The 2018 MLB major awards will be given out starting this coming Monday, November 12! But, before the winners for the Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP awards for the AL and NL are officially announced, I'm going to try to predict the winners. Last year, I went 5/8 on the predictions, so let's see if my luck will change for the better in 2018!
AL Manager of the Year
Winner: Alex Cora, Boston Red Sox
Why? A rookie manager winning the World Series and leading his team to the best season in terms of wins in franchise history? This one should be pretty obvious.
NL Manager of the Year
Winner: Craig Counsell, Milwaukee Brewers
Why? You could make a case for Brian Snitker of the Braves, but the Brewers had the best record in the National League in 2018 and, out of the three managers in the NL who are nominated for Manager of the Year, the Brew Crew had the best bullpen in terms of ERA, one of the best ways you can judge a manager who is in contention for this award.
AL Rookie of the Year
Winner: Miguel Andujar, New York Yankees
Why? Andujar was towards the top among AL rookies in hits, home runs, RBIs, batting average, and slugging percentage. He is an extra base hits machine and a fan favorite in New York. Shohei Ohtani had a great year, but Andjuar put up All Star stats in 2018.
NL Rookie of the Year
Winner: Ronald Acuna, Atlanta Braves
Why? I wouldn't be surprised if Walker Buehler of the Dodgers walked away with this award, but Acuna was a powerful, contact-hitting star this past season and you could argue that the Braves wouldn't have won the NL East without his help.
AL Cy Young
Winner: Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays
Why? Snellzilla came out of what seemed like nowhere this past year, leading the AL in wins and ERA and coming in second in WHIP. Justin Verlander of the Astros and Corey Kluber of the Indians are definitely in the conversation, but I think Snell takes this award.
NL Cy Young
Winner: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
Why? We've seen pitchers with no run support win the Cy Young award before, so why can't it happen again? DeGrom led all National League pitchers with a staggering 1.70 ERA and had he been given even a little bit of more run support from the Mets' lineup, he could've easily been a 20-game winner.
AL MVP
Winner: Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
Why? Mike Trout of the Angels is, as always, in hot pursuit of this heralded award, but I'm picking the AL batting champ to win it this year; along with leading the AL in batting, he was also the 2018 MLB WAR leader, which matters a lot to voters in this type of close race.
NL MVP
Winner: Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
Why? Almost winning the Triple Crown and being a massive help to his team in achieving the best record in the NL certainly gives the former Marlin the advantage here, but this is going to be a close race regardless between him, Javier Baez of the Cubs, and my favorite player in baseball, Nolan Arenado of the Brewers.
What do you think of my picks? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."
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