The regular season is wrapped up. The writers have filled out their ballots for baseball’s major awards, and while the results have presumably been tallied, we won’t learn the winners for another month-plus. And while we at TOC aren’t members of the BBWAA and don’t submit “official” awards ballots, that doesn’t mean we don’t have opinions. Our staff of eight writers filled out ballots for the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year in each league, ranking five players for each award.
A first place vote got five points, a second place vote got four points, and so on and so forth. The first tiebreaker for first place was total ballots, and the second tiebreaker was total first place votes. The results have been tallied, and here are our final votes with a little bit of analysts.
AL MVP
1. Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays (39 points, seven first place votes)
The narrative around Donaldson was strong, and grew when Mike Trout struggled in August. A late surge by Trout made the race a bit closer, but Donaldson held on in our voting despite a pedestrian (for his standards, at least) September. For the season, Donaldson hit .297/.371/.568 with 41 homers and impeccable defense at third base. Trout matched Donaldson’s homer total while besting him in all three triple slash categories, hitting .299/.402/.590 and also playing superb defense in center field for the Angels. It’s close, but Donaldson is a more complete player than Miguel Cabrera, Trout’s MVP adversary in previous years, and his role in Toronto’s surge to the top of the AL East also likely played a role in his strong showing in the voting.
The rest…
2. Mike Trout, Angels (33 points, one first place vote)
3. Lorenzo Cain, Royals (20 points)
4. Manny Machado, Orioles (16 points)
5. Jason Kipnis, Indians (4 points)
6. Kevin Kiermaier, Rays (3 points)
7t. Chris Davis, Orioles (2 points)
7t. David Price, Tigers/Blue Jays (2 points)
9. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers (1 point)
It’s also interesting (to me, at least) that a couple of budding younger superstars finished so high. Lorenzo Cain had a career year, hitting .307/.361/.477 with 16 homers, 28 steals, and incredible defense in center field for the AL Central champion Royals. Manny Machado also stayed healthy for the Orioles, and enjoyed a 35 homer, 20 steal, .286/.359/.502 season. At just 23, it’s frightening to think what Machado could become in the future for Baltimore.
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 04: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals hits in the seventh inning as Travis d’Arnaud #7 of the New York Mets defends on October 4, 2015 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NL MVP
1. Bryce Harper, Nationals (40 points, eight first place votes)
Who were you really expecting here? Harper hit .330/.460/.649 with 42 homers. He was far and away the best player in the National League this season, and one of the lone bright spots during an absolutely disastrous year in Washington. The only two hitters even close to him in the NL this season (Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto) played for sub-.500 teams.
The rest…
2. Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks (26 points)
3. Joey Votto, Reds (23 points)
4. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates (9 points)
5. Jake Arrieta, Cubs (4 points)
6t. Nolan Arenado, Rockies (3 points)
6t. Kris Bryant, Cubs (3 points)
6t. Zack Greinke, Dodgers (3 points)
6t. Jason Heyward, Cardinals (3 points)
6t. AJ Pollock, Diamondbacks (3 points)
11. Anthony Rizzo, Cubs (2 points)
12. Madison Bumgarner, Giants (1 point)
The Yoenis Cespedes narrative didn’t resonate with any of us – he didn’t even collect any down ballot votes. Our staff also placed a bit of an emphasis on defensive prowess as well, given the down ballot votes for Jason Heyward and AJ Pollock, who are both above average hitters and excellent fielders. Also, not many players from playoff teams earned much support – Andrew McCutchen and Kris Bryant were the only players from playoff teams to appear on multiple ballots.
TORONTO, CANADA – SEPTEMBER 5: David Price #14 of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts after getting the last out of the seventh inning during MLB game action against the Baltimore Orioles on September 5, 2015 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
AL Cy Young
1. David Price, Tigers/Blue Jays (38 points, six first place votes)
This one was close, but David Price ended up earning the award over Dallas Keuchel. Price had a lower ERA (barely) than Keuchel, and had more strikeouts in 12 1/3 fewer innings. He had two fewer wins, but three fewer losses. His strikeout to walk ratio was better. Price also kicked his game up a notch after his trade to the Blue Jays, turning in nine quality starts in 11 outings with his new club and completing at least five innings in every start. It’s really splitting hairs at this point, but Price got the edge from our staff.
The rest…
2. Dallas Keuchel, Astros (32 points, two first place votes)
3. Chris Sale, White Sox (23 points)
4t. Chris Archer, Rays (10 points)
4t. Corey Kluber, Indians (10 points)
6. Sonny Gray, Athletics (4 points)
7. Carlos Carrasco, Indians (3 points)
Outside of Price and Keuchel, none of our candidates pitched for teams that made the playoffs. And hell, that’s justified – the best candidates from playoff teams outside of Price and Keuchel are Collin McHugh, Michael Pineda, Nate Eovaldi, Yordano Ventura, and Edison Volquez…and none of them have an ERA within a run of Price or Keuchel.
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 4: Pitcher Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws a pitch against the San Diego Padres in the first inning at Dodger Stadium October 4, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
NL Cy Young
1. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (34 points, four first place votes)
This was the one that came down to the wire. Kershaw, Arrieta, or Greinke? Greinke has the edge in ERA over Arrieta. Kershaw led the pack in innings, strikeouts, strikeout to walk rate, and walk rate. Arrieta had the most wins, but Greinke had the best winning percentage. SO MUCH NARRATIVE. Kershaw and Arrieta were locked in on points after our voting, and the nod eventually went to the defending winner based on his four first place votes to Arrieta’s three. But while we went with Kershaw, I think the voters are going to end up giving the nod to Arrieta.
The rest…
2. Jake Arrieta, Cubs (34 points, three first place votes)
3. Zack Greinke, Dodgers (28 points, one first place vote)
4t. Madison Bumgarner, Giants (8 points)
4t. Gerrit Cole, Pirates (8 points)
6. Max Scherzer, Nationals (6 points)
7t. Jacob deGrom, Mets (1 point)
7t. Mark Melancon, Pirates (1 point)
If it weren’t for that trinity at the top of the National League, there were plenty of great candidates. Gerrit Cole had a dominant, breakout season. Max Scherzer threw two no-hitters, and came close to two more. Madison Bumgarner followed up his fantastic performance in the 2014 Postseason with the best regular season of his career. Jacob deGrom carried a Mets rotation dominated in the headlines by Matt Harvey. But this year, those guys are all battling for fourth place.
PHOENIX, AZ – OCTOBER 03: Carlos Correa #1 of the Houston Astros hits a sacrifice fly against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on October 3, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
AL Rookie of the Year
1. Carlos Correa, Astros (37 points, five first place votes)
Carlos Correa of the Astros was seemingly bestowed the Rookie of the Year sometime in July, when he came up to the majors and started beating the crap out of the league. Given the lack of any real contenders to his throne at the top of the rookie heap, it made senses. But then, Correa began to struggle, and Francisco Lindor of the Indians (called up at nearly the same time) began to surge. And once the season concluded, we were left with something close to a dead heat between Correa and Lindor.
Each player played in 99 games. Lindor had six more plate appearances than Correa. Correa had the advantage in both homers and steals (22 and 14 to just 12 and 12 for Lindor), but Lindor had a higher batting average (.313 to .279) and also a slight edge in OBP (.353 to .345). Lindor also ended his year as a much better fielder than Correa, grading out as the AL’s best defensive shortstop after his call-up while Correa was in the middle of the pack at best.
The power edge was enough for our voters, and Correa edged out Lindor. If you value defense more than offense, Lindor was a slam dunk selection. If you valued power more, Correa was the guy. I don’t think there’s really a wrong selection here.
The rest…
2. Francisco Lindor, Indians (30 points, three first place votes)
3. Miguel Sano, Twins (25 points)
4. Devon Travis, Blue Jays (13 points)
5. Lance McCullers, Astros (11 points)
6. Billy Burns, Athletics (3 points)
7. Roberto Osuna, Blue Jays (1 point)
It would have been interesting to see what the Rookie of the Year race in the AL would have looked like if Devon Travis stayed healthy and Miguel Sano spent more time in the majors. Travis played in just 62 games for the Blue Jays before being beset by injuries, abut hit .304/.361/.498 with eight homers for the club. Imagine him in that Toronto lineup when it started to get hot in the second half. As for Sano, he played in 80 games, hit 28 homers, and slashed .269/.385/.530. Each of those two, along with Yankees September call-up Greg Bird, posted a better wRC+ and wOBA than both Correa and Lindor. If only…
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 20: Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs bats during the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on September 20, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. The Cardinals defeated the Cubs 4-3. (Photo by John Konstantaras/Getty Images)
NL Rookie of the Year
1. Kris Bryant, Cubs (40 points, eight first place votes)
At the All-Star Break, this was a legitimate race between Bryant and Joc Pederson. Jung-ho Kang and Matt Duffy were also coming on strong and putting pressure on that top pair. And then…Pederson struggled. Kang broke his leg. Duffy began to slump.
And Bryant? Well, he just kept hitting, finishing the season with 26 homers, 13 steals, and a .275/.369/.488 line. Yeah, he struck out a lot, but there’s no real competition for Bryant. He led the NL’s rookie crop in plate appearances, and tied Pederson for the lead in homers. He also led the class in both runs scored and RBI, and even finished third in steals behind Odubel Herrera and Michael Taylor, who each swiped 16 bags.
The rest…
2. Jung-ho Kang, Pirates (27 points)
3. Matt Duffy, Giants (26 points)
4. Noah Syndergaard, Mets (15 points)
5. Randal Grichuk, Cardinals (6 points)
6. Maikel Franco, Phillies (2 points)
7t. Chris Heston, Giants (1 point)
7t. Joc Pederson, Dodgers (1 point)
7t. Robbie Ray, Diamondbacks (1 point)
7t. Addison Russell, Cubs (1 point)
Overall, this was a great rookie crop for the NL. In addition to all the players already mentioned, Maikel Franco hit 14 homers in 80 games before breaking his wrist. Randal Grichuk went yard 17 times in a part-time role for the Cardinals. Chris Heston threw a no-hitter for the Giants, Noah Syndergaard struck out 166 hitters in 150 innings over 24 starts in the majors with the Mets. The future looks bright, folks.
