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MLB Awards Watch: Mike Trout and everyone else

By Brad Rowland

September 9, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) reacts after striking out in the sixth inning against Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
September 9, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) reacts after striking out in the sixth inning against Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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With the MLB season headed towards the home stretch, we break down the race for every major award.

The stretch run is officially here. We’ve consumed more than 140 games from each and every team in the league and, with the calendar landing in mid-September, the race to the finish line is very real. That is doubly true for the league’s individual award races, and the majority of MLB honors are very much up for grabs. Today, we will break down each and every race, beginning with NL Rookie of the Year and moving along from there.

Let’s get to the particulars.

NL Rookie of the Year

Los Angeles Dodgers. Corey Seager. 1. player. 71. <p>This is the most lopsided race of them all, so it makes some sense that we’ll start with it. We will be hearing from Seager later in this post (spoiler alert!) but he has been utterly dominant in the ROY race. He leads all MLB rookies (not just NL) in wRC+, fWAR, bWAR, OBP, runs scored and more, and Seager has been the runaway winner for months. Let’s just move on.</p>. SS

Kenta Maeda. 2. player. 71. <p>Teammates don’t usually finish 1-2 in ROY voting, but they should this time around. Maeda has been the best rookie pitcher in the NL, even with the caveat that Jon Gray and Steven Matz have been impressive in different ways. Maeda has eaten through 159 innings with a stellar 3.28 ERA, and he lands within the top 10 of all NL pitchers in both WHIP and strikeout rate. Twenty-eight-year-old’s probably have a disadvantage because some voters may rule them out, but Maeda is deserving of inclusion here.</p>. SP. Los Angeles Dodgers

SS. St. Louis Cardinals. Aledmys Diaz. 3. player. 32. <p>With two more weeks of absurd production, Washington’s Trea Turner might chase Diaz down from behind, but not yet. Diaz has more than 150 additional plate appearances to work with, and while his defense hasn’t been as good as Turner’s, there is nothing wrong with the way he has played in St. Louis. Diaz’s slash line of .311/.375/.517 is better than anyone would have hoped and, in a normal Seager-less year, he would have a real claim on the top spot.</p>

Next: AL Rookie of the Year

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