July Awards

This week I will give my July Awards. The awards are for who I think should win if the season ended today.

Rangers:

MVP: Michael Young, TEX (.313 AVG, 13 HR, 39 RBI): Michael is the only Ranger with at least 300 AB’s to be hitting above .280, which is really pretty sorry. He also has a solid amount of home runs. I think that definitely makes him Rangers MVP.
Runner-up: Nelson Cruz, TEX (.268 AVG, 23 HR, 55 RBI)

Cy Young: Kevin Millwood, TEX (9-7, 3.44 ERA, 82 K): He is tied for the Rangers lead in wins, but leads the team in innings pitched, and leads the starters in ERA. I think that’s pretty deserving of being the Rangers Cy Young.
Runner-up: Scott Feldman, TEX (9-3, 3.59 ERA, 53 K)

Rookie of the Year: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.254 AVG, 3 HR, 17 RBI): He’s my Runner-up of AL ROY and he’s definitely my Rangers ROY.
Runner-up: Darren O’Day, TEX (2-1, 1.99 ERA, 30 K)

AL:

MVP: Justin Morneau, MIN (.313 AVG, 24 HR, 79 RBI): Justin is leading the American League in RBI’s, is tied for 3rd in home runs, and is hitting over .310. He’s also struck out just 11 more times than he has walked. He’s the only top 10 home run hitter in the AL hitting over .290. That, to me, makes him an easy choice for AL MVP through July.
Runner-up: Miguel Cabrera, DET

Cy Young: Zack Greinke, KC (10-6, 2.04 ERA, 146 K): Even though he’s fallen to a tie for seventh in wins with only ten, he is still 1st in ERA by 0.41 points. That’s a pretty large margin, not to mention the fact that he is tied for 2nd in the AL in strikeouts.
Runner-up: Felix Hernandez, SEA (11-3, 2.45 ERA, 137 K)

Rookie of the Year: Jeff Niemann, TB (9-4, 3.61 ERA, 59 K): Jeff is tied for 11th in the AL in wins with an ERA well below 4.00, which ranks 15th in the AL. With his weak competition, to me, he’s pretty obviously ROY so far.
Runner-up: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.254 AVG, 3 HR, 17 RBI)

Comeback Player of the Year: Jarrod Washburn, SEA (8-6, 2.71 ERA, 78 K): Jarrod went 5-14 with an ERA over 4.50 last year, striking out only 87 batters all season long in 153.2 innings pitched. This year he is 8-6 and is 5th in ERA with 78 strikeouts.
Runner-up: Victor Martinez, CLE (.287 AVG, 14 HR, 64 RBI)

Manager of the Year: Jim Leyland, DET (52-44, 1st place): This year the Tigers have gone from last place last year to first place this year. That is pretty deserving of Manager of the Year.
Runner-up: Ron Washington, TEX (53-42, 2nd place)

NL:

MVP: Albert Pujols, STL (.325 AVG, 34 HR, 91 RBI): Albert is going for the NL triple crown, and is only two spots away in batting average from doing so. I think when you’re doing that, you have to be the MVP, no matter how good the other players in the league are doing.
Runner-up: Prince Fielder, MIL (.308 AVG, 24 HR, 86 RBI)

Cy Young: Matt Cain, SF (12-2, 2.27 ERA, 108 K): Even though Matt is only 14th in the National League in strikeouts with 108, he is tied for first in wins with 12 and 2nd in ERA. In my opinion, he is the most balanced pitcher among all three stats and deserves the Cy Young Award.
Runner-up: Tim Lincecum, SF (10-3, 2.45 ERA, 168 K)

Rookie of the Year: Pablo Sandoval, SF (.324 AVG, 15 HR, 58 RBI): Pablo is 4th in the NL in batting average, which, if that was all he did, should get him ROY, anyways. But that’s not all he does, as he’s also tied for 21st in RBI’s and tied for 22nd in home runs.
Runner-up: JA Happ, PHI (7-1, 2.97 ERA, 71 K)

Comeback Player of the Year: Todd Helton, COL (.321 AVG, 11 HR, 60 RBI): Todd was injured for much of last year, but is still hitting 57 points higher than last, and has hit 4 more home runs and gotten 31 more RBI’s than last year in only 7 more games.
Runner-up: Felipe Lopez, MIL (.306 AVG, 6 HR, 25 RBI)

Manager of the Year: Jim Tracy, COL (35-15, 2nd place): Since Tracy took over as Rockies manager, he has been 35-15, and has taken them from 18-29 to the NL Wild Card leader. That’s a pretty good coaching job there.
Runner-up: Bruce Bochy, SF (52-45, 3rd place)

Come back next week for a summary of Newberg Night at the ballpark. Since Newberg Night is not until Sunday, next week’s post will be out a day later than usual, on Monday.