The 2018 Major League Baseball Midseason Awards

ARLINGTON, TX – JUNE 07: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros throws against the Texas Rangers in the third inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on June 7, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Midseason awards /

There are many players in baseball who have put up unbelievable numbers in 2018 . This article recognizes those players by giving out some MLB Midseason Awards.

The All-Star Break is here, so it’s time to dish out some 2018 MLB Midseason Awards. I’ll make my predictions for the Comeback Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award winner, and MVP in both the American League and National League.

There are a lot of close races in a number of categories, which should make for an exciting second half of the season. However, the first half is all we have to evaluate, so let’s give out some awards!

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Gerrit Cole, SP Houston Astros

Sometimes a change of scenery is all a player needs to right the ship. Gerrit Cole is a perfect example of that.

After having a subpar 2017 season in Pittsburgh, Gerrit Cole has had an exceptional start to the season for the defending champs. It really has been a tale of two seasons for Cole when comparing 2017 and 2018. In 2017, Cole didn’t get his 10th win until August 24th. He came into this All-Star break with a 10-2 record. Last year, Cole carried a 4.43 ERA and 94 K’s into the All-Star break. This year, he carries a 2.52 ERA and 177 K’s into the break. His swinging strike rate jumped from 9% to 14%, and his opp. slugging % dropped from .469 to .313. Quite the improvement.

The Houston Astros, despite having won the title in 2017, look even better this season, and Gerrit Cole is a big reason why. Their starting rotation is shaping out to be one of the greatest ever, with Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton, Lance McCullers, and Dallas Keuchel pitching alongside Cole. They lead baseball in team ERA by a considerable margin, and if they keep it up, Cole might be receiving a ring on Opening Day in 2019.

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Matt Kemp, OF Los Angeles Dodgers

Matt Kemp has had a wild three years. When the Dodgers traded him to the Padres after the 2014 season, nobody thought he’d ever be back in Dodger blue. After spending three seasons with the Padres and the Braves (2015-2017), Kemp was traded back to the Dodgers, but it was seen as a salary-shedding move for Los Angeles. With the Dodgers plethora of young stars, Kemp was not initially seen as part of the 2018 Dodgers. However, with injuries to Corey Seager, Clayton Kershaw, and Justin Turner, Kemp has been their best player this season.

Kemp finished last year with 19 home runs and 64 RBIs. He comes into the break this year with 15 homers and 60 RBIs already, so he’ll surpass his 2017 totals pretty quickly. He scored 47 runs in 2017. He has already scored 42 runs this season. He had a -1.3 WAR last season. He has a 1.5 WAR this season. Clearly, Los Angeles is the place to be for Matt Kemp. He has gone from a fading star to a potential MVP candidate in 2018. He has helped carry the Dodgers from ten games under .500 to first place in the NL West, and will surely be a huge factor for L.A. down the stretch in August and September.

Midseason Awards: Rookies of the Year

AL Rookie of the Year: Gleyber Torres, 2B New York Yankees

The Yankees have seen a lot of young stars come up and make an impact over the past few seasons, including Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, and Luis Severino.

Gleyber Torres might be the most talented of them all.

Of the many talented prospects in the Yankees’ farm system, Torres was the most highly touted. While not known for his power in the minor leagues, he already has 16 home runs. He leads all AL rookies in homers, RBIs, batting average, slugging %, and OPS. Since coming up to the big leagues on April 22, the Yankees have gone 45-18. Even in a stacked lineup, Torres clearly provides immense value for the Yankees. His teammate, Miguel Andujar, is making a strong case for this award as well, but as long as Torres stays healthy once off the DL, he is the most likely to win it.

NL Rookie of the Year: Juan Soto, OF Washington Nationals

It’s amazing to think that at the start of 2018, Juan Soto was beginning his season in Low A minor league baseball. Now, he’s doing stuff like this:

Soto’s quick rise through the minors is extremely rare, but it’s clear as to why it happened. He leads all NL rookies in batting average, OBP, slugging %, and OPS. He has 9 homers and 28 RBIs in just 51 games, and has an OPS+ of 145, which is tops among NL rookies. One knock against Soto is defense. He has -7 defensive runs saved, and he has a negative defensive rating overall. However, his offense is so promising that his defense won’t matter too much for the Nationals down the stretch. They’ll need his bat if they want to beat out Atlanta and Philly in the NL East.

Midseason Awards – Cy Young:

AL Cy Young Award: Chris Sale, SP Boston Red Sox

This was one of the harder awards to hand out because the American League has seen a number of pitchers have incredible seasons, Luis Severino, Justin Verlander, Blake Snell, and Corey Kluber to name a few. However, Chris Sale has been the best of the bunch.

Sale leads all of baseball in strikeouts, and leads the American League in ERA (2.23). He leads baseball in K/9 with 13.1, and also leads all of baseball with a 2.17 FIP. He also has a swinging strike rate of 24.7%, which is better than any of the pitchers listed above.

Chris Sale has been known to struggle in the later part of the season. His career ERA in August is 3.22, and is 3.78 in September/October. As a comparison, his ERA in every other month is below 3.00. However, with the Red Sox having a pretty strong rotation, Sale shouldn’t feel too much pressure to carry the team, and I believe he’ll end his late season struggles this year.

NL Cy Young Award: Jacob deGrom, SP New York Mets

If you just looked at Jacob deGrom’s record (5-4), you wouldn’t think he’d have a shot at winning the Cy Young. If you looked at his ERA, you’d change your mind completely.

deGrom has suffered at the hands of one of the worst offenses in baseball, which is why he has a 5-4 record. He has started 19 games. In 14 of his 19 starts, he has given up either one or no earned runs. In 12 of those 14 starts, he pitched at least five innings. He only won five of those twelve starts. He has only had one start in which he has given up more than three earned runs, and only three starts in which he gave up three earned runs. If it weren’t for the Mets’ offense, deGrom might be 19-0 right now.

deGrom leads MLB in ERA (1.68), ERA+ (228), and he leads the National League in FIP (2.32). Taking out his 5-4 record, deGrom has arguably been the best pitcher in all of baseball. He has been the lone bright spot in what has been a disaster of a season for the New York Mets.

Midseason Awards – MVP:

AL MVP: Mike Trout, OF Los Angeles Angels

This came down to two players for me: Mike Trout and Mookie Betts. It’s hard to dispute that Betts shouldn’t be the MVP. He leads baseball in batting average, slugging %, OPS, and OPS+. He’s the best player on a team that is on pace to win 112 games. His defense and base-running are exceptional.

Even after all that, Mike Trout is the AL MVP.

Even though he’s won two MVPs already, Trout is on pace to have maybe his best season yet. He already has 25 home runs, a new career high for the first half of the season. He leads baseball in OBP (.454), walks (84), and WAR (6.8). He is slugging .606 and has a 1.060 OPS, and is hitting .310 with 15 steals.

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Putting stats aside, Trout is the ultimate definition of the term “Most Valuable Player”. Trout doesn’t have the teammates that Mookie Betts has. He doesn’t have JD Martinez, who is going to get some MVP votes. There are no pitchers on the Angles anywhere near the level of Chris Sale. Take Mookie Betts off the Red Sox. They would still be a great team. Take Mike Trout off the Angels. They would probably be one of the worst teams in the league.

Mookie Betts is absolutely deserving of the AL MVP award. Mike Trout just deserves it a little more.

NL MVP: Freddie Freeman, 1B Atlanta Braves

There hasn’t been a player in the NL who has been far and away better than everyone else, so this wasn’t an easy award to give out. Ultimately, it goes to Freddie Freeman due to his consistent, all-around body of work.

Freeman has been one of the top first basemen in MLB this year. He has a slash line of .315/.405/.533. In the National League, Freeman is fourth in batting average, second in OBP, seventh in slugging %, fourth in OPS, and third in OPS+. He also consistently puts the ball in play, as he is third in the NL in BAbip. Freeman’s consistency has been remarkable: his worst month (June) was when he hit .277. He hit over .300 in every other month. Freeman has also helped the Braves become one of the top teams in the National League in a year when nobody picked the them to contend for the playoffs.

The National League is so wide open that there are probably going to be a ton of deserving candidates at season’s end. Nolan Arenado, Jesus Aguilar, and Javy Baez are just a few of the many NL players who could win the award. However, as of now, Freddie Freeman is the pick.

Next: Fantasy Baseball Impact of Manny Machado to the Dodgers

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