With the National League Midseason Awards already handed out on Monday, it's time to do the same for the AL. Let's get right to it.
Current American League MVP
Miguel Cabrera
This one could go to any number of players, and most of them are fairly deserving, but no player has been better than Cabrera through the first half of this season. He leads the league with a .346 batting average and is also the league leader with 77 RBI. In the only triple crown category he isn't leading at the break, home runs, he's only two back of league leader Jose Bautista, who has already hit 8 more this year than he has in any full season previously.
Projected American League MVP
Miguel Cabrera
For mostly the same reasons that he's the first-half MVP, I think he'll be on top at the end of the season, too. When a player's biggest hurdle to winning the triple crown is a guy who's hitting .237 and has a lifetime slugging percentage of .421, it's hard to argue against him for MVP front-runner. With that being said, Josh Hamilton, who has the same batting average and home run total as Cabrera, could offer some resistance in Cabrera's quest for his first MVP award. But for right now, Cabrera's significant lead in RBI total gives him the edge.
Current American League Cy Young
Cliff Lee
There are some really good pitchers in baseball this year, but nobody besides Lee is boasting as many complete games as walks. Despite missing the first month of the season, he's on pace to pitch over 200 innings and win 15 or more games. His 2.64 ERA ranks third in the AL, and his 0.95 WHIP ranks first. It's hard to find a reason not to give him this award, at least so far.
Projected American League Cy Young
Felix Hernandez
I'm not going with Hernandez here because I think he's the most deserving, even though he has been great and will probably continue to be. I'm picking him because we learned with last year's NL Cy Young voting that common sense needn't prevail when naming the best pitcher in the league.
Tim Lincecum, who won the NL hardware last year, led the league in only strikeouts, while Chris Carpenter had two more wins and a better ERA and WHIP, and yet was left the ballot completely by two "experts."
I think the voting here comes down to Hernandez (who will probably end the year as the leader in strikeouts), and probably Cliff Lee and David Price, either one of whom could end the year with both the league lead in ERA and WHIP, and both of whom will probably win at least 15 games. I think the voters will make a mistake again this year, at the expense of some well deserving pitchers, instead giving an award for the best pitcher, to one who was simply good.
Current American League Rookie of the Year
Brennan Boesch
Boesch isn't just putting up Rookie of the Year numbers, he's putting up near-MVP numbers. The Tigers' LF is on pace to finish the year with a .342 average, 26 HR, and 106 RBI. That's a higher average, and more HR and RBI, than Dustin Pedroia had when he won MVP in 2008. Even though Pedroia's 2008 season bettered what Boech will reach in other areas, that's still really impressive. Through the first half of the season, Boesch has been as surprising as any other player in baseball.
Projected American League Rookie of the Year
Brennan Boesch
Again, Boesch makes the most sense here. His slugging percentage is comparable to Albert Pujols' in his rookie season, and his average is higher than Pujols' in the same year. Boesch isn't just having the best rookie season this year, he's on pace to have one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory. There's a case to be made that his numbers compare favorably to another LF, Ryan Braun, at the same point in his rookie season. So if Braun won Rookie of the Year, why wouldn't Boesch?
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