Picking MLB's May Winners for Every Major Award

Last month, I selected winners for all of Major League Baseball's biggest awards. This month, I'll do the same.

Only four of the 10 April winners remain, with some new faces who rebounded from subpar Aprils to put themselves among baseball's best in May. Others are veterans who have been great players but set themselves apart from the pack over the last 31 days.

One note before I continue: These awards are based on players' cumulative statistics and performances and not just those during the month of May, because that's how the awards will be determined after the season.

Here they are.

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Melky Cabrera, San Francisco Giants

Before everyone goes crazy, Melky Cabrera is not a real candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. In 2011 with the Royals, he hit .305 with 20 stolen bases. If there's not a rule prohibiting a player who hit .300 from winning the next season's Comeback Player of the Year award, there should be.

But I did want to make sure I wrote a little about Cabrera, because I'm not sure many people are aware of the stellar May he had.

He had 51 hits, propelling him to a major-league-leading .373 average. He also leads the majors with 78 hits overall and six triples. His .967 OPS is far above his career .744 mark.

Who knows if Melky will keep up this torrid pace and give the Giants some semblance of an offense, but through the first two months of the season, the Melk Man has most certainly delivered.

Runners-up: Barry Zito (San Francisco Giants), Johan Santana (New York Mets), Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants)

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Adam Dunn, Chicago White Sox

For the second straight month, Adam Dunn is in firm control of the AL Comeback Player of the Year race.

After hitting .159 with 11 home runs in 122 games last year, Dunn has already eclipsed his 2011 home run total in 2012. He has 16 through 51 games. He's hitting just .230, but just like he has for most of his career, Dunn has a great eye and has a .378 on-base percentage. While he leads the majors in strikeouts with 82, he also leads MLB with 42 walks.

Dunn is having the kind of season we've grown accustomed to seeing, and White Sox fans are finally getting the player their team signed two years ago.

Runners-up: Jake Peavy (Chicago White Sox), Derek Lowe (Cleveland Indians)

NL Rookie of the Year: Wade Miley, Arizona Diamondbacks

Last year's NL West champion, the Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled in 2012, sitting at 23-28 and nine games back of the Dodgers. A major reason for this is the starting pitching, which has been both injured and at times ineffective.

Daniel Hudson has made only four starts, and ace Ian Kennedy is 4-5 with a 4.26 ERA, which is a far cry from last year's numbers. Joe Saunders and Trevor Cahill have been average, but not spectacular.

Wade Miley has. He started the season in the bullpen, making three appearances, but his last seven outings have been starts—and he has dazzled. 

He's 6-1 with a 2.41 ERA. He doesn't strike out a lot of batters (he has just 32 Ks in 52.1 innings), but he keeps the ball in the ballpark (he's only allowed two homers) and has a solid 1.242 WHIP.

He has three quality starts in a row and has quietly emerged as the D-Backs ace after two months of the season.

Runners-up: Kirk Nieuwenhuis (New York Mets), Matt Carpenter (St. Louis Cardinals), Yonder Alonso (Cincinnati Reds), Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals)

AL Rookie of the Year: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers

Personally, I don't think players like Yu Darvish who are veterans from foreign leagues should be considered rookies, but they are, so he gets the nod for this award.

Since his poor debut against Seattle, Darvish has been solid. In nine starts, he's only allowed four earned runs once. He's had some trouble going deep into games, but he leads the American League in wins with seven and has a 3.25 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 61 innings.

One rookie who could challenge him as the season progresses is Mike Trout, who would be the most talked-about youngster in the league if not for Bryce Harper. In 30 games since being called up by the Angels, he's hitting .303 with five homers, eight steals and an .887 OPS. He's also provided great defense in the outfield.

Runners-up: Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), Wei-Yin Chen (Baltimore Orioles), Tommy Milone (Oakland Athletics), Drew Smyly (Detroit Tigers)

NL Manager of the Year: Don Mattingly, Los Angeles Dodgers

For the second month in a row, Don Mattingly is the best manager in the National League. Few expected the Dodgers to be much better than a .500 team this year, but they still have the majors' best record at 32-19, and they've done it for the last couple of weeks without their best hitter (Matt Kemp), who's been out with a hamstring injury.

Starting pitching has carried the Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw is Clayton Kershaw, and Chris Capuano's 7-1, 2.14 ERA line makes him the biggest surprise in baseball. Aaron Harang is the only starter with an ERA over 4.00, and he's at 4.14.

Unfortunately for the club, Ted Lilly just hit the DL, but Nathan Eovaldi pitched well in his first start filling in for Lilly, allowing just two runs in seven innings against the Brewers on Tuesday.

Bobby Abreu has been one of the best additions to any team this year; since being signed by the Dodgers after his release by the Angels, Abreu is hitting .318 with a .430 on-base percentage.

Time will tell if Los Angeles will continue to contend without Kemp and Lilly, but for now, the job Mattingly has done with the team makes him the only real candidate for this award.

Runners-up: Davey Johnson (Washington Nationals), Ozzie Guillen (Miami Marlins), Terry Collins (New York Mets)

AL Manager of the Year: Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles

If I gave you four chances to guess who would be in first place in the AL East on June 1, the one team you would not have picked is the Baltimore Orioles—yet they are on top of the division at 29-22.

Buck Showalter has done what he always seems to do: turn around a new team in his second full season as manager.

Adam Jones is having a breakout season, with 16 homers, that has already earned him a contract extension. Jason Hammel has been tremendous in his first year with the O's with a 6-2 record and a 3.06 ERA.

Meanwhile, Wei-Yin Chen has had no problems adjusting to America, posting a 4-1 record with a 3.31 ERA, and Jim Johnson has been perhaps the best closer in baseball with 16 saves. He's only allowed two runs in 21.1 innings (both on home runs).

There's really no other choice in the American League for this award.

Runners-up: Robin Ventura (Chicago White Sox), Manny Acta (Cleveland Indians), Ron Washington (Texas Rangers)

NL Cy Young: Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals

This was one of the toughest awards to pick because there have been so many great pitchers in the National League this season. But to me, Gio Gonzalez stands out from the rest for a couple of reasons.

He leads all NL pitchers in strikeouts with 79—the closest to him is Cole Hamels at 72. His 0.941 WHIP is insanely good, and only Matt Cain (0.930) and Brandon Beachy (0.939) are better. He's also 7-1 and a big reason why the Nationals lead the NL East.

He has eight quality starts out of 10 starts he has made, and he has won five in a row.

In a league of great pitchers, Gonzalez stands out.

Runners-up: Brandon Beachy (Atlanta Braves), Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers), Chris Capuano (Los Angeles Dodgers), Lance Lynn (St. Louis Cardinals)

AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

As great as Justin Verlander was in 2011, he's been just about as great this year.

He's just 5-3, but that's hardly his fault; the Tigers have scored three runs or fewer in eight of his 11 starts.

What he can control is this: 81.1 innings pitched in 11 starts for an average of over seven innings per start, along with three complete games, 82 strikeouts and a 0.885 WHIP—each of which leads the majors.

His ERA of 2.55 is just above his 2.40 ERA in 2011, and he's only walked 16 batters.

Verlander has shown once again that he's the best pitcher in baseball.

Runners-up: Jered Weaver (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), Jake Peavy (Chicago White Sox), Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox)

NL MVP: Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins

On May 1, the new-look Miami Marlins were 8-14 and six games back in the division. Giancarlo Stanton, perhaps their best hitter, was hitting just .247 with one home run.

On June first, they are 29-22, just half a game behind division-leading Washington. Stanton is hitting .304 with 13 home runs.

Don't think that's a coincidence.

Stanton caught fire in May. In the last 31 days, he had a 1.201 OPS and 12 homers. He's hit some of the longest home runs we've ever seen, and his hot streak is a major reason why the Marlins are back in the pennant race.

That's the definition of an MVP.

Runners-up: Matt Kemp (Los Angeles Dodgers), David Wright (New York Mets), Carlos Beltran (St. Louis Cardinals)

AL MVP: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

I'm really not sure I have to say anything to justify Josh Hamilton being the American League MVP.

He leads baseball with 21 homers.

He leads baseball with 57 RBI.

He has a 1.184 OPS and .764 slugging percentage.

He hit four home runs in a game on May 8.

Josh Hamilton is by far the best hitter in baseball right now, and no one's really that close.

Runners-up: Adam Jones (Baltimore Orioles), Paul Konerko (Chicago White Sox), Edwin Encarnacion (Toronto Blue Jays), David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox)