My Picks for MLB's 2008 Awards

Analyst Written on September 30, 2008

(Page 4 of 4)

1. Geovany Soto, Cubs
2. Joey Votto, Reds
3. Jair Jurrjens, Braves

Geovany Soto has emerged as a terrific two-way player, capable of separating his defense from his offense when necessary and handling a staff of hard throwers with big movement.

Joey Votto, with 22 homers, 79 RBI, and an .849 OPS, put together a better season than his more celebrated teammate, Jay Bruce.

Jair Jurrjens had a 5.14 ERA after Aug. 1, but otherwise was the Braves' most effective starter.

AL & NL Comeback Player

My picks

American League
1. Carlos Quentin, White Sox
2. Cliff Lee, Indians
3. Mike Mussina, Yankees

National League
1. Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals
2. Fernando Tatis, Mets
3. Jody Gerut, Padres

What, you expected Carl Pavano?

Frankly, I'm not sure whether Ryan Ludwick and Carlos Quentin meet the criteria; the award recognizes players who "re-emerged" during a single season.

Ludwick and Quentin never quite emerged in the first place. Josh Hamilton "re-emerged" last season with the Reds. Milton Bradley, who seemingly should be a candidate, never exactly disappeared.

This award is determined not by the Baseball Writers Association of America, but by a committee made up of representatives of Major League Baseball and the editorial staff of its website, MLB.com.

Executive

My picks

1. Andrew Friedman, Rays
2. Ken Williams, White Sox
3. Doug Melvin, Brewers

The Rays are far more than the product of high draft picks. Andrew Friedman hit on big moves (Delmon Young for Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett) and small (Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross, Willy Aybar) while putting together a team that will end up having allowed nearly 300 fewer runs than it did last season.

Ken Williams' offseason acquisitions of Carlos Quentin and Alexei Ramirez were eerily prescient, and he's one GM who did not overrate his young talent, getting it right with John Danks and Gavin Floyd.

Melvin's trade for CC Sabathia was a masterstroke, and he also made the right calls with his offseason signings of Mike Cameron, Jason Kendall, and Gabe Kapler, along with the mid-season addition of Ray Durham. His bullpen reconstruction, including the $10 million signing of Eric Gagne, brought mixed results, but the team ranks fourth in the N.L. in bullpen ERA.

Honorable mention to the Red Sox's Theo Epstein, who obtained Jason Bay as a quality replacement for Manny Ramirez, then added Paul Byrd and Mark Kotsay in August. Epstein barely flinched when his three-way talks with the Marlins over Ramirez collapsed on July 31; operating on a parallel track with the Dodgers, he got another deal done.

Two executives from each club vote for this award.

This article originally published on FOXSports.com.

Read more of Ken's articles here.

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written on September 30, 2008 Rankings/List