Mike Trout is the AL MVP at the halfway mark.
No disrespect to Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez. They are tremendous players. But they have each other and the rest of a Red Sox infrastructure good enough to have Boston vying for the majors’ best record.
Trout has the decaying careers of Ian Kinsler and Albert Pujols, a Relievers Anonymous bullpen and the most crowded DL in the majors, which includes Shohei Ohtani.
Apologies to Andrew Heaney, Andrelton Simmons and Justin Upton, but Trout is simply not surrounded by enough talent again.
He is the halfway AL MVP because he is the best player in the world, playing better than he ever has despite so much rot around him. But I have a bigger question, a personal one that I have been asking the duration of this season: Is Trout now the best player I have seen in my lifetime?
Just so you know the parameters, that begins toward the tail end of the careers of Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Until now, the best full careers I have seen are Mike Schmidt and Barry Bonds, and I am talking those first 13 years of Bonds’ career before he swelled unnaturally — that period when Bonds was as brilliant on the bases and defending left field as hitting.
Has Trout done enough in his seven-plus seasons to reach this status? Maybe he needs a bit more to nudge by Schmidt and Bonds atop my pantheon. But I am thinking about more than ever because Trout keeps excising bad elements of his game and elevating his strong points. As an example, in 2014 — a year he won the MVP, by the way — he struck out 184 times and walked 83. It was 72 and 72 this season going into Saturday. His defense in center might never have been better, the same for his baserunning.
Trout does not cave to the disappointment around him. He keeps raising his game — the best keeps getting better. It would be nice if he is supplied a team at some point worthy of his genius.
2. Betts. 3. Jose Ramirez, Indians. 4. Martinez. 5. Aaron Judge, Yankees.
AL Anti-MVP
Chris Davis, Orioles. Even a recent hot streak has only taken him from unplayable to awful. And he is the non-gift that will keep on giving. Davis is owed four years at $92 million beyond this season.
2. Miguel Sano, Twins. 3. Kole Calhoun, Angels. 4.Rougned Odor, Rangers. 5. Zack Cozart, Angels.
NL MVP
Freddie Freeman, Braves. As opposed to, say, Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt, Freeman has been relatively slump proof, producing a .902 or better OPS in every month. As opposed to, say, Nolan Arenado, Freeman’s numbers are not accentuated by his home park — Freeman has actually been better on the road. As opposed again to Arenado, Freeman does not produce more pedestrian numbers against same-side pitching (right vs. right for Arenado). In fact, only Arenado has a better OPS in the NL vs. lefty pitching than the lefty Freeman (minimum 100 plate appearances). Freeman has been consistent and brilliant.
2. Arenado, Rockies. 3. Lorenzo Cain, Brewers. 4. Brandon Crawford, Giants. 5. Max Muncy, Dodgers.
NL Anti-MVP
Jay Bruce, Mets. Dexter Fowler is having a worse season for the Cardinals, but Bruce is a symbol for the Mets’ older positional core that has had difficulty with production and/or health — namely also Yoenis Cespedes, Todd Frazier and Jose Reyes. Bruce was re-signed for three years at $39 million not just because of the belief he would bring 30 homers and a .800-plus OPS, but that there was an effort and professionalism in his game that was appreciated. However, he made some mental/effort blunders before going to the DL that spoke to a collective issue on the team.
2. Fowler. 3. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals. 4. Chris Owings, Diamondbacks. 5.Hunter Pence/Austin Jackson, Giants.
AL Cy Young
Justin Verlander, Astros. There are a load of great performances in the AL, at least 10 you want to consider seriously for the top five places, including just about every Houston starter. For the top spot it was Verlander vs. Luis Severino, and Verlander went into his Saturday start edging Severino in OPS against lefties and righties while striking out a higher percentage and walking a lower. It was razor close, though.
2. Severino. 3. Trevor Bauer, Indians. 4. Gerrit Cole, Astros. 5. Chris Sale, Red Sox.
AL Anti-Cy Young
Alex Cobb, Orioles. Lance Lynn got a one-year, $12 million deal from the Twins. Cobb, a similar talent, signed later in the offseason and the Orioles gave him $57 million over four years. Why? Cobb had a 6.75 ERA and a .937 OPS against. Having the anti-MVP and anti-Cy Young on big-money contracts, as the Orioles do with Davis and Cobb, helps explain why Baltimore has contributed significantly to the majors’ worst record.
2. Danny Duffy, Royals. 3. Drew Pomeranz, Red Sox. 4. Matt Moore, Rangers. 5. Felix Hernandez, Mariners.
NL Cy Young
Max Scherzer, Nationals. As close as Verlander vs. Severino is in the AL, the same is true in the NL with Verlander’s former Tigers teammate, Scherzer, and another New York pitcher, Jacob deGrom. Scherzer gets an ever so slight nod for striking out a higher percentage, walking a lower percentage and having a superior OPS against. If Scherzer carries this through, it would be his third straight Cy win and his fourth overall.
2. deGrom. 3. Aaron Nola, Phillies. 4. Mike Foltynewicz, Braves. 5. Josh Hader, Brewers.
NL Anti-Cy Young
Yu Darvish, Cubs. He signed a six-year, $126 million pact with the Cubs and went 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA and reanimated concerns about his fortitude to handle the pressure associated with big games, big cities and big money. He suffered a triceps injury and appeared close to returning before incurring a setback in the last week. The Cubs also invested three years at $38 million in Tyler Chatwood, thinking he and Darvish would elevate the rotation. But Chatwood had 63 walks in 68 ¹/₃ innings.
2. Bryan Shaw, Rockies. 3. Jason Vargas, Mets. 4. Jon Gray, Rockies. 5. Homer Bailey, Reds.
AL Rookie of the Year
Gleyber Torres, Yankees. The shame is that Shohei Ohtani suffered an elbow injury that has — at the least — shut down his pitching, hitting and Rookie of the Year candidacy. At least for now. The Angels hope he will comeback as a DH this season, at minimum. His fall opened the door to Torres, who has shown what so excited the Yankees when they obtained him as the main piece for Aroldis Chapman at the 2016 trade deadline.
Torres can continue recent Yankees rookie excellence. Gary Sanchez finished second for the award in 2016 and Aaron Judge won it last year. In fact, Miguel Andujar and Jonthan Holder could force their way onto the ballot, too — heck, maybe Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga, too.
2. Ohtani. 3. Andujar. 4. Max Stassi, Astros. 5. Joe Jimenez, Tigers.
NL Rookie of the Year
Juan Soto, Nationals. This is a bit of what he has done and also a projection. He had just 139 plate appearances going into Saturday. But what a 139. Soto had a 1.067 OPS and had walked (23) nearly as much as he had whiffed (26) despite, at 19, being the majors’ youngest player. Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna came off the DL on Thursday and could make this a fight for the ages — since Acuna, at 20, is the second-youngest player in the majors. Miami’s Caleb Smith had earned a top-five spot but suffered a lat injury likely to sideline him for the season, so I am not going to include him in the top five.
2. Jack Flaherty, Cardinals. 3. Brian Anderson, Marlins. 4. Walker Buehler, Dodgers. 5. Seranthony Dominguez, Phillies.
AL Manager of the Year
Kevin Cash, Rays. A case could be made for so many. Aaron Boone and Boston’s Alex Cora took over exceptional teams, and those clubs are even better under their stewardship. Houston’s A.J. Hinch has kept the defending champs hungry and excellent. Seattle’s Scott Servais has steered the Mariners to a playoff spot despite Robbie Cano’s 80-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. Oakland’s Bob Melvin had his club in wild-card contention despite a mish-mash rotation.
But I think Cash’s work stands out. He lost four of the best hitters from his 2017 team (Corey Dickerson, Evan Longoria, Logan Morrison and Steven Souza), two of his best starters (Alex Cobb and Jake Odorizzi) and a key reliever (Brad Boxberger). Then injuries devastated the starting pitching he had left. That moved the Rays to embrace the “opener” — a reliever often starting games — and despite criticism of the tactic by many traditionalists, Tampa Bay’s run prevention has been excellent. Oh yeah, then Cash had his closer, Alex Colome, and one of his few effective hitters, Denard Span, traded in May.
Through all of this — and, of course, more empty-seat fan apathy at home — Tampa Bay has hovered near .500, which is a sensational achievement.
2. Servais. 3. Hinch 4. Cora. 5. Boone.
NL Manager of the Year
Dave Roberts, Dodgers. On May 16, Los Angeles fell 10 games under .500, 8 ¹/₂ games out of first and felt perilously close to plummeting into the category among the worst teams money could buy.
Star shortstop Corey Seager was lost for the season (Tommy John surgery). Clayton Kershaw was out with a biceps injury and would soon after incur more back trouble. The bullpen was a mess. Justin Turner had just returned from a season-long DL stint.
From that mess, the Dodgers steadied then began excelling again with unexpected heroes such as Matt Kemp, Max Muncy and Ross Stripling. This is the kind of situation that could have unraveled badly under poor guidance.
A hat tip to Philadelphia’s Gabe Kapler. A week into his job — about the same time, for example, that Mickey Callaway was being hailed as a managerial genius — Kapler was being assailed for his not-by-the-book ways. But his Phillies have mostly responded and are in contention. It’s a long, winding season.
2. Torey Lovullo, Diamondbacks 3. Brian Snitker, Braves. 4. Kapler. 5. Craig Counsell, Brewers.