American League Regular Season Awards

Pardon My Bias Bleacher ReportAug 27, 2010

Here are my picks for the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP of the American League.

AL Rookie of the Year

Coming into the season many experts picked Brian Matusz, the relief pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles. This pick was made due to Oakland A’s reliever Andrew Bailey winning the award in 2009 after he pitched 83+ innings with an 1.84 ERA with 26 saves. Matusz was the sexy pick since we all had season what he was capable of when he made his MLB debut in his 8 2009 appearances. In those 8 games, he managed to post a 4.63 ERA while picking up a 5-2 record. While Matusz’s ERA is not much higher this year at 4.79, he has posted a 6-12 record through 26 appearances. This cannot bode well for his chances at claiming the ROY. I have found 2 players to be among the top of the rookie class in the American League. Austin Jackson (Center Fielder, Detroit Tigers) and Neftali Feliz (Closer, Texas Rangers) seem to be the two runaways for AL ROY. Jackson has played in 118 games while batting .307 and stealing 20 bases. In addition to this, Jackson has played outstanding defense in center field and that might bring home the rookie of the year award. Jackson is 7th in the AL for hits, but he is also 1st in K’s so he will need to work on patience at the plate. Feliz on the other hand has produced 32 saves out of 35 save opportunities for the AL West leading Rangers whiel posting a 3.44 ERA. However, I did read Moneyball, the book about A’s GM Billy Beane and I feel that the closer position is the most overrated position in the game. That being said I choose Austin Jackson as my 2010 AL Rookie of the year.

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AL Cy Young

This award is up for grabs between three talented pitchers: C.C Sabathia (New York Yankees), David Price (Tamba Bay Rays), and Clay Buchholz (Boston Red Sox). All three have been very good for each of their respective teams all year long. Sabathia has an incredibly impressive stat line with 187 IP, 3.02 ERA, 161 K’s, and a 17-5 record. Price isn’t that far off with 157 IP, 2.97 ERA, 146 K’s, and a 15-5 record. And finally, Buchholz is having a very good year as he’s pitched 139 innings, has a 2.26 ERA, 96K’s, and a 15-5 record. All 3 pitchers have had outstanding seasons while being the ace on their team and leading their team to great records. The one thing holding Buchholz back is his total innings pitched being quite low due to his stint on the Disabled list when he injured his left hamstring. But since coming back Buchholz has gone 5-1 and lowered his ERA from 2.45 to 2.26 due to giving up no earned runs in his last 3 starts. He is on a tear right now and if he keeps this up, he can win the Cy Young despite pitching less innings than Sabathia and Price. On the other hand, Sabathia has been the best pitcher on the best team in the league and his stats are all C y Young worthy: 1st in wins, 3rd in ERA, 1st in IP, 1st in K’s and its hard to bet against what he’s done this season. While Price has also pitched well this season, he is in 3rd place in this race and would need a strong finish coupled with sub-par finishes by the other two in order to win the award. This is the hardest award for me to pick in the AL, and until I see how the season plays out I will not be comfortable with my pick. But if the season were to end today, I would choose C.C. Sabathia as my 2010 AL Cy Young winner mainly due to the fact that he has not missed a start and is at the top of every pitching category possible.

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AL MVP

This is another 3 man race between Robinson Cano (New York Yankees), Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers), and Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers). All 3 have been dangerous in the batters box but there is one clear cut choice for the AL MVP. While Cano is having a career year but his stat line of .322 AVG, 25 HR, and 87 RBI is not at the same level of the other two candidate, plus Cano is on the Yankees and with all those stars around him it’s hard to claim one player is the MVP. That leaves us with Cabrera and Hamilton. Cabrera’s stats can’t be ignored as he is the only player in the AL still in contention of winning the triple crown (AVG, HR, and RBI) this season. However, he will definitely need a hell of a September in order to catch up to Jose Bautista’s 41 HRs. But regardless of the triple crown, Cabrera has posted a great stat line of .340 AVG, 31 HR, and 104 RBIs. While Carbera has been lethal on the offensive side, his team has struggled and is in 3rd place of a weak AL Central division. A true MVP does not allow his team to settle for mediocrity and takes them to the next level. And that is exactly what Josh Hamilton has done this season. Hamilton has hit .354 (1st in AL), 30 HRs (4th), and 92 RBIs (5th) while also leading the AL in hits (171 hits). This amazing year has helped the Rangers surprise everyone and they are almost a lock to win the AL West this season. This is one of the easier picks and I pick Josh Hamilton to win the 2010 AL MVP award.