2015 Millhouse MLB Midseason Awards

2015 Millhouse MLB Midseason Awards

American League:
MVP: Mike Trout- It's hard to deny how good he is. He hits for power, he steals bases, he's a strong defender, and he won back-to-back MVP awards for the All-Star game.

Cy Young: Dallas Keuchel- He's finally developed into the pitcher the Astros thought he could be. He is the AL leader in ERA, one of the leaders in wins, and has led the Astros into a surprising first half performance that has impressed the rest of the MLB.

Rookie of the Year: Billy Burns- (although if Carlos Correa keeps producing at the rate he has, I believe he'll take it for the year). Burns doesn't have the power, but he can steal, he hits over .300, and has been a sparkplug for the A's.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Stephen Vogt, 1B- Miguel Cabrera, 2B- Jason Kipnis, 3B- Manny Machado, SS- Jose Iglesias, OF- Mike Trout, OF- Lorenzo Cain, OF- J.D. Martinez, DH- Nelson Cruz

Comeback Player of the Year: Prince Fielder- After neck surgery and a lot of doubts about his returning to full strength, Fielder came back and would be the best first baseman in the American League if it weren't for Miggy.

National League:
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt- In an very close vote, Goldschmidt just edges out Bryce Harper for this spot because of his stolen bases.

Cy Young: Zack Greinke- In the midst of the fourth longest scoreless innings streak since 1961, Greinke currently holds this spot, but could possibly lose it to Max Scherzer if Greinke doesn't produce as well in the second half.

Rookie of the Year: Tied- Joc Pederson and Kris Bryant- In many circumstances, Pederson would be the clear winner, but a batting average that hovers around .230 makes it hard to say he has a clear win over the much anticipated rookie season of Kris Bryant.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher- Buster Posey, 1B- Paul Goldschmidt, 2B- Dee Gordon, 3B- Todd Frazier, SS- Troy Tulowitzki, OF- Bryce Harper, OF- Charlie Blackmon, OF- AJ Pollock, Pitcher- Madison Bumgarner

Comeback Player of the Year: Joey Votto- after hitting only 6 homers and having a severe decline in his average, Votto has nearly tripled his homer total from last season and is once again hitting with a good batting average.

Millhouse 2014 MLB Awards

Yep, it's that time of year again where I announced who the winners of the Millhouse awards are for the 2014 MLB season. With the season wrapping up, this is about as good time as any. By the way, my sleeper pick for the American League, the Kansas City Royals are still going strong in the playoffs. Unfortunately, my National League pick of the Nationals lost and my national league sleeper, the Pirates fell in the one game Wild Card round to the Giants.

And now for the awards...

AL MVP: 1. Mike Trout (ANAHEIM Angels), 2. Nelson Cruz (Bal), 3. Jose Abreu (Chi), 4. Jose Altuve (Hou), 5. Miguel Cabrera (Det)...I gave the edge to Trout because of his stolen bases, but just barely. Cruz had such a large impact on the Orioles making the playoffs, it was hard to ignore.

AL Rookie of The Year: 1. Jose Abreu (Chi), 2. Masahiro Tanaka (NYY), 3. Yordano Ventura (KC), 4. Matt Shoemaker (ANAHEIM Angels), 5. Danny Santana (Min)....This was one of the best years for rookies I can recall. In any other season, anyone of these top five guys could have won it. I could have easily went farther to include players like Houston's Colin McHugh and George Springer or Tampa Bay's Jake Ordorizzi.

AL Cy Young: 1. Felix Hernandez (Sea), 2. Chris Sale (Chi), 3. Corey Kluber (Cle), 4. Greg Holland (KC), 5. Matt Scherzer (Det)...Hernandez and Sale were neck and neck to me, but I gave Hernandez the edge because he stayed healthy all season.

AL Silver Sluggers: C-Yan Gomes (Cle), 1B-Jose Abreu (Chi), 2B-Jose Altuve (Hou), 3B-Josh Donaldson (Oak), SS-Alexei Ramirez (Chi), OF-Mike Trout (ANAHEIM Angels), OF-Jose Bautista (Tor), OF-Mickey Brantley (Cle), DH-Nelson Cruz (Bal)

Breakout Player of The Year: Corey Kluber (Cle)

Manager Of The Year: Ned Yost (KC)
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NL MVP: 1. Giancarlo Stanton (Mia), 2. Andrew McCutcheon (Pit), 3. Buster Posey (SF), 4. Todd Frazier (Cin), 5. Ian Desmond (Was)...Giancarlo Stanton squeaked by McCutcheon in my eyes. Stanton's supporting cast wasn't as good and he had to do more to put up the numbers he did.

NL Rookie of The Year: 1. Jacob deGrom (NYM), 2. Billy Hamilton (Cin), 3. Chase Anderson (Ari), 4. Travis D'Arnaud (NYM), 5. Ender Inciarte (Ari)...The NL's race was lackluster compared to the NL. Rookies at best in the NL were role players compared to the AL's top rookies. Billy Hamilton could have won it, but put up subpar numbers during the second half.

NL Cy Young: 1. Clayton Kershaw (LA), 2. Johnny Cueto (Cin), 3. Adam Wainwright (Stl), 4. Craig Kimbrel (Atl), 5. Jordan Zimmerman...Kershaw was the clear winner this year, despite his injury at the beginning of the season.

NL Silver Sluggers: C-Buster Poser (SF), 1B-Adrian Gonzalez (LA), 2B-Neil Walker (Pit), 3B-Todd Frazier (Cin), SS-Ian Desmond (Was), OF-Giancarlo Stanton (Mia), OF-Andrew McCutcheon (Pit), OF-Justin Upton (Atl), UTL-Josh Harrison (Pit), P-Madison Bumgarner (SF)

Breakout Player of The Year: Lucas Duda (NYM)

Manager of The Year: Clint Hurdle (Pit)