MLB

Comparing our MLB Award Predictions with the Winners

By: Jonathan Goad

Major League Baseball has announced the winners of the season awards. If you’d like to see our predictions before finding out who won, go here first.

Here are the finalists for each award, our prediction, and the actual winner.

AL Rookie of the Year:

Gleyber Torres, 2B, Yankees – .271/.340/.820, 24 HR, 77 RBI

Miguel Andujar, 3B, Yankees – .297/.328/.855, 27 HR, 92 RBI

Shohei Ohtani, DH/SP, Angels – .285/.361/.925, 22 HR, 61 RBI | Pitching: 51 2/3 IP, 3.31 ERA, 63 SO

Our Pick: Miguel Andujar

Winner: Shohei Ohtani

Ohtani had a fine season. The combination of pitcher/outfielder/DH may have been enough to win him this award. His versatility is unmatched in the league as he was solid both at the plate and on the bump. It’s hard to compare Ohtani because it’s been a long time since we’ve seen someone pitch and play the field regularly. Ohtani deserves this award, but I think Andujar or Torres might have gotten snubbed. Torres finished second in the voting while Andujar finished third.

NL Rookie of the Year:

Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, Braves – .293/.366/.917, 26 HR, 64 RBI

Juan Soto, 2B, Nationals – .292/.406/.923, 22 HR, 70 RBI

Walker Buehler, SP, Dodgers – 137.1 IP, 2.62 ERA, 151 SO

Our Pick: Walker Buehler

Winner: Ronald Acuna

Buehler finished third in the voting. Soto was second. This was a tough one. All three players had great rookie seasons. I thought Buehler would take it partially because of his post season play. He had been pitching well recently, so he was in the minds of the voters. Apparently, I was wrong. Acuna has a great season. He helped lead the Braves to a division title that many people thought Atlanta wouldn’t win for a couple more years.

AL Manager of the Year:

Kevin Cash, Rays – 90 wins, no playoff appearance

Alex Cora, Red Sox – 108 wins, World Series champion

Bob Melvin, A’s – 97 wins, AL Wild Card appearance

Our Pick: Alex Cora

Winner: Bob Melvin

What Melvin did with that Athletics club is pretty amazing. Similar to the Braves, he led a team that not a lot of people had much confidence in to a playoff berth. I understand rewarding that. However, winning 108 games, leading the league almost the entire season, and winning the World Series is slightly more deserving, in my honest opinion.

NL Manager of the Year:

Bud Black, Rockies – 91 wins, NLDS appearance

Craig Counsell, Brewers – 96 wins, NLCS appearance

Brian Snitker, Braves – 90 wins, NLDS appearance

Our Pick: Craig Counsell

Winner: Brian Snitker

As I mentioned before, the Braves were not expected to compete like they did, and especially not win the division. Credit Snitker with bringing a mixture of young players and veterans together to have a very nice season.

AL Cy Young:

Corey Kluber, SP, Indians – 215 IP, 2.89 ERA, 222 SO

Blake Snell, SP, Rays – 180 IP, 1.89 ERA, 221 SO

Justin Verlander, SP, Astros – 214 IP, 2.52 ERA, 290 SO

Our Pick: Blake Snell

Winner: Blake Snell

Finally, we got one correct. Snell obviously had a great season. Our reasoning that he should win it was because of his 1.89 ERA while pitching the the same division as the two best offenses in the league, the Red Sox and Yankees. While he did pitch fewer innings than Kluber or Verlander, his ERA was a whole run lower than Kluber’s and over half a run lower than Verlander’s. All three had great season, but Snell deserved this one.

NL Cy Young:

Jacob deGrom, SP, Mets – 217 IP, 1.70 ERA, 269 SO

Aaron Nola, SP, Phillies – 212 1/3 IP, 2.37 ERA, 224 SO

Max Scherzer, SP, Nationals – 220 2/3 IP, 2.53 ERA, 300 SO

Our Pick: Jacob deGrom

Winner: Jacob deGrom

DeGrom was solid all season long despite playing for a poor Mets team who couldn’t provide any support. He did only win ten games, but as I’ve stated before, win-loss record isn’t a good way to measure a pitcher’s season. His ERA alone made him a front runner, and that paid off.

AL MVP:

Mookie Betts, OF, Red Sox – .346/.438/1.078, 32 HR, 80 RBI

Jose Ramirez, 3B, Indians – .270/.387/.939, 38 HR, 105 RBI

Mike Trout, OF, Angels – .312/.460/1.088, 39 HR, 79 RBI

Our Pick: Mookie Betts

Winner: Mookie Betts

In my opinion, Betts was a no brainer to win AL MVP. Look at those numbers. That was all done from the lead off spot. Plus, he scored 129 runs and stole 30 bases. He finished the season with a WAR of 10.9. What a year for Betts!

NL MVP:

Christian Yelich, OF, Brewers – .326/.402/1.000, 36 HR, 110 RBI

Nolan Arenado, 3B, Rockies – .297/.374/.935, 38 HR, 110 RBI

Javier Baez, IF, Cubs – .290/.326/.881, 34 HR, 111 RBI

Our Pick: Christian Yelich

Winner: Christian Yelich

As mentioned before, all three of these finalists had solid cases for the NL MVP. I think what decided it was Yelich’s average combined with the way the Brewers finished the season. They went on a tear late and overtook the Cubs to win the division.

Well, we were right about both Cy Young awards and both MVPs. We missed the ROYs and Manager of the Years. That puts us at 50%. Not too shabby especially considering the year all of these players had. Here’s to hoping next season will be just as competitive.

Now let’s see what happens in what should be a wild off season.