MLB Preview 2012: Predicting the American League Award Winners

The American League took a step back during the 2011 season as the National League seemingly caught up to them. For the second straight year, the AL dropped the All-Star game to the National League by a score of 5-1.

The American League champion Texas Rangers couldn't finish the job for the American League either, as they dropped the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. To add to the punch in the gut, the Rangers came one strike away from taking the series twice.

Despite the failures, the American League is still loaded with talent and could rebound in 2012. The American League boasts the most dominant pitcher in baseball, and now they have two National League mainstays who crossed over this past offseason.

All of this means that the race for the awards in the American League will be tighter than ever but, as always, they'll be fun to watch to see who comes home with the hardware.

American League Comeback Player of the Year: Joe Mauer

While 2011 was a rough year for the Minnesota Twins in general, nobody took a bigger hit to their reputation than Joe Mauer.

The hometown catcher who won the MVP award in 2009 had a miserable season in 2011, as he hit .287 with three home runs and 30 runs batted in. It was a far cry from when Mauer hit .365/28/96 in the last year of the Metrodome.

While many things could be blamed for Mauer's regression, the biggest factor in his last two seasons has been his lack of health. Since May 2010, Mauer has been banged up on a regular basis. Some fans in Minnesota believed that Mauer was not willing to play through pain.

Mauer took the fans' jeers to heart and started an extensive workout program to make sure he would be ready to go once the regular season got going. So far, everything looks good, as Mauer has been a regular in the Twins lineup during spring training and has even made a majority of the team's bus trips.

A healthy Mauer would be an effective one, and the Twins could sorely use his bat in the lineup on an everyday basis. Perhaps the 2009 season was a fluke, but if Mauer could even get back to his career averages of .383 with 15 home runs and 89 runs driven in, he'll be in contention for this award.

American League Manager of the Year: Jim Leyland

The most difficult award to predict at the end of spring training is the Manager of the Year award. We don't know what teams will do or how they'll react. If a team goes from first to worst during a season, their manager is virtually a lock for the award by September. Since we can't jump in our DeLorean, we have to do our best.

I believe the Detroit Tigers will be the best team in the American League this season. Because of that, I think Jim Leyland will win the AL Manager of the Year award.

Leyland would win his fourth Manager of the Year award if this prediction comes true—and if it does, he would deserve it. The Tigers will be one of the most loaded teams in baseball in 2012, and if Leyland pushes the right buttons, they may make a run at winning 100 games this year.

Even with a team exceeding expectations, 100 wins for the Tigers would have Leyland's name thrown around in the Manager of the Year race come September.

American League Rookie of the Year: Matt Moore

Matt Moore made his Major League Baseball debut in September last year and was supposed to be a strong arm for the back of the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen. After a couple of relief appearances, the Rays decided that he would be more helpful if he were in the starting rotation.

When the Rays overtook the Boston Red Sox for the American League wild card on the last day of the regular season, it wasn't a given that Moore would make the Rays' postseason roster. In what was a shock to some people, Moore was the Game 1 starter for the Rays against the Texas Rangers.

Even though the Rays would lose in four games to the Rangers, Moore had already made an impact on Major League Baseball in just six appearances between September and October.

The impact should continue when the Rays put him in their already loaded pitching rotation full-time in 2012. Moore was named MLB.com's No. 1 overall prospect ahead of Bryce Harper, and will have heavy expectations because of that.

However, Moore seems like the kid who can take those expectations and thrive off of them. If he's able to do that, the Rays will be one of the most feared teams in baseball.

American League Cy Young: Justin Verlander

This just in: Justin Verlander is good at baseball. Breaking news: Justin Verlander is also a really good pitcher.

It's not wise to reinvent the wheel and pick a sleeper to win the Cy Young award when the defending recipient of that award and the AL Most Valuable Player award is lurking in the league.

Verlander put on one heck of a show in 2011, as he became the first pitcher to win both awards since Dennis Eckersley did it in 1992. Simply put, Verlander is the most dominant pitcher in baseball right now and could have a repeat of his 2011 season.

I know a lot of people are predicting Verlander to fall back to earth, but when you look at the Tigers this season, I don't know how that can be the case. Even if Verlander is a little bit off, the lineup in Detroit should give him enough run support to get the wins to be a viable candidate.

There is the chance that Felix Hernandez or another small-market pitcher puts on a show and steals the award from Verlander, but since that's almost impossible to predict, Verlander has to be considered the front-runner for the award as we head into the season.

American League Most Valuable Player: Miguel Cabrera

To confirm my love for the Detroit Tigers, I'm going all in with my award predictions. To justify Miguel Cabrera winning the Most Valuable Player award, I'll introduce you to the Ryan Braun effect.

For the past several seasons, the Milwaukee Brewers had one of the most feared 3-4 combinations in all of baseball. From 2007 to 2011, Braun had Prince Fielder hitting behind him in the lineup.

Fielder was an annual threat to hit 50 bombs behind Braun, so pitchers had to pitch to him to avoid giving up more damage than necessary.

During that time, Braun had an average season of .312, 36 home runs, and 118 runs batted in and won his first MVP award in 2011. (Whether the reader of this thinks it's legit or not is up for you to decide.)

Fielder has since taken his talents to the Motor City, where he'll now be protecting the lethal bat of Miguel Cabrera. Despite the enormous difference in ballparks (Miller Park being a more home-run-friendly park than Comerica Park), Miguel Cabrera should still have a similar spike in his production.

Combined with my prediction of the Tigers flirting with 100 wins, Miguel Cabrera will be a strong threat to win his first MVP award in 2012.