*Photo from NBC News*
Monday night was another important night in the annual November award season in the MLB offseason, with the finalists for all the major awards being revealed, with the winners scheduled to be revealed all of next week. Finalists were revealed for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Manager of the Year.
*Photo from Forbes*
AL MVP
Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Shohei Ohtani, Marcus Semien
The Blue Jays have two finalists, and for good reason. Semien had a 45 homer, 100+ RBI season after taking a one year deal, leading the AL in extra base hits, and taking home a gold glove. Guerrero was chasing a triple crown all season in his breakout campaign, becoming one of the best hitters in the AL, bashing 48 homers and leading the AL in both OBP and slugging percentage. But Ohtani is the frontrunner after some stellar two way performances all season, hitting 46 home runs at the plate and putting up a 3.18 ERA on the mound.
NL MVP
Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr
Harper is the only finalist who has previously won an MVP, and he's making a strong case to win again. He whacked 34 home runs and led the majors in slugging percentage and OPS, while hitting at a .309 clip. Soto, who's just 22, hit .315 and crushed 29 homers while leading baseball in walks and OBP. Tatis put up a 42 home run and 25 stolen base season, reaching the rare 40/20 mark. He posted a .975 OPS and was tied for second in the NL in WAR, just behind Soto. All this is including a 32 game absence.
AL Cy Young
Robbie Ray, Gerrit Cole, Lance Lynn
Lynn was so close to hitting 200 strikeouts this season, falling 24 short with 176. He did have the best ERA among AL pitchers with 150 innings this season, but the race is really Ray vs Cole. Cole won 16 games, tops in the AL, and led AL pitchers with a 5.93 strikeout to walk ratio. His 243 strikeouts were also good for 3rd in all of baseball. Ray on the other hand led baseball in strikeouts, and his 2.84 ERA was best in the AL. He made a league high 32 starts, and had 10 games of at least 10 strikeouts.
NL Cy Young
Corbin Burnes, Max Scherzer, Zack Wheeler
Burnes had a 2.43 ERA in 2021, the best in baseball, and had a shockingly high 35.6 strikeout rate, and a 6.88 strikeout to walk ratio. His 7.5 WAR was tops among pitchers, his 15 strikeouts in one game was tied for the most in a game, and he threw the first 8 innings of a combined no hitter. Scherzer put up a baseball leading 0.86 WHIP, and joined the 3,000 strikeout club while winning 15 games. He can also win his 4th Cy Young. In 32 starts, Wheeler led baseball in innings pitched, complete games, shutouts, and batters faced. His 247 strikeouts also led the NL.
AL Rookie of the Year
Wander Franco, Randy Arozarena, Luis Garcia
Franco is the big story, being the best prospect in all of baseball until he debuted, where he then became the youngest player in the big leagues. He tied Jackie Robinson's on base streak of 43 games in his rookie year, and is still 20 years old. After a great 2020 postseason, Arozarena hit 20 homers and stole 20 bases, one of only 10 players. Garcia won 11 games with a 3.48 ERA in 28 starts for the Astros, and was a big factor in their playoff run.
NL Rookie of the Year
Jonathan India, Trevor Rogers, Dylan Carlson
India had one of the best complete all around seasons by a rookie, hitting .269 with 21 homers and 12 steals. He ranked 5th in the NL in OBP, and produced a WAR of 3.9 in just his rookie season. Carlson joined Soto and Guerrero as the only players under 22 to qualify for the batting title after an 18 home run season. He could be just the second Cardinal to win rookie of the year. Rogers had the 3rd lowest ERA of a rookie who had thrown at least 130 innings in the last 20 years with his 2.64 count. 22 of his 25 starts had two earned runs or less. He could be the 5th rookie of the year winner in Marlins history.
AL Manager of the Year
Scott Servais, Dusty Baker, Kevin Cash
Servais guided the Mariners to a 90 win season as they stayed alive in the playoff race until the final day of the season, when no one expected it. Servais was a big engineer of that success, and he got extended. Cash is back and looking for back to back manager of the year titles after leading the Rays to a 100-62 record, the best in the AL, the second year in a row they've done so. Baker is looking to join Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa as the only 4 time manager of the year winners after leading the Astros to an AL West title and a 95 win season.
NL Manager of the Year
Gabe Kapler, Craig Counsell, Mike Shildt
Kapler led the surprise Giants as they became a juggernaut, winning 107 games and being the best team in baseball last season, including finishing the year with a 21-5 record. Counsell will look for his first award after being a finalist in years prior, leading the Brewers to the NL Central crown and their 4th straight playoff appearance. Despite being fired, Shildt led the Cardinals through their record 17 game win streak, propelling them to the NL Wild Card game after they looked dead in the water in July. He's looking for his second manager of the year award after winning it in 2019.
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