Early Predictions for 2015 Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP Winners

With Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw claiming MVP honors on Thursday night, the 2014 MLB awards season has officially wrapped up.

Jacob deGrom claimed NL Rookie of the Year honors after a surprise season for the New York Mets, while Cuban slugger Jose Abreu took home AL Rookie of the Year honors unanimously after ranking as one of the league's top sluggers.

Clayton Kershaw was also a unanimous winner in the NL Cy Young voting, while Cleveland Indians ace Corey Kluber was perhaps the biggest surprise of the major award-winners as he edged out Felix Hernandez for AL Cy Young.

With that said, it's never too early to look ahead to who could be contending for the league's top honors at this time next year, although there is undoubtedly a lot that will change between now and next November.

So here is a way-too-early look at my picks for 2015 Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP award-winners.

AL Rookie of the Year

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The Winner: SP Aaron Sanchez, Toronto Blue Jays

Aaron Sanchez was the Blue Jays' No. 1 prospect heading into last season, ranked one spot ahead of 2014 rookie standout Marcus Stroman, according to Baseball America.

The 22-year-old made his debut on July 23 and went on to make 24 appearances out of the bullpen down the stretch, posting a 1.09 ERA and 0.697 WHIP over 33 innings of work.

His future is in the rotation, but with Casey Janssen departing in free agency, he could be an option to close games for the upcoming season. Regardless of what role he's pitching in, Sanchez figures to make the roster out of spring training, and he has the stuff to make an immediate impact.

The Other Top Contenders

The Boston Red Sox gave Cuban defector Rusney Castillo a record seven-year, $72.5 million deal last August, and he went 12-for-36 with two home runs down the stretch. The outfield situation is crowded in Boston, but he figures to be penciled in as the everyday center fielder from the get-go.

With Asdrubal Cabrera shipped off at the deadline, the Cleveland Indians are set to turn over the shortstop job to 20-year-old Francisco Lindor. Incumbent Jose Ramirez will likely start the season holding down the position in the majors, but Lindor should be up by midseason, and he has the solid all-around game to make an immediate impact.

Carlos Rodon was the consensus top prospect in the 2014 draft heading into last season, but the NC State ace wound up slipping to the Chicago White Sox at No. 3 overall. He reached Double-A in his pro debut, posting a 2.92 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 24.2 minor league innings. The 21-year-old could start the season in the minors but should join the rotation sooner rather than later.

Right-handers Dylan Bundy (BAL), Alex Meyer (MIN), Nick Tropeano (LAA), and Mark Appel (HOU), second baseman Micah Johnson (CWS) and center fielder Dalton Pompey (TOR) also figure to be in the mix.

The Dark Horse: 2B Rob Refsnyder, New York Yankees

Rob Refsnyder entered the season flying well under the radar as the No. 29 prospect in the New York Yankees organization, according to Baseball America.

That quickly changed with a breakout performance, as the 23-year-old hit .318/.387/.497 with 38 doubles, 14 home runs and 63 RBI, splitting the year between Double-A and Triple-A.

There is a chance he could open the season in the majors should the team opt to go with Martin Prado at third base on an everyday basis. That would open up the second base job for Refsnyder, and if that happens, he has a chance to sneak in the race as a plus contact hitter on a high-profile team.

NL Rookie of the Year

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The Winner: 3B Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs

The No. 2 pick in the 2013 draft and the Minor League Player of the Year this past season, Kris Bryant put up some eye-popping numbers in 2014.

The 22-year-old hit .325/.438/.661 with 34 doubles, 43 home runs, 110 RBI, 118 runs scored and 15 stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A. The Cubs opted against calling him up for a September cup of coffee, but it won't be long before he's a staple in the middle of the North Siders lineup.

There is still some swing-and-miss to his game—evidenced by his 162 strikeouts in 492 at-bats—but the power is for real, and he has a chance to be a bona fide superstar in the very near future.

The Other Top Contenders

Sooner or later, the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to find a way to get outfielder Joc Pederson into the lineup on an everyday basis.

The 22-year-old annihilated Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .303/.435/.582 line with 33 home runs and 30 stolen bases last season, and if the Dodgers can find a way to move an outfielder, he could step into a featured role in 2015.

Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler beat the aforementioned Bryant to Chicago last year, hitting .292/.330/.573 with eight doubles and five home runs in 89 at-bats. Most view Bryant as having the higher ceiling, but it could be Soler who puts up the better numbers as a rookie.

Andrew Heaney was the No. 9 pick in the 2012 draft after a stellar collegiate career at Oklahoma State, and he turned in a terrific minor league campaign in 2014, going 9-6 with a 3.28 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 137.1 innings.

He will likely have a spot in the Marlins rotation, at least until Jose Fernandez returns, and with a strong start to the year, he could be up for good.

Speedy second baseman Jose Peraza (ATL), infielder Maikel Franco (PHI), outfielder Stephen Piscotty (STL), and right-handers Jon Gray and Eddie Butler (COL), Archie Bradley (ARI) Robert Stephenson (CIN) and Noah Syndergaard (NYM) should also be factors.

The Dark Horse: SP Nick Kingham, Pittsburgh Pirates

With Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez likely headed elsewhere in free agency, there will be some holes to fill in the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation this coming year, and one of them could go to Nick Kingham.

A fourth-round pick back in 2010, Kingham went 6-11 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.214 WHIP between Double-A and Triple-A last season, and he would appear to be next in line for a big-league job among the team's stable of pitching prospects.

His stuff is not overpowering, but he has the plus command and solid three-pitch repertoire needed to make a smooth transition to the majors.

AL Cy Young

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The Winner: SP Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox

After finishing sixth, fifth and third in AL Cy Young voting over the past three seasons respectively, Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale is poised to take home the hardware in the very near future.

Despite missing 32 games with an elbow strain, Sale still turned in the best all-around season of his young career. He finished the season 12-4 in 26 starts, setting career bests in ERA (2.17), WHIP (0.966) and strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (10.8), among other things.

Still just 25 years old and with just three seasons as a starter under his belt, Sale is still improving at this point. Provided his funky mechanics don't lead to injury, he should continue to be one of the game's best for the foreseeable future, and a Cy Young seems inevitable at this point.

The Other Top Contenders

The usual suspects will be in the running again, including 2014 winner Corey Kluber and runner-up Felix Hernandez.

David Price is now the man in Detroit after the departure of Max Scherzer, and he has the added incentive of it being a contract year, so he will be one to watch as well.

AL West aces Sonny Gray and Yu Darvish should also continue to be among the best in the AL, while 2014 breakout stars Masahiro Tanaka and Garrett Richards have the stuff but first have to prove that they are healthy.

The Dark Horse: SP Alex Cobb, Tampa Bay Rays

If anyone is going to make a meteoric rise to contention the way Kluber did this past season, it could be right-hander Alex Cobb, who now finds himself in the role of staff ace in Tampa Bay.

Cobb has quietly gone 21-12 with a 2.82 ERA, 1.143 WHIP and 8.2 K/9 over the past two seasons, and there is no reason the 27-year-old can't take another small step forward and put up elite numbers in 2015.

He'll be asked to lead a young staff that includes Drew Smyly, Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Matt Moore once he returns from Tommy John surgery. Offense could be an issue for the Rays, but the pitching outlook is incredibly bright.

NL Cy Young

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The Winner: SP Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

No sense overthinking things here.

Until someone else unseats him, Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in the game. He's won four straight NL ERA titles and three Cy Young awards in the past four years.

Based on his 2014 performance, he is still getting better, as he finished the year 21-4 with a 1.77 ERA, 0.857 WHIP and 10.8 K/9—all career bests.

As he prepares to enter next season at age 27, injury appears to be the only thing that would keep him from adding another Cy Young to his trophy case.

The Other Top Candidates

This year's runner-up Johnny Cueto and third-place finisher Adam Wainwright should be right up there once again, but if anyone is going to unseat Kershaw, it might be postseason hero Madison Bumgarner.

For all that's made about how young Kershaw still is, Bumgarner will be entering his age-25 season next year, and he has already established himself as one of the game's best. The big left-hander was 18-10 with a 2.98 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 2014, and he's capable of more.

Provided he's not traded to an AL team, Phillies ace Cole Hamels will be solid once again, while the Nationals' stable of arms has at least two candidates in Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg.

Many will call for Matt Harvey and Jose Fernandez to be included here, but we have seen time and again that a pitcher is usually not on top of his game in the first year back from Tommy John surgery.

Those two are going to be in the running for a long time—just don't expect them to bounce all the way back in 2015.

The Dark Horse: SP Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh Pirates

With Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez gone, right-hander Gerrit Cole steps into the role of staff ace for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and after an injury-plagued sophomore season, he could be poised for a breakout.

A strained lat limited the 24-year-old to just 22 starts this past season, as he went 11-5 with a 3.65 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 138 innings of work.

With a big, burly frame and a fastball that can touch triple digits, Cole is a prototypical workhorse atop the rotation, and as he gets a better feel for his secondary stuff, the sky is the limit as far as his potential is concerned.

AL MVP

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The Winner: 2B Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners

After signing a massive 10-year, $240 million deal last offseason, Robinson Cano helped lead the Seattle Mariners to a 16-win improvement in 2014, as the team remained in contention for a playoff spot until the final day of the season.

While his power dropped off, Cano was still one of the game's best offensive players, as he hit .314/.382/.454 with 37 doubles, 14 home runs and 82 RBI.

The Mariners are still searching for a right-handed power bat to slot behind Cano in the lineup. If they add one this offseason, it could be enough to push the Mariners over the top in their hunt for a playoff spot, and it could mean a spike in production for Cano.

The Other Top Candidates

It's hard to pick against Mike Trout, as he figures to be in the running for the next decade-plus, so count him among the top contenders.

Sluggers Jose Abreu, Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Beltre and Jose Bautista are all elite players and should have the numbers to make a compelling argument once again.

The 2014 breakout of Michael Brantley was for real, so expect similar production out of him next year, while a return to health could mean big numbers for Prince Fielder in Texas.

And we can't just ignore the return of three-time winner Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees lineup.

Just kidding—yes we can. In fact, we should. We should all completely ignore it and not talk about it, and maybe it will just go away.

The Dark Horse: 2B Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

After battling through a hand/wrist issue for most of the 2014 season and putting up the worst offensive numbers of his career, Dustin Pedroia finally had surgery in September. Manager John Farrell told Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston back in September:

"

The tendon that was repaired, there was some scar tissue that had built up in there, there was some inflammation. ... The (tendon) that was restricting his motion was the one that was addressed. It created more range of motion and instant relief.

"

That all sounds like good news, and for a Red Sox team that figures to gear up for another run at contention with a big offseason, Pedroia could once again be the heart and soul of a legitimate World Series contender.

If his numbers bounce back, which they certainly should now that the wrist injury is cleared up, he has a chance to be in the running.

NL MVP

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The Winner: RF Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins

Giancarlo Stanton turned 25 years old earlier this month, but he has already established himself as perhaps the most feared power hitter in all of baseball.

He finished the 2014 season hitting .288/.395/.555 with 37 home runs and 105 RBI for a 6.5 WAR, and that netted him a second-place finish in NL MVP voting.

If not for a gruesome injury resulting from a fastball to the face that cost him the final 17 games of the season, he might have pushed past Clayton Kershaw for NL MVP honors this past season. However, he did take home Hank Aaron Award honors for the top offensive player in the National League.

A healthy season coupled with another step forward from an improving Marlins team could be enough for him to walk away with the award in 2015.

The Other Top Candidates

The 2013 NL MVP winner and third-place finisher this past season, Andrew McCutchen is one of the best all-around players in the game today, and he will continue to be a threat to win the award for the foreseeable future.

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt and Freddie Freeman are two of the better up-and-coming sluggers in the game, while Anthony Rendon has emerged as a star at the hot corner for the Nationals.

Catchers Yadier Molina and Buster Posey remain at the center of their respective contending teams, while there has been a changing of the guard in Milwaukee with Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy supplanting Ryan Braun as the stars of the team.

The Dark Horse: 1B Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs

After taking a big step backward in 2013, Anthony Rizzo finally turned potential into production this past season, hitting .286/.386/.527 with 32 home runs and 78 RBI while making his first All-Star appearance.

The 25-year-old will be one of the elder statesmen of a terrific young Chicago Cubs team, as prospects Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Javier Baez settle into the everyday lineup.

If the Cubs can land an ace starting pitcher, there is a chance they can make a drastic turnaround in 2015, and there is a chance they could even contend for a playoff spot. If that is the case, Rizzo could be their leading candidate.

Rizzo finished 10th in NL MVP voting this past season—the only Cubs player to receive a vote.

All standard and advanced stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted.