MLB Predictions 2012: Picking the Winner of Ever Major Award for the Season

With March coming to an end, that could only mean one thing in the eyes of baseball fans. Opening Day for the 2012 MLB season is finally almost here. 

There are plenty of questions going into the 2012 season and award predictions are always tough to know. Will anyone repeat? Will there be big surprises? 

There are also, many stars coming back from injuries and putting on new jerseys. The 2012 MLB season will be quite intriguing.

AL Manager of the Year: Ron Washington

After all the offseason talk of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, thanks to the additions of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, people almost forgot how good the Texas Rangers are. 

After back-to-back trips and losses in the World Series, the Rangers now find themselves in trouble of winning the AL West and ultimately making the playoffs. However, Ron Washington will make sure the Texas Rangers are in the playoffs once again. 

Thanks to an offense that has Mike Napoli, who hit 30 home runs in 2011, batting seventh and a pitching rotation with six capable starters, the Rangers will make people remember them very quickly.  

The AL West is much more competitive, but the player-friendly Ron Washington will have the Rangers in the playoffs in 2012.

Runner-Up: Joe Maddon

Other Candidates: Joe Girardi, Jim Leyland, Mike Scioscia 

NL Manager of the Year: Ozzie Guillen

Ozzie Guillen will have Miami roaring in their new stadium when he revitalizes the Marlins in 2012. 

Miami thought they had enough personalities and now Ozzie may be the biggest of them all. He doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, but he knows how to get people excited and more importantly, how to win.

Miami and the whole baseball world will quickly forget the 2011 season of the then-Florida Marlins and their ugly last place, 72-90 record.

Miami not only brought in Ozzie, but they added Mark Buehrle, Heath Bell and Jose Reyes to their roster. Also, Josh Johnson is back from his shoulder injury that kept him out for most of 2011.

The Marlins have a chance to go from worst to first in the NL East in 2012. Look for Ozzie to put a spark into both Hanley Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano and ultimately dethrone the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.

Runner-Up: Dusty Baker

Other Candidates: Bruce Bochy, Kirk Gibson, Davey Johnson 

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Adam Dunn

Okay, let's officially call 2011 Adam Dunn's mulligan season. 

Nobody wanted a "Get out of jail free" card more than Dunn in 2011. In his first season as the DH for Chicago White Sox, Dunn only hit .159 with 11 home runs and 42 RBI. Not exactly what the White Sox had in mind when they signed him to a four-year, $56 million deal, when he became a free agent after the 2010 season.

Most of the time, Spring Training numbers are pointless for MLB veterans, but after Dunn's 2011 season, this was a vital Spring Training for him. This spring, Dunn has a slash line of .308/.500/.808 and has hit four home runs in 12 games played. If that is an indication of what 2012 can be for Dunn, the White Sox will be very happy.

Now that Dunn has his terrible 2011 behind him, and he understands being a DH better, look for Dunn to be more of the slugger he was in the past. If he can hit around .260 with 30 bombs, Dunn is guaranteed to be the AL Comeback Player of the Year in 2012.  

Runner-Up: Joe Mauer

Other Candidates: Phil Hughes, Shin-Soo Choo, Alex Rodriguez, Carl Crawford

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Hanley Ramirez

Hanley Ramirez looked like a pouty little kid in 2011. 

Nobody knew what happened to the perennial All-Star in 2011 and he seemed like he wanted nothing to do with baseball. He had a career low slash line of .243/.333/.379. Injuries forced him to only play in 92 games and it got even worse for Ramirez this offseason. 

The Miami Marlins went out and signed Jose Reyes to a six-year, $106 million deal to be their shortstop. This only frustrated Ramirez, an All-Star shortstop, even more. Since agreeing to be a third baseman and getting rid of his ego, Ramirez looks ready for another huge season. 

This spring, Ramirez has a slash line of .394/.500/.667 in 13 games played. Yes, it's only Spring Training, but Ramirez is clearly motivated and back to himself after his disappointing 2011 season. 

Ozzie Guillen will put a spark into his game and have him be the 2012 NL Comeback Player of the Year, by hitting over .300 and flirting with a 30/30 season. 

Runner-Up: Jason Heyward

Other Candidates: Josh Johnson, Adam Wainwright, Buster Posey, Stephen Strasburg,  

AL Rookie of the Year: Yu Darvish

Yu Darvish, starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers, will be nothing like Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Irabu or Kei Igawa. 

Many people will compare Darvish to Japanese pitchers of the past, but stop the comparisons now. Darvish posted way better numbers than them in Japan and shows the tenacity of a winner already. 

In 2011, while playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters, Darvish won 18 games and had a career-low 1.44 ERA. Yes, the competition is nothing close to the MLB, but that ERA has to make Rangers fans smile. In his career, Darvish has a 1.99 ERA.

His numbers will not be the same in 2012 pitching for the Texas Rangers, but they will be very good. The 25-year-old is just hitting his prime and he will be racking up wins for the Rangers in 2012.

With the Rangers giving him great run support, Darvish will win games and don't be surprised if he is the ace of the rotation by the end of the year.

Runner-Up: Jesus Montero

Other Candidates: Matt Moore, Jacob Turner, Yoenis Cespedes, Lorenzo Cain

NL Rookie of the Year: Yonder Alonso

The San Diego Padres should be thanking the Cincinnati Reds for years to come, for giving them a great hitter in Yonder Alonso. 

Alonso was stuck behind star Joey Votto in Cincinnati, and in his little time in the bigs, he proved that he will one day be a star, too. In just 47 games in the majors, Alonso hit .330 with five home runs and 15 RBI. 

Unfortunately for Alonso, the Padres are not a very good team and they play in a big ballpark. PETCO Park may lower his home runs, but Alonso will use the big field to produce doubles all season long.

Don't be surprised if Alonso ends up being the best hitter for the Padres in 2012 and years to come. 

Runner-Up: Trevor Bauer

Other Candidates: Devin Mesoraco, Bryce Harper, Drew Pomeranz, Zack Cozart  

AL Cy Young: Jered Weaver

Jered Weaver finished second to Justin Verlander for the 2011 AL Cy Young, and look for the votes to be reversed in 2012. 

Weaver finished 2011 with an 18-8 record, 2.41 ERA and 198 strikeouts. Weaver was obviously really good in 2011 and unfortunately Verlander was a freak.

With the arrival of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, Weaver will just feel even more comfortable in his Angels uniform in 2012. With having better run support upon the arrival of Pujols and Kendrys Morales coming back from his ankle injury, Weaver will feel very comfortable on the mound.

Dan Haren, C.J. Wilson and Ervin Santana will follow Weaver in the rotation. He is lucky to not have to carry his entire team on his back.

In the AL West, the only potent offense Weaver has to worry about is the Texas Rangers. If he can come out with a good record against Texas, he can wind up with great numbers in 2012. Look for Weaver to hit the 20-win mark and strikeout over 200 batters in 2012.

Runner-Up: Justin Verlander

Other Candidates: Felix Hernandez, C.C. Sabathia, Dan Haren, Brandon Morrow, David Price, James Shields, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett

NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum

Tim Lincecum will be pitching with a chip on his shoulder in 2012.

In 2011, rival Clayton Kershaw out-pitched Lincecum and thanks to the Giants' terrible offense in 2011, his record was only 13-14. Don't let that record make you think Lincecum had a bad season, though. He still had a 2.74 ERA and struck out 220 batters. 

Lincecum almost looked disgusted with his offense in 2011. They deserved it. Luckily, the Giants' offense is nothing like it was in 2011. The additions of Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan, put speed and a little bit of power at the top of the lineup.

The loss of Buster Posey ended up being even bigger than people thought. If Posey is anything like his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2010, Lincecum will be very happy. 

With a stronger offense and vengeance from 2011, Lincecum will truly be a "Freak" in 2012. Don't be surprised if he wins around 18 games and strikes out around 250 batters. 

Runner-Up:Josh Johnson

Other Candidates: Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Roy Halladay, Adam Wainwright, Cole Hamels, Matt Cain, Ian Kennedy, Cliff Lee

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera was the happiest man on Earth when the Detroit Tigers acquired Prince Fielder. 

Yes, he will have to move back to third base and will most likely have some trouble, but he will be a hitting machine with Prince Fielder hitting behind him. Cabrera was already one of the game's best with little help behind him, but with Fielder behind him, he will be a monster.

In 2011, Cabrera led the league in hitting with a .344 batting average, on-base-percentage with a .448 on-base-percentage and in doubles with 48. To go along with league leading numbers, he also had 30 home runs and 105 RBI. 

His 2011 numbers were those of an MVP, but he was upstaged by teammate Justin Verlander. In 2012, the award will be Cabrera's. Ryan Braun should thank Prince Fielder for his 2011 NL MVP, because pitchers had to pitch to him and the same will go for Cabrera in 2012.

Look for all his numbers to be even greater and show that he may be the best right-handed hitter in all of baseball. 

Runner-Up: Robinson Cano

Other Candidates: Evan Longoria, Prince Fielder, Josh Hamilton, Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Dustin Pedroia, Albert Pujols, Jacoby Ellsbury, Adrian Gonzalez

NL MVP: Matt Kemp

Matt Kemp was an absolute beast in 2011 and in many people's eyes, he deserved the NL MVP.

In 2012, he will be on the hunt for what he deserved last year. Kemp has already made a goal of a 50/50 season, showing he is going all out in 2012. That goal may be unreachable, but if anyone can do it, it's Kemp. 

In 2011, Kemp led the league in runs with 115, home runs with 39 and RBI with 126. He also hit .324 and stole 40 bases. Kemp is just now hitting his prime and there may be no stopping him in 2012.

Kemp will have at least a 40/40 season in 2012. No, the Dodgers will not make the playoffs. Yes, Kemp will be a beast in 2012 and win the NL MVP.

Runner-Up: Justin Upton

Other Candidates: Jose Reyes, Giancarlo Stanton, Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Zimmerman, Hunter Pence, Joey Votto, Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, Pablo Sandoval