Which Players Deserve the 2012 BBWAA Individual Awards

Baseball is now in the fourth and final quarter of the season. With less than forty games to play, many of the individual player awards are going to come down to the wire.

When the dust settles, which players will walk away with the hardware for their great season, which players will get snubbed and which players will be the surprise candidates that came out of nowhere?

*All stats are current as of August 25, 2012*

American League Rookie of the Year

Winner: Mike Trout, OF, Angels - 99 Runs, 24 Home Runs, 72 RBI, 42 SB, .345 AVG, 8.6 WAR

Second: Yoenis Cespedes, OF, Athletics - 44 Runs, 16 HR, 62 RBI, 12 SB, .300 AVG, 1.6 WAR

Third: Scott Diamond, SP, Twins - 10-5 Record, 3.04 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 71 SO, 130.1 IP, 2.8 WAR

The American League ROY is the only player award that is already a foregone conclusion. I wouldn't be surprised if the award was already in a trophy case in Trout's house, right next to his futon.

The fact that Trout has only been able to legally purchase beer since August 7th makes his stat line that much more impressive.

Yoenis Cespedes has had a very respectable season thus far, but he is being completely overshadowed by the 25th pick in the 2009 amateur draft. Diamond may be having a better year statistically than Cespedes, but because the Athletics have been in the playoff picture this year, it will garner him more votes than the Twins' starter.

National League Rookie of the Year

Winner: Wade Miley, SP, Diamondbacks - 14-8 Record, 2.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 109 SO, 151.0 IP, 3.7 WAR

Second: Todd Frazier, 1B/3B/OF, Reds - 44 Runs, 18 HR, 55 RBI, 3 SB, .294 AVG, 2.2 WAR

Third: Bryce Harper, OF, Nationals - 67 Runs, 12 HR, 37 RBI, 13 SB, .247 AVG, 2.1 WAR

The Diamondbacks' All-Star wiggled his way into the rotation when Josh Collmenter struggled coming out of the gate. The crafty lefty is currently sporting the eighth best ERA in all of baseball for qualified starters. Because he doesn't have a high strikeout rate, Miley isn't as flashy of a pitcher or rookie as other big names are. What he lacks in overpowering stuff, he makes up for in ability.  Wade has had a very similar year to 2011 AL ROY Jeremy Hellickson.

I believe that Todd Frazier has done enough for the Reds in Joey Votto's absense to finally garner the media attention needed to eclipse media darling Bryce Harper. Bryce has failed to live up to the hype thus far. His ability to be a productive player at the age of 19 is more impressive than his stat line.

Frazier has a better average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, more home runs, and more RBI than Harper. Harper is cooling off at the wrong time, while Frazier is playing his best baseball. Frazier is hitting .316 since the break, while Harper is only hitting .188.

There is a chance that Harper finishes ahead of Frazier because of the hype that still surrounds him, but neither player has been better than Wade Miley this year.

American League Cy Young

Winner: David Price, SP, Rays - 16-4 Record, 2.28 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 167 SO, 170 IP, 5.3 WAR

Second: Cris Sale, SP, White Sox - 15-4 Record, 2.65 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 150 SO, 153.0 IP, 5.4 WAR

Third: Jered Weaver, SP, Angels - 16-3 Record, 2.74 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 113 SO, 148.0 IP, 3.2 WAR

David Price continues to develop into one of the game's greatest pitchers. No one in baseball has out-pitched David Price since the All-Star break, except maybe King Felix. In his eight starts since the break, Price is 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and 9.57 K/9.

The Rays—once 10 games behind the Yankees in the AL East—are now only three games out of first place. The Vanderbilt product leads the majors in ERA, is tied for the most wins,  has the fifth best WHIP in the AL, and is currently sixth in strikeouts in the AL.

If the Rays are able to win the AL East, and if Price continues his strong performance, than he should be a lock for the AL Cy Young award. If the Rays fall short of making the playoffs and the White Sox hold on to their division, then Chris Sale very well could sneak past Price and take home the award.

Despite another great year for Weaver, it appears that he will end up being a bridesmaid for the award yet again, never the bride. He can hope to get more votes than Verlander this season, but that's not even guaranteed. 

Verlander is my dark horse candidate to win the award, despite having a considerably worse win/loss record. Verlander has the third highest WAR in baseball (5.9), fourth highest strikeout total, fourth best WHIP, third best ERA, and has pitched two more complete games than anyone else this year with six.

Having a great win/loss record isn't necessary to win the Cy Young award. In the 2010 season, where Felix Hernandez won the Cy Young with a mediocre 13-12 record. He also had  a 2.27 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, finishing ahead of CC Sabathia who went 21-7 and David Price who went 19-6.

National League Cy Young

Winner: Johnny Cueto, SP, Reds - 16-6 Record, 2.47 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 139 SO, 174.2 IP, 5.6 WAR

Second: R.A. Dickey, SP, Mets - 15-4 Record, 2.82 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 181 SO, 175.1 IP, 4.0 WAR

Third: Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers - 11-7 Record, 2.87 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 175 SO, 178.2 IP, 3.7 WAR

Johnny Cueto looks like he is in a great position to win his first Cy Young, not by being the hands down favorite, but by being on everyone's ballot. He should make his way onto almost every ballot in one way or the other as the staff ace of the second best team in baseball. He is leading the NL in ERA and is tied for the lead in wins.

There are other pitchers who may have had better seasons, but because of how the voting system works, it looks like some very great pitchers will be stealing votes from their teammates. Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner have almost identical stats, and will split each other's votes. Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, and Stephen Strasburg will all take votes from each other as well. This is why I think the door is open for the likes of Johnny Cueto.

While Cueto may get his fair share of first place votes, he probably isn't the most deserving. I believe that R.A. Dickey is the most deserving of the award this season, but he will probably get snubbed because he is a gimmick pitch pitcher.

Dickey's third start of the season was against the Braves on a wet and rainy April afternoon (a game I happened to have attended). Because of the conditions, Dickey couldn't get his knuckleball to, well knuckle. Without the ability to command his signature pitch the Braves crushed him. He gave up eight earned runs and allowed 10 base runners in only 4.1 innings. Outside of that miserable start in the rain, Dickey has a 2.47 ERA and 0.97 WHIP.

There are so many good pitchers in the NL that third place could go to a number of people. Any of the Nats' workhorses, the Giants' big two, Kyle Lohse, Cole Hamels or even Aroldis Chapman, the flame throwing closer for the Reds, could sneak into third. Despite Kershaw's lower win total, he has had a solid season and shouldn't be splitting any votes with his teammates.

American League MVP

Winner: Mike Trout, OF, Angels - 99 Runs, 24 Home Runs, 72 RBI, 41 SB, .345 AVG, 8.6 WAR

Second: Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Tigers - 82 Runs, 34 Home Runs, 105 RBI, 4 SB, .326 AVG, 5.5 WAR

Third: Josh Hamilton, OF, Rangers - 80 Runs, 34 Home Runs, 107 RBI, 7 SB, .287 AVG, 3.3 WAR

Before Trout's call-up, the Angels were 6-14 in their first 20 games. Since the wonder-kid joined the roster, they are 54-46. There isn't a more valuable player in the entire game of baseball than Mike Trout. He is having that good of a year. Miguel Cabrera's numbers are great, but not as good as Trout's.

Cabrera has been able to manufacture that impressive stat line over 123 games, 21 more games than Mike Trout. The way Trout's stats project out this season, if he played the same number of games as Cabrera, he would have 119 Runs, 29 Home Runs, 86 RBI, 49 SB, with a .345 AVG.

Hamilton was the run away favorite to win the MVP back in May, but he has had a considerable drop off since then. Hamilton's numbers are still impressive, but it seems to be between Cabrera and Trout from here on out.

Mike Trout currently leads all qualified players in the majors in slugging (.603), OPS (1.010), runs (99), stolen bases (41), WAR (8.6), and offensive win percentage (.812).

Trout also leads the AL in batting average (.345) and runs created (109).

The Angels have a true superstar on their team that will be extremely cheap and productive for years to come.

National League MVP

Winner: Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates - 87 Runs, 24 Home Runs, 76 RBI, 15 SB, .349 AVG, 6.0 WAR

Second: Ryan Braun, OF, Brewers - 81 Runs, 34  Home Runs, 85 RBI, 20 SB, .308 AVG, 5.3 WAR

Third: Buster Posey, C, Giants - 56 Runs, 19 Home Runs, 79 RBI, 1 SB, .327 AVG, 4.8 WAR

What benefited Ryan Braun in winning his 2011 NL MVP award may be his undoing in 2012. Matt Kemp had better numbers in 2011, but Braun walked away with the BBWAA NL MVP award. The fact that Braun's Brewers made the playoffs is what probably gave him the edge over Kemp in the voting, as the Dodgers finished third in their division.

This season, it is Braun who is having a better statistical year, but it is McCutchen's Pirates that look to be playoff bound. If McCutchen and the Pirates do return to the playoffs for the first time in since 1992, McCutchen will take home the MVP award.

Posey and the Giants have also had a great season, but McCutchen's numbers are better across the board.