MLB Midseason Awards: Who Takes the Cake?

As we near teams hitting their 80th game, and All Star talk starts heating up, I thought I would give out some midseason awards.

I started writing here after I made some predictions before the season, but I will discuss some of the things I thought heading into April, and how drastically wrong and maybe right I was in some cases. So here goes.

AL ROY

Coming into this year, I thought that Clay Buchholz would anchor the bottom of the Red Sox rotation as a guy who will have little pressure on him because of the starpower around him. A 5.53 ERA and injuries have hampered his year, so who else is out there?

Joba Chamberlain must come into play, as he has eased himself into being an above-average starter after being a huge eighth-inning stopper for the Yanks.

Evan Longoria has come into the Rays' lineup after they woke up out of their stupor and realized he was way better than anything they had at third base. He has hit 12 HRs so far, on pace for 25+ in his first full season, and has played some good defense as well.

They guy that gets it for me, though, is Jacoby Ellsbury. Last year he had a great September, hitting .353 with nine steals in 33 games. He compounded that by hitting .438 in the World Series and .360 overall in the postseason.

All he has done this year is make Coco Crisp expendable and lead the league with 34 steals, on pace to break the Sox all-time record and the rookie record of 66 by Kenny Lofton.

Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox

NL ROY

When the year started, Johnny Cueto looked like he was going to be the next rookie-pitching god and I jumped on the bandwagon, running to the store and buying my Johnny Cueto for President t-shirt and all the other regalia. (Just kidding.)

Since then, he has cooled off considerably, which I could've realized was going to happen if I had any sense off how rookie pitching and major-league hitting tends to be like. I'm better now, don't worry.

I also fell in love with the magnificent outfielders breaking onto the big stage, including guys like Justin Upton, Jay Bruce, Cameron Maybin, and Colby Rasmus. The last two haven't made the leap yet, and the first two started off strong but have come back down to earth since then.

That being said, a couple candidates have risen above the rest. Geovany Soto has stabilized the Cubs' catcher spot after they played musical chairs with the position for years. He is the leading vote getter for the All-Star nod (not that he would be getting it if he played in any city other than Boston or New York) and has hit 12 HRs and driven in 43 runs so far.

Another Cub rookie likely to be headed for a starting gig in the All-Star game is Kosuke Fukudome. He has hovered around .300 all year, and if Soriano doesn't come back crying for the leadoff spot, Fukudome could stabilize the top of that potent Cubs lineup for the next few years or so. My pick is Soto.

Geovany Soto, Cubs

AL Cy Young

Continuing my bandwagon hopping, I thought the Tigers were going to steamroll the AL and possibly set some major hitting-records. Wrong. You'll hear more about this later on.

Considering this, I picked Justin Verlander as a lock to win the award this year. Right now, he needs to go 14-1 to get to an 18-10 record and even put himself in consideration for the award. Let's just say it's not going to happen.

So who else?

Another Justin, Justin Duchscherer of the A's has gone 8-4 with a 1.99 ERA since he has been moved into the rotation, but he needs to make a few more starts before he can be seriously considered.

Cliff Lee has been strong, going 10-1 with a 2.45 ERA, and Roy Halladay is headed once again to lap everyone in innings pitched and has five complete games so far. Lee makes it two straight for the Tribe, he's been spectacular.

Cliff Lee, Indians

NL Cy Young

This race has a much more clear-cut candidate. I picked Peavy coming into the year, and he's been solid, but Edinson Volquez has been magnificent, becoming the Red we should have been exalting instead of my dear Cueto. He leads MLB with a 1.71 ERA, 110 Ks, and has 10 wins. No brainer.

Edinson Volquez, Reds

AL MVP

Sigh. Here comes my second preseason Tigers mishap. I thought Miguel Cabrera was going to explode once he came over to the AL and started hitting in the Tigers' potent lineup. He's exploded, but boy, not in the way I thought. (Excuse the fat joke.)

This race also has a clear-cut candidate. Josh Hamilton has come over to Texas from Cincinnati, and all he's done is hit around .320 with 19 HRs and 76, count it, 76 RBI. Ungodly. What a trade that was: Hamilton for Volquez.

Let's get Tim Kurkjian to get one of his Kurkgems and give us any trade that compares to this one, ever.

Josh Hamilton, Rangers

NL MVP

David Wright was my preseason favorite coming into the year, but with the fiasco the Mets have become; I have to move to somewhere else.

This race has boiled down to two guys. I'm leaving out Chase Utley because that team has a bevy of hitting stars and they wouldn't be hugely affected if he was gone.

However, Lance Berkman and Chipper Jones mean so much to their respective lineups and have had great years so far. Berkman has hit .354 with 20 HRs and 60 RBI, and Chipper has hit 16 HR and 46 RBI and has hit an otherworldly .393. I'll take Berkman because Jones has already won one.

Lance Berkman, Astros

I might expand this article later, or write a new one on my Not So Awards and other predictions for the rest of the year, but for now, this will have to curb your appetite.