Staff Awards Picks

While the AL MVP discussion has probably reached the point where there’s not much left to say, there are a few other postseason awards that are up for grabs. This year, a good chunk of them are pretty clear cut, with our staff mostly selecting the same guys at each spot, with there only really being one or two races where there was much division among the ranks. We simply asked for winners, rather than a full ballot, so don’t take a player’s absence from the list as a lack of recognition, as there are a few guys who I’m sure were second on a lot of people’s ballots. Without further ado, let’s get to the picks, with the number of first place votes in parentheses.

AL MVP: Mike Trout (25)

He got all 25 votes, including mine. No big surprise here, and we probably don’t need to spend too much time on this one, given all the discussion over the last few weeks.

NL MVP: Buster Posey (14), Ryan Braun (10), Andrew McCutchen (1)

I’ve leaned towards Yadier Molina for the last couple of weeks, but Posey just continued to crush the ball down the stretch and opened up a large enough offensive lead that it felt like a stretch to give it to Molina, though the difference is quite small. In fact, the arguments for Braun and McCutchen are plenty valid, and I’d say there are a group of candidates from which you can’t really go wrong this year. There are no bad choices in this mix.

AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander (22), David Price (3)

While Price’s lead in both wins and ERA will probably be enough to get him the actual Cy Young, our staff went with the guy who leads in both a WAR based on FIP and one based on runs allowed. While Price was excellent, it’s hard to ignore the defensive differences between the two teams and wonder whether this would even be a race if the two had switched teams. Price is a legitimately great starter, but Verlander is probably the best pitcher in baseball right now, and I was one of those who felt that he deserved a second straight Cy Young Award.

NL Cy Young: R.A Dickey (12), Clayton Kershaw (11), Johnny Cueto (1), Craig Kimbrel (1)

Easily the closest race, Dickey barely sneaks out the win, though I cast my lot with Kershaw. They were both so good that it’s really splitting hairs to choose between them. For all intents and purposes, this is a tie. Interestingly, no one was wooed by either Gio Gonzalez or Kris Medlen, who I thought might sneak in on a ballot or two.

AL Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout (25)

Maybe the easiest vote in the history of postseason awards.

NL Rookie of the Year: Bryce Harper (23), Wade Miley (2)

Harper wasn’t quite unanimous, but his strong flourish to end the season helped make this less of a race than it would have been had we polled the staff even a week or two ago. Jim Breen cast one of the two votes for Miley, and will be explaining why he went against the grain in a separate post on the site shortly.

Below are all the individual selections for the voting staff members. Cast your aspersions appropriately, and remember Detroit fans, most of us voted for Verlander!

Name AL MVP NL MVP AL Cy Young NL Cy Young AL Rookie NL Rookie
Alex Remington Trout McCutchen Verlander Dickey Trout Harper
Ben Duronio Trout Braun Verlander Kimbrel Trout Harper
Bill Petti Trout Posey Verlander Dickey Trout Harper
Bradley Woodrum Trout Posey Price Dickey Trout Harper
Brandon Warne Trout Posey Price Dickey Trout Harper
Carson Cistulli Trout Braun Verlander Dickey Trout Harper
Chris Cwik Trout Braun Verlander Dickey Trout Harper
Colin Zarzycki Trout Braun Verlander Kershaw Trout Harper
Dan Wade Trout Braun Verlander Dickey Trout Harper
Dave Cameron Trout Posey Verlander Kershaw Trout Harper
David Wiers Trout Braun Verlander Kershaw Trout Harper
Eno Sarris Trout Posey Verlander Dickey Trout Harper
Eric Seidman Trout Posey Verlander Dickey Trout Harper
J.P. Breen Trout Braun Verlander Kershaw Trout Miley
Jack Moore Trout Posey Price Dickey Trout Harper
Jeff Sullivan Trout Posey Verlander Kershaw Trout Harper
Jeff Zimmerman Trout Posey Verlander Cueto Trout Harper
Marc Hulet Trout Posey Verlander Kershaw Trout Harper
Matt Klassaan Trout Posey Verlander Kershaw Trout Harper
Michael Barr Trout Braun Verlander Kershaw Trout Harper
Mike Newman Trout Posey Verlander Kershaw Trout Harper
Mike Petriello Trout Braun Verlander Kershaw Trout Harper
Paul Swydan Trout Braun Verlander Kershaw Trout Harper
Wendy Thurm Trout Posey Verlander Dickey Trout Harper
Zach Sanders Trout Posey Verlander Dickey Trout Miley





Dave is the Managing Editor of FanGraphs.

141 Comments
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Bo
11 years ago

Not a single vote for Todd Frazier? Numbers nearly identical to Harper and helped lift the Reds while Joey Votto was out of the lineup.

YanksFanInBeantown
11 years ago
Reply to  Bo

“Nearly identical numbers to Harper”

Exactly.

YanksFanInBeantown
11 years ago

(Exactly why he didn’t get a single vote, that is)

David Laurilamember
11 years ago
Reply to  Bo

I went back and forth between Miley and Frazier before ultimately going with Miley. It was a close call, with Harper being my third choice.

YanksFanInBeantown
11 years ago
Reply to  David Laurila

How is Frazier above Harper? Was it the lower wOBA, the worse counting stats or the fact that he plays 1B/3B instead of CF?

Aaron (UK)
11 years ago
Reply to  David Laurila

Did you vote at the beginning of September, David? I can see the case for Miley over Harper but not one for Frazier.

David Laurilamember
11 years ago
Reply to  David Laurila

Frazier was arguably Cinci’s MVP this year, given his production as [essentially] Votto’s replacement. Harper’s overall numbers are a shade better, but Frazier had more impact IMO.

Aaron (UK)
11 years ago
Reply to  David Laurila

Okay, so you’re coming at it from that angle (which is fine) – but by the same token Harper carried the Nats’ offense when he came up [as an injury replacement for Ryan Zimmerman], when their outfield would otherwise have been something like Nady/Ankiel/Bernadina [with Morse and, later, Werth hurt].

His impact in September may have been “unnecessary” given the Nats had all but sewn it up, but don’t overlook his initial impact in May.

Wellhitball
11 years ago
Reply to  David Laurila

I’m sure everyone will also remember how much older Frazier is than Harper. That should have at least some bearing, especially with such a massive gap.

Matt Hunter
11 years ago
Reply to  Bo

I think probably because he has 100 fewer plate appearances. His offensive numbers are basically identical to Harper’s, you’re right, but 100 more PAs of that production, plus better defense, makes Harper the clear winner of the two.

bflaff
11 years ago
Reply to  Bo

That’s a clown question, bro.

philosofool
11 years ago
Reply to  Bo

WAR.

Even if you’re a traditionalist, Harper wins out. Frazier has more RBIs. They tie in BA. Harper has way more R, more HR, way more SB, and played highlight reel defense. Frazier was a much batter offense player than Harper on Sept. first, when the Frazier story started getting traction. Harper was one of the best hitters in baseball in September and erased that gap.

Matthias
11 years ago
Reply to  philosofool

“…much batter offens[ive] player…”

Hehe.

Devon
11 years ago
Reply to  Bo

I see they were close in BA, wOBP, & wRC+, as well as a few other stats, but check out the differences in their RE24 (Harper by +6.79), WAR (Harper by +1.9), & WPA (Harper by +0.78).

Pig.Pen
11 years ago
Reply to  Bo

“Nearly identical numbers….”

Well I guess if you completely disregard defense and baserunning…