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). 

2017 Millhouse Major League Baseball Awards

Photo by Daniel Millhouse; AJ Pollock, Jake Lamb, and Paul Goldschmidt

The World Series is all tied up and it looks like it will be a promising end to the 2017 season. For those who remember the 2017 Millhouse MLB predictions, I had the Houston Astros winning it all. Looks like I could be right. With that said, let's take a look at the Millhouse award-winning players for the 2017 season.

American League:

MVP - Aaron Judge: In fairness, this was an extremely close vote for me. On any given day, Jose Altuve could have been the MVP. For me, Judge wins this by a hair. He led the American League in home runs, breaking the rookie record in the process. He led the league in runs scored, was second in RBI's, hit .284, had the highest on-base percentage among players who played over 120 games, and even had nine stolen bases. Judge even played above average defense.

Trust me, this was a hard vote for me. Altuve led the league in batting average, hit 24 homers, 81 RBI's, and was third in the league in stolen bases.

Also, if Mike Trout had been able to play a complete season, he may have made this a three-way tie for the MVP race.

Cy Young - Corey Kluber: At the mid-season point, it looked like Chris Sale would take this award. Unfortunately for Sale, his ERA went north of three after the all-star break and Kluber became the favorite. An 18-4 record with an ERA of 2.25. He also only allowed hitters a batting average of .193 and combined this with a WHIP of 0.87. 

Rookie of the Year - Aaron Judge: This should be a no-brainer since he won my MVP award. Although in any other season, Andrew Benintendi, Matt Olsen, and Trey Mancini would have been favorites in the race.

Manager of the Year - Paul Molitor: While A.J. Hinch would seem like the favorite on the surface, Molitor did more with less. The Twins weren't even thought to be in the hunt for a playoff spot before the season started. They ended up taking second place in the Central, only losing out to the Indians. The Twins organization even traded away players before the trade deadline and they still made a race for the playoffs.

Fireman of the Year - Craig Kimbrel: He had 12 fewer saves than the AL leader, Alex Colome, but Kimbrel had a 0.68 WHIP, allowed a .140 batting average, and had 126 strikeouts in 69 innings.

Breakout Player - Marwin Gonzalez: On the verge of being pushed out of the roster, Gonzalez became a super-utility player. He can play almost every position except catcher and pitcher. He also found himself hittin 23 homers with over a .300 batting average.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher - Gary Sanchez; 1B - Jose Abreu; 2B - Jose Altuve; 3B - Jose Ramirez; SS - Francisco Lindor; OF - Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, George Springer; DH - Nelson Cruz

The Aces: Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Luis Severino, Dallas Keuchel, Ervin Santana

National League:

MVP - Giancarlo Stanton: Aaron Judge's national league counterpart, Giancarlo "Don't call me Mike" Stanton hit 59 homers while hitting .281. He also scored 123 runs and drove in 132 RBI's. Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado put up a good race too, but Stanton was by and far the best hitter this season in the National League.

Cy Young - Matt Scherzer: Edging out Clayton Kershaw, Scherzer had a better WHIP, stuck out more hitters, and his batting average against was lower than the Dodgers' ace. Scherzer was second in the league with a 2.51 ERA and had a record of 16-6.

Rookie of the Year - Cody Bellinger: Judge wasn't the only rookie breaking a rookie record for homers. Bellinger broke the National League rookie record for homers with 39. 

Manager of the Year - Torey Lovullo: Lovullo led the Diamondbacks to 93 wins, giving the Dodgers a run for their money at one point. Not a team that should have made the playoffs, Lovullo managed to get the best out of his players that were ready to break out. Paul Goldschmidt was joined by Jake Lamb, AJ Pollock, and David Peralta, in giving opposing pitchers problems.

Fireman of the Year - Kenley Jensen: He converted 41 of his 42 save opportunities, had a 0.75 WHIP, and allowed hitters a .177 ERA. Jensen edged out Cory Knebel of the Brewers who had similar numbers and more strikeouts. 

Breakout Player - Scooter Gennett: A good hitting second baseman who showed potential for being a .300 hitter, Gennett hit 27 homers, something no one foresaw.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher - Wilson Contreras; 1B - Paul Goldschmidt; 2B - Scooter Gennett; 3B - Nolan Arenado; SS - Zach Cozart; OF - Giancarlo Stanton, Marcel Ozuna, Charlie Blackmon; Pitcher - Madison Bumgarner

The Aces: Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, Stephen Strasburg

Millhouse Awards: MLB First Half Awards

Mike Trout photo by Daniel Millhouse

Another season goes by seemingly faster than ever before. It didn't seem that long ago when people just knew the Milwaukee Brewers and the Colorado Rockies were going to be bad and that the Chicago Cubs would be awesome again thanks to the arms of Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. Then the season began and everything we knew turned upside down.

Mike Trout and Adrian Gonzalez both went down with injuries and in their places, two rookies, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger rose and took their respective leagues by storm.

So, I now give to you the Millhouse first half of the season awards for Major League Baseball.

American League:
MVP: Aaron Judge - It should be no surprise that the rookie right fielder for the Yankees has taken the MLB by surprise. He's only a few big hits from leading the MLB in the triple crown categories, runs scored, and even has a bit of unexpected speed to boot. Judge broke the Yankees rookie homerun record set by Joe DiMaggio within the first half of the season. He also just won the homerun derby without breaking a sweat. Judge may give Mike Trout future competition for the American League MVP on a yearly basis.
Cy Young: Chris Sale - This was a close call between Sale and Jason Vargas. The edge goes to Sale because even though he has one less win than Vargas and is second to Vargas' first place hold on ERA, Sale has 100 strikeouts more and a better WHIP as well. The Chicago White Sox better hope that Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech turn out to be stars or their trade of Sale to the Boston Red Sox might look very one-sided.
Rookie of the Year: Aaron Judge - This also shouldn't be a surprise. There hasn't been a rookie hitter that has made this much of an impact on their team in years.
Fireman of the Year: Brandon Kintzler - This one is a surprise, especially since so many people thought the Minnesota Twins would be a flop this season. Kintzler wasn't even originally thought to be the Twins main closer during Spring Training. Second in the AL in saves, Kintzler has a better ERA and WHIP than the Rays' Alex Colome.
AL All-Star Team: C - Salvador Perez; 1B - Justin Smoak; 2B - Jose Altuve; 3B - Jose Ramirez; SS - Carlos Correa; OF - Aaron Judge, George Springer, Avisail Garcia; DH - Nelson Cruz; SP - Jason Vargas, Chris Sale, Lance McCullers Jr, Corey Kluber, and Ervin Santana; RP - Brandon Kintzler

National League:
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt - He goes out and proves he's the best first baseman in the MLB everyday without a whole lot of fanfare. Goldy is ninth in the league in batting average and homers, but he also leads the league in runs scored, is eighth in stolen bases, and is second in the league for on base percentage. Goldy may not get as much press as Bryce Harper or Kris Bryant, but he has quietly had the most solid season so far in the National League.
Cy Young: Max Scherzer - Some may make the argument that Clayton Kershaw deserves this award, but they'd be wrong. While Kershaw has four more wins than Scherzer, the Nationals ace leads the league in ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts. He's been consistently more dominant than Kershaw has been this season.
Rookie of the Year: Cody Bellinger is the clear runaway for this award. Not even originally supposed to be a starter this season, Bellinger has made the most of his playing time after Adrian Gonzalez went down. What has been even more surprising is the power that Bellinger has shown. There doesn't appear to be another rookie in the National League that could challenge Bellinger for the overall season award.
Fireman of the Year: Greg Holland - Taking a flyer on Holland's comeback, the Rockies have been rewarded with Holland's 28 saves in the first half of the season. This is on top of his 1.62 ERA and a stellar WHIP.
NL All-Star Team: C - Buster Posey; 1B - Paul Goldschmidt; 2B - Daniel Murphy; 3B - Nolan Arenado; SS - Zack Cosart; OF - Bryce Harper, Marcell Ozuna, Charlie Blackmon; SP - Maz Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Gio Gonzalez, and Robbie Ray; RP - Greg Holland

2016 Millhouse MLB Awards

Christian Yellich put up a Silver Slugger level season in 2016; photo by Daniel Millhouse

It was definitely a season to remember this season for Major League Baseball. The death of Jose Fernandez was definitely the lowlight of the season and was possibly one of the more tragic stories in all of sports this season. But this year also had many high points. The emergence of one of the best rookie classes in years, Ichiro reaching the 3,000 hit plateau, and David Ortiz putting up one of the best seasons of his career in his final season.

One day the Millhouse MLB Awards will be covered by all sorts of media. Until then, I present to you the award winners for the 2016 Major League Baseball season as picked by Daniel Millhouse.

American League:

MVP: Jose Altuve...This Houston Astros middle infielder won the batting title, played well enough to win the Gold Glove, tied for second in the league in stolen bases, hit a career high 24 homers, had 96 RBI's, and scored 108 runs. He was the total five-tool-player this season despite playing on a team that underperformed this season. Runners-Up...Mookie Betts, Miguel Cabrera, and David Ortiz.

Cy Young: Rick Porcello...If you asked anyone before this season started who the American League Cy Young winner might be, even Porcello himself would have never picked. He was 22-4 this season, was fifth in ERA (3.15), allowed only 32 walks with a 1.01 WHIP, and put up stats that MLB fans would have loved to see from David Price. Runners-Up...Zack Britton, Justin Verlander, and Corey Kluber.

Rookie of the Year: Michael Fullmer...This rookie pitcher stepped up and replaced the roster spot left vacant by Porcello when the latter left for the Red Sox. Fullmer gave the Tigers steady pitching for most of the season, giving Detroit a nice one-two punch with Verlander and Fullmer. The rookie was 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA. This spot almost went to Yankees' catcher Gary Sanchez who was the fastest player to reach 20 homers to begin their career, but it was hard to award a player with barely over 50 games played, the rookie of the year. Runners-Up...Gary Sanchez, Normar Mazara, and Tyler Naquin.

Fireman of the Year: Zack Britton...He was a perfect 47 for 47 in save opportunities and in 67 innings, he only allowed 4 earned runs and a .162 batting average. His ERA was a staggering 0.54 and his WHIP was 0.84. Still think lefties can't be closers? Runners-Up...Alex Colome, Wade Davis, and Roberto Osuna.

Manager of the Year: Jeff Banister...The Texas Rangers' manager led a team that wasn't predicted to ever make the playoffs. Yet, they did. They lost in the playoffs once they made it, but getting that far was an amazing feat considering the players he lost to the disabled list and those that underperformed. Runners-Up...John Gibbons, Buck Showalter, and Brad Ausmus.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Stephen Vogt, 1B-Miguel Cabrera, 2B-Jose Altuve, 3B-Josh Donaldson, SS-Xander Bogaerts, OF-Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Ian Desmond, DH-David Ortiz

American League All Rookie Team: Catcher-Gary Sanchez, 1B-Dae-Ho Lee, 2B-Whit Merrifield, 3B-Ryan Healey, SS-Tim Anderson, OF-Nomar Mazara, Tyler Naquin, and Hyun Soon Kim, P-Michael Fullmer

National League:

MVP: Nolan Arenado...He led the league in homers and RBI's while hitting .294. Arenado also played some of the best defense at any position this season. There wasn't much he couldn't do except for maybe steal a couple of more bases. Runners-Up...Charlie Blackmon, Joey Votto, and Ryan Braun.

Cy Young: Kyle Hendricks...A pitcher that started the season as a free agent in many fantasy leagues, Hendricks took the National League ERA crown, posting a 2.13 ERA. Combine this with a 16-8 record, a 0.98 WHIP, and allowing only 15 homers the whole season, it was clear to see that Hendricks had a dominate season for the Cubs. Runners-Up...Jose Fernandez, Madison Bumgarner, and Jon Lester.

Rookie of the Year: Trea Turner...Playing out of position at centerfield, the Nationals were determined to find a way to get this top rookie into their starting lineup. Normally a shortstop, he still played good defense while hitting .342, stealing 33 bases, and hitting 13 homers. Runners-Up...Corey Seager, Trevor Story, and Seung Hwan Oh.

Fireman of the Year: Mark Melancon...Combining his season on the Pirates and Nationals, Melancon pushed Jonathan Papplebon down to setup man. He had 47 saves with a 1.64 ERA while compiling a 0.90 WHIP. Runners-Up...Kenley Jensen, Seung Hwan Oh, and Kenley Jensen.

Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon...So far it has been a magical season for the Cubs. It would have been even better if this happened last season to prove Back to the Future 2 right, but what can you do? The Cubs won over 100 games this season and there's a chance that they actually make it to the World Series. If they win, they'll break their long drought. Runners-Up...Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, and Clint Hurdle.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Wilson Ramos, 1B-Joey Votto, 2B-David Murphy, 3B-Nolan Arenado, SS-Jonathan Villar, OF-Ryan Braun, Charlie Blackmon, and Christina Yellich, P-Adam Wainright

National League All Rookie Team: Catcher-Wilson Contreras, 1B-Tommy Joseph, 2B-Jose Peraza, 3B-Brandon Drury, SS-Corey Seager, OF-Trea Turner, Travis Jankowski, and Keon Broxton, P-Seung Hwan Oh

1st Half Millhouse MLB Awards

Photo by Daniel Millhouse, taken June 14, 2016 in San Diego, CA

With half the season down in the history books for Major League Baseball it's that time of year to reflect back on what has transpired so far and award the Millhouse First Half Awards for the 2016 season. So let's take a look at who has done well so far in the year of Ichiro (now 10 hits away from 3,000 hits).

American League

MVP: Jose Altuve...Already considered one of the best second baseman in the last several years, Altuve was already revered for his high batting averages and large amounts of stolen bases. A top fifteen player for sure. Then he upped his game. He showed more power, hitting for more homers and RBI's than he ever had before. He's outplayed past MVP's such as Mike Trout and Bryce Harper this season. He's the American League MVP and he's barely 5'6". Runners up Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo, Nelson Cruz

Cy Young: Chris Sale...Half a season down and he's already racked up 14 wins, a sub 3.00 ERA, and over 100 strikeouts. All of this while playing for the White Sox. His strikeouts dropped a little this season, but he's still more dominant that anyone else in the league. Runners up Danny Salazar, Zach Britton, Cole Hamels

Rookie of the Year: Nomar Mazara...A year ago he wasn't considered the Rangers' top prospect, but he's played so well in his time in the Major League level that Joey Gallo is stuck. He's sported a .286 batting average with 11 homers so far. This has helped his team take the top of the American League West. Runners up Michael Fullmer, Tyler Naquin, Dae-Ho Lee

All Stars: C Salvador Perez, 1B Miguel Cabrera, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Josh Donaldson, SS Manny Machado, OF Mike Trout, Ian Desmond, Mark Trumbo, DH Nelson Cruz

Surprise: Ian Desmond...Cast off from the Washington Nationals, Desmond signed with the Rangers just before Spring Training started. A shortstop his whole Major League career it was determined that he might have to switch to the outfield to scrounge for playing time. Since then he's hitting .321 and has 15 homeruns. Along with Mazara they are behind the turnaround for the Rangers this season. Runners up Eduardo Nunez, Danny Valencia, Jackie Bradley
Breakout: Jonathan Schoop...Full of potential, Schoop was on his way to a good year last before being injured. He's broke through this season. He's almost already matched his career high in homeruns and he's hitting .301. That's from a player that the roto magazines said would hit around .240.
Fireman: Zach Britton...Lefties aren't supposed to be closers, but the best one in the American League is a lefty. He's sporting a 0.80 ERA, a 0.77 WHIP, and 23 saves. This former starter is about as untouchable as a closer can get. Runners up David Robertson, Steve Cishek, Wade Davis

National League

MVP: Anthony Rizzo...A half a season in and he already has 20 homers and 61 RBI's. Add that to a .282 batting average and you've got first half MVP numbers. Runners up Nolan Arenado, Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw...Now injured, Kershaw put up enough games to still be 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 145 strikeouts. He nearly has 17 strikeouts per base on balls too. Runners up Madison Bumgarner, Jake Arrieta, Drew Pomeranz

Rookie of the Year: Corey Seager...The preseason favorite, Kyle's little brother hit steadily and showed the pop that his big brother has. He's hit 17 homers and has a .305 batting average. Trevor Story looked like the early favorite when he blasted 7 homers in the first week of the season, but since then Story cooled off. Story has more homers than Seager, but only has a .264. Runners up Trevor Story, Steven Matz, Kenta Maeda

All Stars: C Wilson Ramos, 1B Anthony Rizzo, 2B Daniel Murphy, 3B Nolan Arenado, SS Jonathan Villar, OF Yoenis Cespedes, Ryan Braun, Carlos Gonzalez

Surprise: Jonathan Villar...A promising prospect with the Astros, Villar stole 18 bases in half of a season his rookie year. Given a shot to start, as a 23-year-old he hit only .209 and found himself in the doghouse. He hit .284 while barely being used last season, the Astros just gave up on him. As a 25-year-old he's finally blossoming as the Brewers' leadoff hitter. He has a .292 batting average and leads the National League in stolen bases. Runners up Wilson Ramos, Trevor Story, Melvin Upton Jr.
Breakout: Jonathan Villar...see above.
Fireman: Fernando Rodney...Rodney qualifies as a National League closer for now, but was just recently traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Sporting a 0.3 ERA, he racked up 17 saves and a sup 1.00 WHIP with the San Diego Padres. He would have had more save opportunities if with a better team. Now a Ray, he's not even closing anymore. Runners up Kenley Jansen, Jeurys Familia, AJ Ramos

2015 Millhouse MLB Awards

It's that time of year again. With the Major League Baseball season coming to an end and the playoffs around the corner, it's time to announce the winners of the Millhouse 2015 MLB Awards.

American League:
MVP: Josh Donaldson...This was a real close race between Donaldson of the Blue Jays and Mike Trout of the ANAHEIM Angels. Very close in all their stats, the most notable differences between the two players was in the RBI's department. Josh Donaldson led the league with 123 RBI's compared to Trout's. In the runs department, Donaldson also led the league with 122 runs compared to Trout's 103. Trout did field better during the season, playing at a Gold Glove level, but Donaldson wasn't a bad fielder either. Donaldson also was the motivational leader that helped boost his team's play higher while Trout's slump in the month of August was one of the major factors to costing the Angels a wild card spot in the playoffs. 2nd: Trout, 3rd: Nelson Cruz

Cy Young: Dallas Keuchel...in a fairly close race, Keuchel edges David Price out for Cy Young. Keuchel was the pitching leader of the Astros quicker than expected ascent in the baseball standings. In the preseason Millhouse predictions, the Astros were predicted to take third place with about a .500 winning percentage. The biggest difference between Keuchel and Price was their quality starts. Keuchel, even when leaving the game with the opponent in the lead, would leave his team in a better scenario more often than Price. For those who follow sabermetrics, this reflects on Keuchel's WAR which was at 7.2 compared to Price's 3.6. 2nd: Price 3rd: Sonny Gray

Rookie of the Year: Carlos Correa...in what turned out to be a battle between the shortstops, the much anticipated debut of Astros' Carlos Correa didn't disappoint. Correa led AL rookies in homeruns while Francisco Lindor of the Indians led AL rookies in batting average. Lindor had a slightly better glove. Correa also led all shortstops in the American League in homeruns as well. The difference maker is how much they meant to their respective teams. Correa became the motivational leader in his clubhouse, while Lindor played more silently and earned some his biggest hits this season in less clutch scenarios. 2nd: Lindor 3rd: Miguel Sano

Fireman of the Year: Andrew Miller...the Yankees had two relievers that could have contended for this if given the chance. Miller had a WHIP of .86, 26 saves, and a 2.04 ERA. 2nd: Zach Britton, 3rd: Huston Street

Breakout Hitter: Xander Bogaerts
Breakout Pitcher: Shawn Tolleson

Manager of the Year: John Gibbons of the Blue Jays...this was a team that wasn't predicted to be a 93 win team and yet they did. They entered the season, losing their best pitcher in Spring Training, being criticized for having subpar pitching, and a subpar bullpen. The Blue Jays started the season hanging their hopes on several star rookies who ended up not panning out, only to find a couple of other rookies and rarely used players that stepped up big for the team. 2nd: Jeff Bannister 3rd: Ned Yost

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Brian McCann, 1B-Chris Davis, 2B-Robinson Cano, 3B-Josh Donaldson, SS-Xander Bogaerts, OF-Mike Trout, Lorenzo Cain, JD Martinez, DH-Edward Encarnacion

All-Rookie Team: Catcher-James McCann, 1B-Mark Canha, 2B-Devon Travis, 3B-Miguel Sano, SS-Carlos Correa, OF-Eddie Rosario, Billy Burns, Delino Deshields, Pitcher-Carson Smith


National League:
MVP: Bryce Harper...in a closer race at the halfway point of the season between Harper and Paul Goldschmidt, Harper broke away in the second half. He had a .330 batting average, 42 homers, 99 RBI's, and an on-base percentage of .460. 2nd: Paul Goldschmidt 3rd: Joey Votto

Cy Young: Jake Arrieta...in the closest award race in the NL, Arrieta just edges Zack Greinke out. True Arrieta's ERA was 1.77 compared to Greinke's 1.66, but Arrieta had less run support and struck out more through the season. For those into traditional stats, Arrieta also led the NL with 22 wins compared to Greinke's 19. 2015 turned out to be the year of the pitcher in the National League as at least five candidates could have made decent arguments for the Cy Young Award. 2nd: Greinke 3rd: Clayton Kershaw

Rookie of the Year: Kris Bryant...at the half, Joc Pederson looked like the possible favorite for the National League Rookie of the Year, but Bryant turned up his production. He tied Pederson for most homers by a rookie in the NL and had a .275 batting average compared to Pederson's declining .210. Bryant even stole 13 bases compared to the faster Pederson. 2nd: Justin Bour 3rd: Jung Ho Kang

Fireman of the Year: Mark Melancon...51 saves, a .93 WHIP, and a 2.23 ERA wins the award for this Pirates reliever. 2nd: Jeurys Familia 3rd: Aroldis Chapman

Breakout Hitter: AJ Pollock
Breakout Pitcher: Carlos Martinez

Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle...the Pittsburgh Pirates entered the realm of playoff possibilities last season, so it wasn't a surprise that Clint Hurdle was one of the better managers in the MLB. Getting 98 wins was a lot more than most people predicted, especially in possibly the toughest division in Major League Baseball. Even though 98 wins only earned the Pirates second place in the NL Central, they will be accompanied by the St. Louis Cardinals, who won the division and the Chicago Cubs who won the other wild card spot.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Buster Posey, 1B-Paul Goldschmidt, 2B-Dee Gordon, 3B-Nolan Arenado, SS-Jhonny Peralta, OF-Bryce Harper, AJ Pollock, Andrew McCutchen, Pitcher-Madison Bumgarner

All-Rookie Team: Catcher-Kyle Schwarber, 1B-Justin Bour 2B-Addison Russell, 3B-Kris Bryant, SS-Jung Ho Kang, OF-Joc Pederson, Randall Grichuk, Odubel Herrera, Pitcher-Noah Syndergaard

Photo by Daniel Millhouse

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)