Bleacher Report's Full 2015 Midseason MLB Awards
In a season in which more teams than ever seem to be playing .500 baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals have played better than .650.
If we were giving out first-half awards based on team success, the Cardinals would dominate. But we're not, and they don't.
Instead, almost all the Bleacher Report midseason awards go to players on other teams. We decided between a National and a Diamondback for MVP, then chose between a National and a Dodger for Cy Young and a Cub and a Dodger for Rookie of the Year.
And that's just the National League. We cover the American League, too. Along with MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year, we'll also give our picks for Manager of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year. Winners were based on first-half performances only.
Now, after one last look at the Cardinals celebrating yet another win, it's on to the awards.
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Prince Fielder, Texas Rangers
1 of 10
When Fielder was named to the American League All-Star team and Alex Rodriguez wasn't, the popular narrative was that A-Rod had been snubbed.
It wasn't really accurate, but go with it, and then count this pick as another snub. A-Rod has made a remarkable comeback from the self-inflicted wound of a yearlong suspension, but he gets trumped by Prince's comeback from a year destroyed by a herniated disk in his neck.
Fielder had been one of the most dependable players in the majors before the injury—his streak of 547 consecutive games played was the longest in the majors in seven years when it ended—and he's come back from surgery to be just as dependable this season. He's missed only two games, and he's in contention with good friend and former teammate Miguel Cabrera for the AL batting title.
He has more than just a nice batting average, though. Fielder's OPS+ of 156 is his highest since 2011, and it ranks fourth in the American League behind Cabrera, Mike Trout and Nelson Cruz, per Baseball Reference.
Fielder hasn't been able to drag the Rangers to the top of the standings, but they no longer have any reason to question the trade that brought him to Texas in exchange for Ian Kinsler.
NL Comeback Player of the Year: Matt Harvey, New York Mets
2 of 10
The first year back from Tommy John surgery is supposed to be a little uneven, and perhaps Harvey would say it has gone that way for him, considering he had a 7.20 ERA for a stretch of four starts between May 23 and June 10.
But more than most, Harvey has been able to pick up where he left off pre-surgery, with dominating stuff, impeccable command and a demeanor that reminds you of other great pitchers. He's had many games where he was outstanding and a few where he was very good. There were just two outliers in which he was hit hard and gave up seven runs.
Harvey had the benefit of a long recovery time, because he had his surgery in October 2013 and didn't pitch in another game until spring training this year. Perhaps that's why his control and velocity both seemed so good right from the start, or perhaps Harvey is as remarkable as he has seemed in his two-plus major league seasons.
Either way, the comeback has been a success so far. And in a year that hasn't seen many comeback award candidates in the National League, he gets the easy nod.
AL Rookie of the Year: Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
3 of 10
Some of my colleagues have picked Correa and called it a projection for what he's going to do in the second half.
I'm picking him on what he's already done in just over a month in the big leagues. I'm picking him because too many scouts are already calling him the American League's best shortstop.
Heck, if Correa had been in the major leagues since the season began, he'd be a legitimate candidate for Most Valuable Player and a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year. He might still become an MVP candidate if he can carry the Astros through the rest of the season and keep them in the pennant race.
The kid is that good. And he really is a kid, one who won't turn 21 until Sept. 22.
When Correa had only been in the big leagues for a week, my editors at Bleacher Report suggested I write that he could become the Astros' Derek Jeter. I wrote that calling him that would put undue pressure on him, that it was too much, too soon.
I'm starting to think the editors had it right.
Correa has a long way to go to match Jeter's career, but he could match his first big honor by winning Rookie of the Year. Jeter did it the year he turned 22. Correa could do it now, one year earlier.
.jpg?w=256 "MLB Farm System Rankings")
NL Rookie of the Year: Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
4 of 10
The Cubs cost Bryant an earlier chance at free agency when they had him begin the season in the minor leagues. Perhaps they also cost themselves a win or two this year.
They didn't cost Bryant a chance to be the Rookie of the Year, though.
In this era of Super 2 deadlines, plenty of guys win after debuting a lot later than Bryant did. Jacob deGrom did it last year. Carlos Correa may well do it this year.
What Bryant has done is come close to living up to the unrealistic expectations he set for himself with his amazing spring training. He didn't hit a home run in his first 20 major league games, but he has homered 12 times in just 55 contests since (a 35-homer pace for a full season). His .859 OPS is similar to those of other candidates like Joc Pederson of the Dodgers (.853) and Maikel Franco of the Phillies (.860).
Bryant's 50 RBI in 75 games won't impress the sabermetric crowd, but they look good to the old-time baseball judges.
He may not be the automatic pick he was this spring, but Bryant is still a solid choice.
AL Manager of the Year: A.J. Hinch, Houston Astros
5 of 10
Hinch arrived in Houston at the right time, when the Astros' rebuilding project had reached the point where winning wasn't totally out of reach. But the Astros hired Hinch at the right time, too, when he had lived through an unfair assignment in Arizona and supplemented that experience with time in the San Diego front office.
With their heavy emphasis on analytics, the Astros needed a manager who could deal with the numbers but also translate them into baseball terms in the clubhouse. It's hard to imagine a better candidate to do that than Hinch, with his Stanford education, credibility gained by playing in the big leagues and knowledge added in his time as an executive.
The early reviews have been positive, just as the early results have been. It may well be that the rebuilding project wasn't yet at the point where the Astros could sustain success over a full season.
But even if they fall off, the Astros have proven something with their early play. They've also found the right manager.
The same can be said for the Tampa Bay Rays, where Kevin Cash had the tough job of following Joe Maddon. Cash's Rays have stayed in the AL East race, and he'd be a fine choice for Manager of the Year.
For now, we'll stick with A.J. Hinch. And so will the Astros.
NL Manager of the Year: Mike Matheny, St. Louis Cardinals
6 of 10
Matheny could easily get overlooked because the Cardinals are so good every year that everybody figures they're supposed to win. Sure enough, in his first three seasons in charge, Matheny hasn't finished higher than fourth in Manager of the Year voting, despite a record that was 64 games over .500 when this season began.
Matheny may not win it this year, either, with two other strong candidates in his own division. Clint Hurdle is doing another marvelous job with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Joe Maddon has proven that what he did in low-budget Tampa Bay really can translate to bigger-budget Chicago.
But at some point, the constant success deserves recognition, particularly in a season in which the Cardinals lost ace Adam Wainwright to a torn Achilles tendon after just four starts.
Wainwright, Matt Adams, Jon Jay and Matt Holliday all started on Opening Day. All four are now on the disabled list, as is Jaime Garcia, who had a 1.69 ERA in seven starts before getting hurt again.
And the Cardinals keep winning, a tribute to an organization that has also (for now) seemed to survive a hacking scandal.
The organization gets regular credit. Perhaps it's time that the manager does, as well.
AL Cy Young: Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros
7 of 10
In a league where the starting pitchers include Felix Hernandez, David Price, Chris Sale and Chris Archer, Keuchel would be a surprise winner. But he would not be a fluke.
His numbers improved considerably last year, and they've been off the charts this season. He has command, concentration, movement and a pitch that you either miss or pound into the ground. He gets strikeouts and ground balls, and his secondary numbers back up a 2.14 ERA that has been the AL's best.
What's interesting for a ground-ball pitcher is that Keuchel doesn't give up many hits. Opponents have hit just .206 against him. That's about the same as Sale and Sonny Gray, whose fastballs can light up radar guns in a way that Keuchel's never will.
His fastball has never averaged 90 mph, but he keeps proving that it doesn't matter.
He keeps winning, too, but his 11-3 record isn't the reason he tops this list (not the biggest reason, anyway). There are other candidates, but Sale and Archer each had games where they gave up nine runs, and Price had one where he gave up eight. The most Keuchel has allowed is five.
Gray comes closest, but no one matches what Keuchel has done so far in 2015.
NL Cy Young: Zack Greinke, Los Angeles Dodgers
8 of 10
The day before Max Scherzer threw his one-hitter in Milwaukee, Greinke went eight innings in San Diego and allowed two runs.
The next time out, Scherzer threw a no-hitter. Those might have been the best two back-to-back starts in baseball history, and at that point, there was no way anyone but Scherzer was going to be the midseason Cy Young choice.
He's still not a bad choice. But Greinke is better.
Scherzer had those two starts in which he allowed a total of one hit and seven other starts where he allowed one run or none. Greinke has 14 starts in which he has given up one run or none—and that's out of 18 starts he's made this season.
And when we say one run or none, we mostly mean none. Since that Scherzer one-hitter on June 14, Greinke has started five times and pitched 35.2 innings. In all those games and all those innings, no one has scored a run against him. Not one.
His ERA has gone from 1.95, which was great, to 1.39, which is unheard of.
How unheard of? Well, no full-time starting pitcher has had a first-half ERA that low since 1968, the year before they lowered the mound.
If you want to pick Scherzer for the Cy Young based on those two incredible starts and his overall excellence, go right ahead. But for the season so far, Greinke has been better.
AL Most Valuable Player: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
9 of 10
It's hard not to pick Miguel Cabrera, who might still be the best hitter on the planet, even with the calf injury that will keep him out until August. It's hard not to pick Josh Donaldson, who led the planet in All-Star votes despite not playing a single game this year in Kansas City.
But it's easy to pick Trout, who has lifted the Angels out of the chaos of another manager-versus-general-manager spat and brought them within a half-game of first place in the AL West.
There's no need to rehash all the new stats vs. old stats, Trout vs. Cabrera debates of years past. It's true that the new stats still favor Trout, who leads all AL players in WAR (both versions) and has the best OPS+ of his already brilliant career.
But Trout is more than deserving by more traditional measures, too. He's second in home runs and first in slugging percentage, and with his team surging, he's finishing the first half as strong as anyone (.368 average, 1.379 OPS over the last two weeks).
Besides, whether it's their fault or not, Cabrera's Tigers and Donaldson's Blue Jays have struggled to play more than a game or two over .500. Trout's Angels are winning, and he's leading the way.
NL Most Valuable Player: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
10 of 10
OK, now that we've settled the Trout vs. Cabrera debate, it's time to move on to the Trout vs. Harper debate.
Fortunately, since they play in different leagues, we can pick both. And we will, even though you can make a strong case for Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt.
Goldschmidt has been outstanding, but Harper's 1.181 OPS is the best in the majors—and not just for this year. The only player this century who has finished a season with a better OPS is Barry Bonds (who did it four times). The only player in major league history who has done it before turning 23 is Ted Williams.
Harper doesn't turn 23 until the middle of October. He's younger than all the leading candidates for NL Rookie of the Year (Joc Pederson, Kris Bryant, etc.). And he's already played in more than 400 major league games. He's already hit 80 major league home runs.
He's doing the things that have been expected of him since the day he signed, or since the day in 2009 when a 16-year-old Harper landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated as "The Chosen One."
He made the cover again this spring around the time he reacted to the signing of Max Scherzer by asking, "Where's my ring?"
The Nationals as a team haven't yet dominated baseball, in part because they've had so many players hurt. They're still in position to dominate in the second half, largely because of what Harper did in the first half.
He already has career highs in home runs and RBI. He has that crazy OPS and an insane OPS+ of 223—that scale has 100 as an average player.
Bryce Harper was never average, but now he's the star everyone expected him to be. And he's still just 22.
.jpg?w=480 "MLB Farm System Rankings")
.jpg?w=600 "Offseason Moves for Every Team 👉")
.png?w=600 "New NBA Mock Draft 📝")
.png?w=600 "Surprising Landing Spots for Top Potential 2026 NBA Free Agents")