2019 Millhouse Major League Baseball Awards

Photo of Alex Bregman - Taken by Daniel Millhouse

So, now that the season is done, it's that time of year for me to announce the winners of the Millhouse 2019 Major League Baseball Awards. Yes, I usually announce them before the official awards are announced, but I was pretty set on my picks and promise that I was not swayed by the official vote. I've also included a list of my preseason picks for comparison purposes.

To those that have won a Millhouse Award, feel free to email and the next time you're in the Menifee, California area, I will buy you a coffee or beer, your choice.

Also, worth noting, my preseason prediction for the World Series was the Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals/Philadelphia Phillies during the preseason.

American League:
MVP - My pick is Alex Bregman. This one was a neck-to-neck one for me because Mike Trout deserved it just as much about. If you're a sabermetrics guy (which I am not), Trout let the American league in Offensive Wins Above Replacement (Offensive WAR), but Bregman led the American League in Overall WAR. Bregman played both third base and shortstop this season and was the most important position player on a star-studded team that nearly won the World Series. Trout had more homers (45 to Bregman's 41), but Bregman scored more runs, drove in more RBI's, and had a slightly higher batting average. 

Overall Picks - Alex Bregman, 2. Mike Trout, 3. DJ LaMahieu, 4. Marcus Semien, 5. George Springer

Preseason Picks - Alex Bregman, 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. George Springer, 5. Mookie Betts.

Cy Young - Justin Verlander is my pick, but his teammate, Gerrit Cole, was pretty close to winning this one as well. Definitely one of the best one-two punches in the American League in the last several years, both pitchers were key to the Astros going to the World Series; between the two of them they started 77 of the 162 regular season games. Verlander nudges out the award over Cole, although Cole established himself as possibly the most desirable free agent this off-season.

Overall Picks - Justin Verlander, 2. Gerrit Cole, 3. Charlie Morton, 4. Shane Bieber, 5. Lucas Giolito

Preseason Picks - Justin Verlander, 2. Chris Sale, 3. Corey Kluber, 4. Charlie Morton, 5. Mike Clevinger

Rookie of the Year - Yordan Alvarez is my pick and was a pretty clear-cut winner for this one. I usually ding rookies who don't get a large portion of their first season on the Major League roster, but Alvarez squeezed a whole season worth of stats into his partial season. Called up in June, he still hit .313 with 27 homers and 78 RBI's.

Overall Picks - Yordan Alvarez, 2. John Means, 3. Eloy Jimenez, 4. Luis Arraez, 5. Brandon Lowe

Preseason Picks - Jesus Luzardo, 2. Yusei Kikuchi, 3. Vlad Guerrero Jr., 4. Eloy Jimenez, 5. Brandon Lowe

Fireman of the Year - Aroldis Chapman

Manager of the Year - Rocco Baldelli

Breakout Player of the Year - Tim Anderson (preseason pick - Tim Anderson)

Silver Sluggers - C Mitch Garver, 1B Jose Abreu, 2B DJ LaMhieu, 3B Alex Bregman, SS Marcus Semien, OF Mike Trout, George Springer, Mookie Betts, DH Nelson Cruz

National League:
MVP - Christian Yelich is my pick for the National League. He was a 40/30 player (homers/stolen bases) who led the National League with a .329 batting average, had 100 runs scored, 97 RBI's, and had an incredible .429 on base percentage. Bellinger won this award, but Yelich meant more for his team and carried them on his shoulders for a while.

Overall Picks - Christian Yelich, 2. Anthony Rendon, 3. Cody Bellinger, 4. Nolan Arenado, 5. Ronald Acuna Jr.

Preseason Picks - Nolan Arenado, 2. Christian Yelich, 3. Manny Machado, 4. Freddie Freeman, 5. David Peralta

Cy Young - Jacob deGrom is my pick. Not too many times you'll see a Cy Young Award winner with 11 wins unless he's a reliever, but deGrom pitched on the Mets and still put up great numbers. If he played on a playoff team, he would have put up more wins, easily.

Overall Picks - Jacob deGrom, 2. Kirby Yates, 3. Max Scherzer, 4. Hyun-Jin Ryu, 5. Jack Flaherty

Preseason Picks - Max Scherzer, 2. Aaron Nola, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Patrick Corbin, 5. Walker Buehler

Rookie of the Year - This was a pretty big no-brainer with Pete Alonso smacking 53 homers in his rookie season. The Polar Bear edges out Matt Soroka who would be one of my top-10 picks for the Cy Young this year. Breaking the rookie record for homers while having 120 RBI's pretty much solidified this for me.

Overall Picks - Pete Alonso, 2. Matt Soroka, 3. Fernando Tatis Jr., 4. Dakota Hudson, 5. Bryan Reynolds

Preseason Picks - Chris Paddack,  2, Pete Alonso, 3. Brendan Rogers, 4. Victor Robles, 5. Luis Urias

Fireman of the Year - Kirby Yates

Manager of the Year - Craig Counsell

Breakout Player of the Year - Ketel Marte

Silver Sluggers - C JT Realmuto, 1B Freddie Freeman, 2B Ozzie Albies, 3B Anthony Rendon, SS Trevor Story, OF Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Ronald Acuna Jr.

2019 Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions

Photo by Daniel Millhouse of Luis Urias (using filter)

A new baseball season is upon us and as usual, it's prediction time for the upcoming season. Last season, my predictions included Christian Yellich being a top five candidate for MVP (he won). This year, we'll see if I'm right again at the end of this year.

American League:

AL East: 1. New York Yankees, 2. Boston Red Sox, 3. Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays, 4. Toronto Blue Jays, 5. Baltimore Orioles...

The Yankees were already a power house last season, butt they found themselves in the same division, let alone league, that featured the other most powerful team in baseball. This past offseason, the Yankees loaded up. They improved their starting pitching with the additions of J.A. Happ and James Paxton, retained Zach Britton to form the best bullpen in baseball with Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, and Chad Green added to the mix, they obtained DJ Lemahieu to fill in until the summer when Didi comes back, and they retained Luke Voit, to strengthen their corner. The Red Sox lost their closer and their bullpen is a little shakier this season, which is still good enough to get into the playoffs possibly, but not good enough to stave off the Yankees. The Rays will give the Red Soz a run for second place. On a side note, the Orioles are my pick for the worst team in the MLB this season.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians, 2. Minnesota Twins, 3. Chicago White Sox, 4. Detroit Tigers, 5. Kansas City Royals...

The Indians will take the division again behind a stacked starting pitching staff and the great hitting from Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. What should be taken note is that the Twins will rise up and win over 90 games. Their hitting approved with the additions of Nelson Cruz, C.J. Cron, Marwin Gonzalez, and Jonathan Schoop. Jake Odorizzi also should have a step-up year that will improve the team as a whole. This year is make or break for Bryan Buxton and Miguel Sano. Both have shown flashes of talent and of horror. The White Sox will hit middle ground, but may have a breakout player in Eloy Jimenez.

AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Oakland Athletics, 3. ANAHEIM Angels, 4. Seattle Mariners, 5. Texas Rangers...

The Astros again are the favorite to win the AL West. Despite losing Marwin Gonzalez, they still managed to improve their offense by adding Michael Brantley and upgrading at catcher by adding Robinson Chirinos. Their pitching staff is a top three in the MLB and their bullpen is even stronger by retaining Roberto Osuna and Ryan Pressly. The Oakland A's are in a high ceiling/high reward scenario. They have rookies and younger players who are now in place to break out. Ramon Laureno, Jesus Luzardo, and Jurickson Profar will either step up or fall flat on their faces. If they do, the Angels will be right there to take second and would have been a more sure bet to take second if they had improved on their pitching. The Angels wisely signed Trout to a long term contract, but failed to pick up free agents pitchers such as Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez, Wade Miley, Marco Estrada, or Tyson Ross.

Award Winners:
MVP - Alex Bregman...the easy answer is to say Mike Trout, but Bregman will be in his age 25 season, fresh off a 30+ homer season and appearing to have improved even more during this past offseason. 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. George Springer, 5. Mookie Betts; next 5 in no particular order, J.D. Martinez, Matt Chapman, Tommy Pham, Eddie Rosario, and Jose Altuve.

Cy Young - Justin Verlander...fresh off signing a contract extension, the ace pitcher for the Astros was second place in the voting last season. If he can lead the Astros to the World Series, the writers will surely consider Verlander one of the top candidates. 2. Chris Sale, 3. Corey Kluber, 4. Charlie Morton, 5. Mike Clevinger; next 5 in no particular order, Gerrit Cole, Blake Snell, Matt Boyd, Yusei Kukuchi, Marcus Strohman

Rookie of The Year - Jesus Luzardo...his rise to the Majors has caught the attention of everyone. Match that with a great Spring Training and the A's feel like they have a potential future star for years to come. 2. Yusei Kikuchi 3. Vlad Guerrero Jr., 4. Eloy Jimenez, 5. Brandon Lowe

Breakout Player - Tim Anderson

Comeback Player - Gary Sanchez

All-AL Team - C Gary Sanchez, 1B Matt Olson, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Alex Bregman, SS Francisco Lindor, OF Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, George Springer, DH Khris Davis, P Justin Verlander

National League:

NL East: 1. Philadelphia Phillies, 2. Washington Nationals, 3. Atlanta Braves, 4. New York Mets, 5. FLORIDA Marlins...

The Phillies have risen and have their best roster since they were led by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Additions of Bryce Harper, Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto, and Andrew McCutcheon to their everyday staff and an established closer in David Robertson, boost the Phillies to a neck to neck finish with the Nationals. The Nats lost Harper, but are still strong in the outfield with Victor Robles, Adam Eaton, and Juan Soto. They also added Patrick Corbin to their pitching staff, who makes for possibly the best number three pitcher in baseball this season.

NL Central: 1. Milwaukee Brewers, 2. St. Louis Cardinals, 3. Chicago Cubs, 4. Pittsburgh Pirates, 5. Cincinnati Reds...

The Milwaukee Brewers hold on to the NL Central, but not by as much as last season. They managed to upgrade at catcher by adding Yasmani Grandal, but their pitching staff is still full of good pitchers, but not great pitchers. Moose Moustakas will be moving over to second base now, which should provide for an interesting experiment, especially when someone slides hard into him while breaking up a double play.  The Cubs may drop down but still can play spoiler and take second place if everyone plays up to their potential. The Cards upgraded by adding Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Miller to their roster which should be enough to boost them to second place.The Reds made some noise during the offseason but may now feature a dysfunctional clubhouse if they let Yasiel Puig influence the younger players making up their team.

NL West: 1. Los Angeles Dodgers, 2. San Diego Padres, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. Arizona Diamondbacks, 5. San Francisco Giants...

The Dodgers will take the NL West again, but their southern neighbors have done enough to close the gap between the two. The Dodgers blew some better trade offers they had in the past for Puig, but they still managed to clear him out of the way, leaving room for them to add AJ Pollock. Once untouchable, Clayton Kershaw's back is giving out on him, possibly due to his unique pitching style, which leaves a giant hole in the Dodgers' starting pitching. The Padres feature the top minor league system in the MLB and some of those minor league stars will be on the roster this season, led by their unsuspected pickup of Manny Machado. The pitching staff is their biggest question mark, but the several of their youngsters have potential to break out this season. If not, the Rockies hitting will lead them into second place.

Award Winners:
MVP - Nolan Arenado...Leader in the National League for home runs last season, Nolan is about as complete of a player one can be. Not only does he hit for power and average, but he has the best glove at third base in Major League Baseball. After being top five in the MVP voting the last three seasons, it's about time for him to take home the award this season; 2. Christian Yellich, 3. Manny Machado, 4. Freddie Freeman, 5. David Peralta; next five in no particular order, Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Trevor Storey, Anthony Rizzo, Max Scherzer

Cy Young - Max Scherzer...For the past six years in a row, Scherzer has finished in the top 10 in the Cy Young voting, including winning it three times. He hit the 300 strike out mark last season and could approach that number again this year; 2. Aaron Nola, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Patrick Corbin, 5. Walker Buehler; next five in no particular order, German Marquez, , Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Zack Greinke, Jameson Taillon.

Rookie of the Year - Chris Paddack...One of several Padres rookies that could be potentially top five rookie of the year picks, Paddack is the most suited to keep his position for the entire season due to his readiness; 2. Pete Alonso, 3. Brendan Rodgers, 4. Victor Robles, 5. Luis Urias

Breakout Player - Franmil Reyes

Comeback Player - Sonny Gray

All NL Team - C J.T. Realmuto, 1B Freddie Freeman, 2B Ozzie Albies, 3B Nolan Arenado, SS Trea Turner, OF Bryce Harper, Christian Yellich, David Peralta, P Max Scherzer

Playoffs:

Wildcards: The wildcards for the American League will be the Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins. If the Twins feature several breakouts as they hope they do, they could even find themselves as the Cinderella team in baseball at the end of the season.

In the National League, the wildcards will be the Nationals (or the Phillies if the Nationals can survive the season without any major injuries) and the Chicago Cubs. The Padres have an outside chance if the stars align just right and their youngsters all break out at the same time, but that is a big if.

World Series: The Houston Astros are the team to beat in the American League, though the Yankees will give them a run at some point in the playoffs. The winner will go against the Washington Nationals. What about the Phillies or Dodgers? Well, the Phils will be a great regular season team, the Nationals have a pitching staff made for the playoffs and youngsters who are too dumb/brash to think they're not ready to make it all the way. The Dodgers health will be their problem and the lack of a stable Kershaw in the playoffs will hamper their chances to go all the way.

It should be noted that Mike Trout will enjoy his new found fortune by watching the playoffs on his theater style screen he's surely to put in his new mansion he'll buy.

In the end, the Astros will take the Series in six games against the survivor from the NL East who makes it that far.

2018 Major League Baseball Millhouse Awards

Mike Trout - Photo taken by Daniel Millhouse

Before all the awards are announced and I fall too far behind the media outlets, I give you the 2018 Major League Baseball Millhouse Awards. As a bonus, I give you a comparison of my pre-season compared to what actually happened.

American League:

MVP: J.D. Martinez...Admittedly, I did not see Martinez being in competition for a possible triple crown in the American League. He had the power, but I did not foresee his average being so high.

Runners Up: 2. Mookie Betts, 3. Jose Altuve, 4. Mike Trout, 5. Francisco Lindor.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Manny Machado, 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. Francisco Lindor, 5. Mookie Betts...Looking at my preseason predictions, I didn't do so bad. Aaron Judge's injury knocked him out of contention. Being traded to the Dodgers took out Machado's chances.

Cy Young: Blake Snell...Definitely didn't see him challenging for the Cy Young Award, especially pitching for Tampa Ray. In any other season Verlander would have been the front runner.

Runners Up: 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Gerrit Cole, 4. Edwin Diaz, 5. Corey Kluber.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Corey Kluber, 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Chris Sale, 4. Luis Severino, 5. Gerrit Cole...I was pretty spot on with Verlander, Kluber, and Cole. Severino would probably be the sixth or seventh place guy if I went that deep. 

Rookie of the Year: Miguel Andujar...Just missed hitting .300 with 30 homers and he plays in one of the toughest cities for a rookie to start their career in. To top it off, Andujar wasn't the top projected Yankee rookie prior to the season.

Runners Up: 2. Shohei Ohtani, 3. Gleyber Torres, 4. Joey Wendle, 5. Daniel Palka.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Gleyber Torres, 2. Willy Adames, 3. Joey Wendle...This was definitely the year of impact rookies. Gleyber Torres's stats would have won a Rookie of the Year award in most seasons. Adames did well, but didn't play a full enough season. Ohtani, as predicted, ended up hurting himself while pitching.

Fireman of the Year: Edwin Diaz...I would not have predicted that he would be even one of the top five closers, let alone a top 10. I was wrong 57 saves later.

Runners Up: 2. Blake Treinen, 3. Aroldis Chapman, 4. Craig Kimbrell, 5. Jose Leclerc 

Manager of the Year: 1. Bob Melvin...He got so much out of the lowest payroll in baseball.

Runners Up: 2. AJ Hinch, 3. Kevin Cash, 4. Alex Cora, 5. Aaron Boone

Most Improved Player: Whit Merrifield...He hit .304, stole 45 bases, scored 88 runs, and hit 12 homers. And no one noticed.

Silver Sluggers: C - Yan Gomes, 1B - Edwin Encarnacion, 2B - Jose Altuve, 3B - Alex Bregman, SS - Francisco Lindor, OF - Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Khris Davis , DH - J.D. Martinez

League Review: The majority of my runners up predictions came true. The award winner for each category came out of nowhere. I think anyone would be lying if they said that they saw Ian Snell being in contention of the Cy Young. I believe Mookie Betts is the front runner to win with the baseball writers, but how can you write off a hitter who almost won the triple crown? As far as Andujar possibly winning the Rookie of the Year, I would have thought his teammate was the more likely candidate to win the award. 

As far as the American League standings, I did fairly well if you take a look at my preseason predictions. The Mariners were a surprise and the A's doing as well as they did was also a surprise. But I did have the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, and Indians all going to the playoffs. 

National League:

MVP: Christian Yellich...I had in in my preseason top five and drafted him in my fantasy leagues. He even did better than expected, taking a triple crown race to the final game of the season. He hit .326, 36 homers, 110 RBI's, and stole 22 bases. 

Runners Up: 2. Nolan Arenado, 3. Javy Baez, 4. Trevor Story, 5. Max Scherzer.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Nolan Arenado, 2. Paul Goldschmidt, 3. Bryce Harper, 4. Christian Yellich, 5. Max Scherzer...Goldschmidt would probably be sixth if I went that deep. He still had a great season. Bryce Harper fell off from a batting average standpoint, dropping his MVP candidacy. Yellich's homers surprised me and Trevor Story challenging his teammate, Arenado, for best player on the Rockies was a bit surprising too.

Cy Young: Max Scherzer...This is the closest race for an award this season. It was a coin flip between deGrom and Scherzer, but I felt Scherzer edges him out because of his dominance. He had 300 strike outs exactly, leading the league. Scherzer also led the league in wins on a team that underachieved, led the league in WHIP, and was third in ERA. 

Runners Up: 2. Jacob deGrom, 3. Aaron Nola, 4. Kyle Freeland, 5. Miles Mikolas.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Max Scherzer, 2. Clayton Kershaw, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Aaron Nola, 5. Robbie Ray...It really didn't surprise me that Kershaw ended up having injuries that knocked him out of the top five. Scherzer, deGrom, and Nola still remained in the top five at the end of the season. A Rockies pitcher (Freeland) was the pleasant surprise and one that I cheer about. I tend to secretly root for Rockies pitchers, although, I'm not a big fan of theirs. I just want someone to succeed in pitching in the Colorado air.

Rookie of the Year: Ronald Acuna Jr...This was the preseason favorite prediction for so many news outlets and it looks like he lived up to the hype. I just didn't foresee that a 19-year-old would challenge him so closely.

Runners Up: 2. Juan Soto, 3. Harrison Bader, 4. Franmil Reyes, 5. Jorge Alfaro.

Preseason Predictions: 1. Lewis Brinson, 2. Ronald Acuna Jr., 3. Jorge Alfaro...Being a fan of the Lake Elsinore Storm, I was happy that alumnus, Franmil Reyes, did so well in his time in the Majors.

Fireman of the Year: Raisel Iglesias...Some may argue about this choice, but he still managed to rack up 30 saves on a team that performed horribly. He had a 2.38 ERA and had a 1.07 WHIP. 

Runners Up: 2. Josh Bader (yes, I know he's not a full-time closer), 3. Felipe Vazquez, 4. Sean Doolittle, 5. Kenley Jansen.

Manager of the Year: Craig Counsell...Look how far he took a team that still needed a little help in their starting pitcher before being considered a contender for the National League title winner.

Runners Up: 2. Brian Snitker, 3. Bud Black, 4. Joe Madden, 5. Mike Schildt

Most Improved Player: David Peralta...He hit 30 homers, nearly hit .300, and had 87 RBI's, all while in the shadow of his teammate, Paul Goldschmidt. Max Muncy is a close second, hitting 35 homers after not even playing in the majors in 2017.

Silver Sluggers: C - J.T. Realmuto, 1B - Jesus Aguilar, 2B - Scooter Gennett, 3B - Nolan Arenado, SS - Trevor Story, OF - Christian Yellich, David Peralta, Charlie Blackmon

League Review: The National League had some surprises for the season. A 19-year-old who played like a veteran, several Rockies players vying for awards (Story and Freeland), Christian Yellich nearly winning the triple crown (where did that power come from?), and the Atlanta Braves youngsters playing like veterans and earning a playoff spot. It should be noted that my preseason prediction blog posting even featured a photo I took of Christian Yellich while he was a Marlin. Oh, just in case Yellich was so bored that he came across my season predictions while surfing the internet on a sleepless night, I apologize for the typo (I accidentally referred to him as Christina Yellich, which was by total error on my part since I'm a fan of his and not trying to stir up controversy like Jim Rome - see Jim "Chris" Everett footage on YouTube). 

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)