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MLB Awards Watch: Greetings from Memorial Day

By Brad Rowland

May 30, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; A member of the U.S. Navy parachute team 'Leap Frogs' takes part in Memorial Day celebrations prior to the game between the New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; A member of the U.S. Navy parachute team 'Leap Frogs' takes part in Memorial Day celebrations prior to the game between the New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 29, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager (5) heads out on his single during the fifth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
May 29, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager (5) heads out on his single during the fifth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

Memorial Day has come and gone and that means that we are “allowed” to talk about MLB statistics. Isn’t that how this works?

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, more and more data is available concerning the 2016 MLB season, and while we have been here to check up on the league’s award races for some time now, this almost feels like the first legitimate “ballot”. Our last attempt can be found here, but without more delay, here is this week’s look at rookie of the year, Cy Young and MVP races in both leagues.

NL Rookie of the Year

  1. Corey Seager, SS Los Angeles Dodgers – We have a new leader for NL ROY, even if Seager would have been a perfectly “normal” name at the beginning of the season. The former top prospect has come on strong in recent days, to the point where he now boasts a profile with eight home runs and a .270/.327/.456 slash line (113 wRC+). Most importantly, though, is that Seager’s defense is out-of-this-world good at a premium position, and it is tough to overstate the massive value of that.
  2. Steven Matz, SP New York Mets – His teammates, Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey, generate all of the attention (for different reasons), but Matz is a monster in the making as well. The 25-year-old holds a 2.36 ERA in eight starts (49.2 innings) this season, and Matz is averaging more than a strikeout per inning on the way to that impressive mark. New York has every reason to be careful with his workload, but that is the only knock on his candidacy right now.
  3. Aledmys Diaz, SS St. Louis Cardinals – Some of the regression that everyone expected has begun, but Diaz’s season-long numbers are above reproach. In fact, his offense has been better than that of Seager, with Diaz sitting at .326/.357/.547 and a wRC+ of 138 in 185 plate appearances. Defense matters, though, and Diaz’s early-season run in the top spot has come to a close for now.

Next: AL Rookie of the Year

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