We are less than a week away from the All-Star break, and the first half of the season has flown by. Somehow, more than 80 games through the season, these players have been far and away the best in the league this far.
These are my predictions for the award winners that will be announced in November.
AL Most Valuable Player
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels of Anehiem.
Shocker, I know. This is the easiest choice the Baseball Writers Association of America has had in the 92 years it has voted for the MVP. 28 players have won the award unanimously, but no one has done it twice. We are only halfway through the season and it is incredibly tough to justify a vote for someone that isn’t named Shohei Ohtani. He is tied, or leads the league in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) home runs, extra-base hits, triples, slugging percentage, and OPS. This freak of nature has played every single game of the season thus far.
The month that Ohtani just had is going to be talked about as one of the best months of baseball ever played.
This same person leads the league in strikeouts per nine innings and boasts a 146 ERA+. Flipping through his Baseball Savant page is just plain special. He is easily the best hitter in baseball, but he also ranks in the top percentiles in expected batting average (xBA,) K%, and Average Exit Velocity.
There aren’t enough words in the English language to give the proper amount of credit to Shohei Ohtani. Just appreciate the greatness as it happens.
NL MVP
Ronald Acuna Jr. Atlanta Braves.
These two picks are so predictable I almost don’t want to write about them. If you have been paying any attention to the 2023 MLB season, you know these two are the most valuable players in their respective leagues. The Braves are the best team in the National League and Acuna Jr is the best player on their team. Acuna made history on July 3rd, becoming the first player in AL/NL history to reach 20 home runs, 40 stolen bases, and 50 runs batted in during the first half of the season.
After leading the NL MVP race in ‘21, a horrific knee injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. His return in ‘22 was not at the level we had come to expect, but this year is something different. He can taste the MVP, as the Braves gear up for another deep playoff run.
AL Cy Young
Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays have been ravished by injuries all season, mainly to their pitching staff. But seemingly every time Kevin Cash hands the ball to McClanahan, all appears well. I know looking at pitchers’ records is a horrible research point, but an 11-1 record means that your team feels comfortable when you are on the bump. They feed off of the pitchers energy, and with the electricity the Rays offense contains, that is a huge difference maker. His .917 win percentage leads the league and his 159 ERA+ lands him in the top 10.
In McClanahans’s sophomore season, he finished sixth in Cy Young voting and is hungrier for a higher finish.
NL Cy Young
Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks.
Gallen has been building off of his top-5 finish in Cy Young voting last year in a big way. He isn’t the flashiest pitcher, but what he does is eat up innings and get outs. He is tied for most starts and has faced the sixth most batters in the league. Gallen silently does his job every time he takes the bump. His strikeout/walk ratio is unbelievable and he rarely gives up the long ball. He has been a massive part of the Diamondbacks’ success in the first half.
AL Rookie of the Year
Masataka Yoshida, Boston Red Sox
As a Red Sox fan, this pick may be a tad biased. I had him as my Rookie of the Year before the season had started and his WBC performance did nothing but solidify that belief. His stats aren’t jump off the page amazing, but the intangibles are deafening. What he does day in and day out is amazing and when he connects with a ball it’s one of the most beautiful things in the entire sport.
NL Rookie of the Year
Corbin Carrol, Arizona Diamondbacks
Another absolute cakewalk choice for the BWAA is the National League Rookie of the Year. The Diamondbacks are up there with the most fun teams to watch, and Carrol has a huge part in that. The speedy outfielder has already racked up 29 stolen bases, as he ranks in the 99th percentile for sprint speed. His 3.7 WAR lands him third in the NL, as he has raked up 17 home runs and a .923 OPS. Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds is the only player with a real shot of catching him, but with his small 24-game sample size, it’ll be tough to beat what Caroll has done this far into the season.
