MLB Awards Ballot for AL, NL MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year
The second half of the 2025 MLB season is in full swing. And while the fast-approaching trade deadline is the focal point across the baseball world right now, the AL and NL award races will also start to become more of a talking point.
The AL MVP race between Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh has already sparked some good debate, with the former enjoying another all-time offensive season while the latter is on his way to what could be the greatest offensive season ever by a catcher.
Ahead is my hypothetical ballot for AL and NL MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year if the season abruptly ended today.
These are not necessarily meant to be predictions for what will happen, but instead to serve a snapshot of where things stand.
Just like BBWAA balloting, my MVP ballot has 10 spots, Cy Young ballot has five spots and Rookie of the Year ballot has three spots.
Let the debate begin.
AL MVP
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AL MVP Ballot
1. OF Aaron Judge, NYY
2. C Cal Raleigh, SEA
3. SP Tarik Skubal, DET
4. 3B José Ramírez, CLE
5. C Alejandro Kirk, TOR
6. SS Bobby Witt Jr., KC
7. OF Byron Buxton, MIN
8. OF Riley Greene, DET
9. SS Jeremy Peña, HOU
10. OF Ceddanne Rafaela, BOS
With a 221 OPS+ on the year, Aaron Judge is in the midst of what could end up being a top-25 offensive season in baseball history.
He leads the AL in batting average (.345), on-base percentage (.453), slugging percentage (.717), hits (129), RBI (84), runs scored (90), total bases (268), walks (73) and WAR (6.9), and his 37 home runs put him on track for his fourth 50-homer season.
With that being said, this race is closer than all of those gaudy statistics might suggest. Cal Raleigh has a 184 OPS+ with 39 home runs and 84 RBI, and the defending AL Platinum Glove winner has done it while leading all AL catchers with 672.1 innings behind the plate.
This is going to be a two-horse race, so the rest of the ballot is sort of a moot point, but Tarik Skubal is the rare pitcher worthy of MVP consideration as the slam dunk best player on arguably the AL's best team.
NL MVP
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NL MVP Ballot
1. DH/P Shohei Ohtani, LAD
2. OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, CHC
3. OF Kyle Tucker, CHC
4. C Will Smith, LAD
5. OF Juan Soto, NYM
6. 3B Eugenio Suarez, ARI
7. SS Elly De La Cruz, CIN
8. DH Kyle Schwarber, PHI
9. OF James Wood, WAS
10. OF Fernando Tatis Jr., SD
Voter fatigue might be the only thing that keeps Shohei Ohtani from winning his fourth MVP award in the last five years, as some BBWAA members might start looking for a reason to give the award to someone else. He leads the NL in OPS+ (176), home runs (37), runs scored (97) and total bases (245), and he also has a 1.50 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 12 innings as he starts to build his arm back up on the mound.
If there is a "someone else" this year, Pete Crow-Armstrong is the guy.
A true five-tool talent enjoying a breakout season, PCA has again provided elite defense (16 DRS) and game-changing speed (28 SB) like he did a year ago as a rookie. But he has also taken his offensive game to a new level, posting a 144 OPS+ with 27 home runs en route to a NL-leading 5.9 WAR.
Juan Soto and Elly De La Cruz are two guys capable of getting red-hot and pushing their way up the ballot while leading playoff contenders, and Soto's teammate, Pete Alonso, was by far the toughest omission from this ballot.
AL Cy Young
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AL Cy Young Ballot
1. Tarik Skubal, DET
2. Garrett Crochet, BOS
3. Jacob deGrom, TEX
4. Hunter Brown, HOU
5. Max Fried, NYY
Left-hander Tarik Skubal won AL Cy Young honors unanimously last season, and so far this year, he has a better ERA (2.39 vs. 2.19) and WHIP (0.92 vs. 0.82) while carrying an absurd 164-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 127.2 innings of work.
While Skubal is the AL ERA leader, the other two pitching Triple Crown categories belong to Garrett Crochet, who leads the league in wins (11), strikeouts (165) and innings pitched (135.1).
A healthy Jacob deGrom has proved he still has plenty left in the tank, posting a 2.28 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 122 strikeouts in 118.1 innings, and he is limiting opposing hitters to a .191 batting average.
The final two spots were extremely difficult to narrow down, with Hunter Brown and Max Fried edging out the likes of Joe Ryan (MIN), Kris Bubic (KC), Framber Valdez (HOU), Bryan Woo (SEA) and Carlos Rodón (NYY). Those seven guys will be shuffled on a regular basis in the coming weeks.
NL Cy Young
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NL Cy Young Ballot
1. Paul Skenes, PIT
2. Zack Wheeler, PHI
3. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, LAD
4. Matthew Boyd, CHC
5. Nick Pivetta, SD
If he had been on the Opening Day roster a year ago, there's a good chance Paul Skenes would already have his first NL Cy Young Award, but it's starting to look like he won't have to wait long to add the trophy to his mantle.
The 23-year-old has a 1.91 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 137 strikeouts in 127 innings, and he has allowed more than two earned just three times in 21 starts, compared to eight outings where he did not allow a single earned run.
It's been another terrific season for Zack Wheeler, who is a solid pick for the title of best active pitcher to never win a Cy Young Award, after Chris Sale took home the prize last year. He has a 2.39 ERA and leads the NL in strikeouts (164) and WHIP (0.88).
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Matthew Boyd and Nick Pivetta have all provided ace-caliber production for a contender's rotation, and they claim the final three spots on the ballot ahead of Logan Webb (SF), Cristopher Sanchez (PHI), Freddy Peralta (MIL), Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL) and Robbie Ray (SF). Expect that group to be extremely fluid in the coming weeks.
AL Rookie of the Year
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AL Rookie of the Year Ballot
1. 1B Nick Kurtz, ATH
2. SS Jacob Wilson, ATH
3. C Carlos Narváez, BOS
Only eight times in MLB history have teammates finished 1-2 in Rookie of the Year balloting, with Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider for the 2022 Atlanta Braves the most recent example.
It looked like Jacob Wilson might be running away with AL Rookie of the Year honors when he was hitting .372 in early June, but he is hitting .156/.207/.221 with three extra-base hits in 82 plate appearances over his last 20 games.
That has opened the door for Nick Kurtz to surge into the front-runner position.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 draft made his MLB debut on April 23, and it was not until his 17th game that he finally hit his first big league home run. Since that milestone on May 13, he is batting .284/.365/.699 with 14 doubles, 19 home runs and 45 RBI. His 19 home runs are tied for the sixth-highest total in baseball during that span.
Catcher Carlos Narváez has been the most surprising rookie standout of the 2025 season, coming over in an offseason deal with the rival Yankees and playing his way into the starting catcher job while Connor Wong was sidelined. The 26-year-old has a 115 OPS+ with 29 extra-base hits and 3.2 WAR in 78 games, and he leads the majors with 23 base runners caught stealing.
NL Rookie of the Year
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NL Rookie of the Year Ballot
1. C Drake Baldwin, ATL
2. SP Chad Patrick, MIL
3. OF Isaac Collins, MIL
It's only a matter of time before Jacob Misiorowski starts climbing the NL rookie pecking order, but with just six starts and 29.1 innings under his belt, he is not even the top rookie on the Milwaukee Brewers roster right now based on 2025 production to date.
Chad Patrick (3.52 ERA, 95 K, 94.2 IP) has been a staple in the starting rotation all season, while outfielder Isaac Collins has played his way into an everyday role with Garrett Mitchell on the sidelines once again, posting a 117 OPS+ with 15 extra-base hits, 11 steals and 2.0 WAR in 82 games.
However, that impressive contingent of rookie Brewers talent is still looking up at Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin for top NL rookie honors.
A spring injury to Sean Murphy opened the door for Baldwin to find his way onto the Opening Day roster, and he has fully seized the opportunity, hitting .284/.353/.479 for a 131 OPS+ with 11 home runs, 41 RBI and 2.2 WAR in 71 games. For now, he's the player every other NL rookie is chasing.
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