mets (39-55, 13.5 GB)
National League Central
Chicago Cubs (55-38)
Milwaukee Brewers (55-43, 2.5 GB)
St. Louis Cardinals (48-46, 7.5 GB)
Pittsburgh Pirates (48-49, 9.0 GB)
Cincinnati Reds (43-53, 13.5 GB)
National League West
Los Angeles Dodgers (53-43)
Arizona Diamondbacks (53-44, .5 GB)
Colorado Rockies (51-45, 2.0 GB)
San Francisco Giants (50-48, 4.0 GB)
San Diego Padres (40-59, 14.5 GB)
Cy Young Winners
American League
Chris Sale gets my vote at the halfway point of the season for American League Cy Young award. So far this season, Sale is 10-4 with a 2.23 ERA. Sale has pitched 129 innings and has struck out 188 batters while only walking 31.
Other notables getting votes from me this season is Tampa Bay Ray’s Blake Snell, New York Yankees’ Luis Severino, and Houston Astros’ Justin Verlander.
National League
Max Scherzer gets my vote at the halfway point of the season for the National League Cy Young award. So far this season, Scherzer is 12-5 with a 2.41 ERA. Scherzer has pitched 134.2 innings and has struck out 184 while only walking 34.
Other notable pitchers getting votes for me is New York Mets’ Jacob deGrom, Philadelphia Phillies’ Aaron Nola, and Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ross Stripling.
Most Valuable Players
American League
The American League MVP isn’t even a fair competition as long as Mike Trout is healthy, and he is getting my vote again this year for MVP. This season Trout has played in 97 games and is batting .310/.454/.606/.1.060 along with 25 home runs. Trout is also bolstering a bWAR of 6.9.
National League
The National League MVP isn’t as easy of a choice as the American League, but my vote is going to Jesus Aguilar of the Milwaukee Brewers. Aguilar is on a tear this year playing in 87 games and batting .298/.373/.621/.995 while also hitting 24 home runs. Aguilar also has a bWAR of 2.9 which seems low compared to the numbers that he is putting up.
Playoff Predictions
I believe that the New York Yankees will win the American League East, the Cleveland Indians will win the American League Central, and the Houston Astros will win the American League West. The Boston Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners will be my two Wild Card teams for the American League.
In the National League, I believe the Atlanta Braves will win the National League East, the Milwaukee Brewers will win the National League Central, and the Dodgers will win the National League West. The Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs will be the Wild Card teams for the National League.
In the winner take all American League Wild Card game, I predict that the Boston Red Sox will beat the Seattle Mariners. In the National League Wild Card game, I predict that the Philadelphia Phillies will beat the Chicago Cubs.
I see the New York Yankees being the American League Champions this season taking on the National League Champion Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series, with the New York Yankees winning it all, 4-2.
Summary
So there you have it, those are my midseason projections. I can’t wait to see what the second half of the baseball season has in store for us, but if it’s anything like the first half of the season, we are in for an exciting finish!
Don’t forget, as always, follow me on Twitter @HandzelSports for the most recent MLB and MiLB news and notes!
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