Bleacher Report's 2016 1st-Quarter MLB Season Awards
For a sport that's not known for being fast-paced, time really flies in baseball. The 2016 MLB season is already a quarter of the way in the bag.
That means we're here for an updated look at the major awards races.
We last checked in with the four big honors—Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player—in the American and National Leagues as the season headed into May. Not all of the races have changed leaders since then, but enough have to make things interesting.
Read on for our pick for each award, complete with one runner-up in every category.
AL Manager of the Year: Robin Ventura, Chicago White Sox
1 of 8
Five teams in the American League are ruling the rest, presenting at least five good choices for the AL Manager of the Year.
Robin Ventura was our original pick, though, and we're sticking with him.
Ventura's White Sox have a 24-15 record that has them comfortably ahead in the AL Central. That's quite a departure from last year's 76-86 showing that put them in fourth place.
Per Baseball Prospectus, the White Sox are playing far more efficient defense in 2016 than they did in 2015. That's contributing to much-improved pitching, and the transformation of Chicago's bats rivals that of Bruce Banner's into the Incredible Hulk.
The front office deserves its share of the credit for bringing in a nice haul of new blood over the winter. But Ventura has done well gluing the pieces together. The Adam LaRoche fiasco threatened to undo Chicago's season before it even began, but the team has come together nicely since then.
"There's definitely a culture change here that is exciting for all of us," right fielder Adam Eaton said in April, per Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. "It's a group of guys all pulling together in the right direction and the same direction. We haven't had that the last couple of years."
Baltimore Orioles skipper Buck Showalter, whose team is also defying expectations, is deserving of some props as well. But with Baseball Prospectus' deserved run average metric suggesting that he's benefiting from an overachieving pitching staff, the scales tip in Ventura's favor.
Runner-Up: Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles
NL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, Chicago Cubs
2 of 8
The 22-17 Philadelphia Phillies are the biggest surprise in the National League. But before anyone tabs Pete Mackanin as the NL Manager of the Year, it's fair to ask whether his team is actually that good.
On the other hand, there's no overstating how good Joe Maddon's Chicago Cubs are. Their 27-10 record is the best in baseball, and their plus-107 run differential is 52 runs better than the next team's.
As Dave Cameron of FanGraphs argued, the Cubs are basically the perfect baseball team. Their lineup both clobbers the ball and catches the ball. Their pitching staff looks like one of the best in the league from every which angle.
None of this would be possible without president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and Chicago's star-studded front office. But it's hard to imagine a better guy than Maddon to run the roster they put together. When he's not succeeding with creativity on the field, he's inspiring exactly the kind of attitude that a team with a 108-year championship drought needs to have.
"We don't have a fatalistic method about us whatsoever," Maddon said last week, per Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. "I don't think our jobs are impacted or affected by the history of the Cubs in any way, shape or form—other than the fact that it's a great tradition."
On the notion that he's repaired a clubhouse that went sour under his predecessor, Dusty Baker is a good runner-up to Maddon. But for now, he and all other NL managers are far behind in this race.
Runner-Up: Dusty Baker, Washington Nationals
AL Rookie of the Year: Byung Ho Park, Minnesota Twins
3 of 8
Texas Rangers phenom Nomar Mazara was the easy pick for the American League Rookie of the Year a couple of weeks ago. But he's cooled in May, and Byung Ho Park just keeps heating up.
The Minnesota Twins' slugging designated hitter was batting just .167 with two home runs through his first 10 games. During that stretch, he confessed to the Pioneer Press' Mike Berardino that he was having timing issues he needed to solve.
It seems he's accomplished that mission. All the 29-year-old has done in his last 23 games is hit .286 with a .992 OPS and seven home runs. He's looking every bit like the guy who launched baseballs at Ruthian rates in the Korea Baseball Organization over the last four years.
There should be more where this came from. Park's swing is perfectly designed for power, and he's been one of the AL's best at getting the ball airborne and, not surprisingly, hitting the ball hard. As long as he keeps it up, he'll keep making it rain dingers.
For now, Park isn't just the best rookie hitter in the American League. He's one of the AL's best hitters, period. When he awoke Tuesday morning, he trailed only 13 other qualifiers in adjusted OPS.
In fairness, Mazara isn't yet a mere speck in Park's rearview mirror. The 21-year-old is hitting a solid .307 with an .805 OPS, and he has the goods to push both numbers a lot higher.
Runner-Up: Nomar Mazara, Texas Rangers
.png?w=256)
NL Rookie of the Year: Aledmys Diaz, St. Louis Cardinals
4 of 8
The National League Rookie of the Year race is more of a crowded affair than the one going on in the American League, with the likes of Trevor Story, Corey Seager and Kenta Maeda all looming large.
But not quite as large as Aledmys Diaz.
The young St. Louis Cardinals shortstop has cooled in May, but his overall numbers still look like the kind you'd see on an early-2000s leaderboard. In 36 games, he's hitting .372 with a 1.045 OPS. And though it's slightly misleading, Diaz's .645 slugging percentage tops the likes of Yoenis Cespedes, Nolan Arenado and Bryce Harper for the National League lead.
This might seem too good to be true for a guy who was basically a non-prospect, but it actually makes sense. Diaz started raking in the middle of last season and has enjoyed the best of two important hitting worlds in 2016: He's one of the NL's best contact hitters and one of the NL's best hard-contact producers.
The nit to pick is with Diaz's defense. It's been mainly defined by boots and has been below average in general.
But oh well. Diaz is up there with Harper and Daniel Murphy among the best hitters in the National League, which is a pretty good way to make up for subpar glove work.
Among the guys chasing Diaz, keep an eye on Seager. The Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop began the year slowly but has been red-hot in May. It seems the former No. 1 prospect has found his stride.
Runner-Up: Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Cy Young: Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox
5 of 8
Chris Sale has an 8-0 record in eight starts, so obviously he's the man to beat for the American League Cy Young Award!
That would have been sound logic before the rise of baseball geekdom, anyway. But things are different now. We demand more than just good records from starting pitchers. Even if their records are perfect.
It's a good thing, then, that Sale has more to offer. The Chicago White Sox ace is second in the AL with 59.1 innings, and his 1.67 ERA trails only fellow Chicago southpaw Jose Quintana for the AL lead. And between the two of them, Sale's 53-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio is slightly better than Quintana's 47-to-11 mark.
Of course, this isn't Sale at his best in the strikeout department. That's by design.
"I'm looking for Chris Sale to be a bit more economical with his pitches," White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said in the offseason, per Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Let's get 'em out quicker. Let's get strikeouts when we need them. Let's not try to strike everybody out with the first pitch, second pitch and third pitch."
Sale is indeed pitching to contact more in 2016. And though Tony Blengino of FanGraphs isn't convinced the 27-year-old's contact management is the best it's ever been, it's still good. He's among the AL's 10 best when it comes to inducing soft contact and limiting hard contact.
Quintana has the best shot of anyone to jump ahead of Sale in the AL Cy Young race. But for now, he trails with the rest of 'em.
Runner-Up: Jose Quintana, Chicago White Sox
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
6 of 8
Clayton Kershaw, habitual envelope-pusher, is at it again.
The Los Angeles Dodgers ace already has three NL Cy Young Awards and arguably should have added a fourth after topping 300 strikeouts last season. But based on what he's doing so far in 2016, a fourth Cy Young could be his before too long.
Through eight starts, the 28-year-old leads all pitchers with 70 innings and has posted a 1.67 ERA that manages to undersell his pitching. He's struck out 88 and walked only four. And though he hasn't specialized in inducing soft or diminishing hard contact, Baseball Savant places him near the top of the average exit-velocity leaderboard.
For the record, Jake Arrieta and his 1.29 ERA can't be ignored. But in regard to the details, the Chicago Cubs ace doesn't match up against Kershaw. According to Baseball Prospectus' deserved run average metric, nobody does.
"Watching him doing that, man, I don't know what to think," Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen said of Kershaw's 13-strikeout, three-hit shutout of the New York Mets last week, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. "I wasn't there when Sandy Koufax was there, but to see him break all these records...he's the best, man, the best on the planet."
No argument here. Kershaw's extraordinary pitching isn't just a 2016 thing, either. Go back to May 26, 2015, and he now has a 1.47 ERA and a 316-to-30 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last 33 starts.
Arrieta is probably the only other guy who even has a hope of keeping pace with Kershaw. But at the rate Kershaw's going, it won't be easy.
Runner-Up: Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs
AL MVP: Manny Machado, 3B, Baltimore Orioles
7 of 8
The American League MVP race is a "take your pick" affair. Mike Trout is playing like Mike Trout. Jose Altuve has been the AL's best player. David Ortiz is the AL's best hitter. There's an argument to be made for Chris Sale too.
But from this perch, nobody fits the MVP bill like Manny Machado.
The young Baltimore Orioles phenom is building on a breakout 2015 with an even better 2016, hitting .327 with a 1.024 OPS and 11 dingers in 37 games. These numbers place Machado among the AL's five best hitters.
And if it's seemed like he's always in the middle of Orioles rallies, that's because he has been. Machado entered Tuesday with a 1.135 OPS with men on base, which ranked third in the AL. He's also been one of the AL's best in late and close situations, entering Tuesday with a 1.277 OPS in those.
"He's been a lot more focused this year in a very, very good way," shortstop J.J. Hardy said in April, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. "Not that it was bad before, but he's very focused, and it seems like he's very motivated. He's been impressive."
Speaking of Hardy, Machado is also helping the O's by filling in for him on defense. After starting the year playing good defense at the hot corner, the 23-year-old is now holding it down at shortstop.
As the AL's best all-around player, Altuve is the best choice after Machado. But without Machado's excellent work, we're probably not talking about the "surprising" 23-14 Orioles.
Runner-Up: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
NL MVP: Clayton Kershaw, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
8 of 8
The National League MVP race is even more jumbled than the American League MVP race. But if the idea is to pick the one player who's been equal parts great and valuable, there's only one thing to do: talk some more about Clayton Kershaw.
For the gist of how great his pitching has been, refer back to slide No. 7. For the gist of what it's meant to the Los Angeles Dodgers, let us consult wins above replacement. According to both Baseball-Reference.com WAR and FanGraphs WAR, Kershaw has indeed been the NL's most valuable player.
That's arguably just as true from a practical perspective as it is from a statistical perspective. In games started by Kershaw, the Dodgers are 8-1. In games started by everyone else, they're 13-18. Without him, they would likely be further behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.
Outside Kershaw, the alternative choice for the NL MVP isn't entirely clear.
Bryce Harper was an easy pick a couple of weeks ago but not as much anymore. Though he still owns an absurd .444 on-base percentage and 11 home runs, he hasn't responded well to the Barry Bonds treatment in May. He's taken his walks, but he hasn't tapped into his immense power nearly as often as Bonds used to when teams were largely trying to avoid him.
That will probably change. But until it does, Kershaw is tracking well for his second NL MVP.
Runner-Up: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.
.png?w=480)
