As MLB baseball approaches its final weeks of the regular season, it’s about time we find out the players who are in the running for some hardware for their respective stellar campaigns.
Join us as we run down three candidates from each league that are in the running for the MVP and Cy Young Awards, as well as our predictions for the front-runners in each position for the Golden Glove and Silver Slugger awards.
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Top Individual Awards Candidates for the 2016 MLB Regular Season
Most Valuable Player
American League
Top three candidates: Jose Altuve, Edwin Encarnacion, Manny Machado
Manny Machado (.304/.363/.556, .919 OPS for the first-place Orioles) and Edwin Encarnacion, who currently leads the AL in home runs (31) and RBIs (94), both make compelling cases. But we’ll side with the Houston’s jack-of-all-trades just so long as the Astros do indeed make the playoffs.
Writer’s Prediction: Jose Altuve
National League
Top three candidates: Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant, Clayton Kershaw
Despite playing for the underachieving Colorado Rockies, there seems to be no better candidate for the NL MVP title right now other than Nolan Arenado. The third baseman, who’s just in his third year in the majors, is the current NL leader in homers (30) and RBIs (91) with a ton fielding prowess to spare.
Sure, Arenado has the benefit of playing in hitter-friendly Coors Field half of the season, but his numbers are even made more impressive given how many talented pitchers there are in the National League (which we’ll get more into later). Heck, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is in the running for the NL MVP and he’s currently hurt, and Kris Bryant’s numbers will go overlooked considering the entire Cubs roster is stacked with batters aplenty putting up great numbers as well.
Writer’s Prediction: Nolan Arenado
Cy Young Award
American League
Top three candidates: Cole Hamels, Danny Salazar, Chris Sale
With so many powerful hitters in the American League, it’s been a rough year for most of the league’s aces. White Sox standout Chris Sale’s tantrum and the trade rumors that followed hurt his value a bit, so the AL Cy Young Award could very well be Cole Hamels’ for the taking.
The 32-year-old Hamels in having a resurgent season for the first-place Texas Rangers, boasting a 12-3 record and a dazzling 2.89 ERA (third in the AL). He didn’t lose his third decision until this past week, and has not given more than four runs in 19 of his 24 starts in 2016.
Writer’s Prediction: Cole Hamels
National League
Top three candidates: Madison Bumgarner, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg
It’s been a wild MLB career for former widely-touted collegiate prospect Stephen Strasburg, but the Washington Nationals’ top investment outside of Bryce Harper has started to pay major dividends at last. Strasburg, who has already undergone Tommy John surgery during his short professional career, is now the NL’s top ace with 15 wins and just two losses for the 67-win Nationals, and with a superb 2.80 ERA to boot.
Clayton Kershaw’s MLB-best 1.79 ERA is of no value if he does not recover soon from his back injury, and the rest of the National League has plenty of other outstanding starters like Madison Bumgarner, Jose Fernandez, Jake Arrieta, Max Scherzer and Johnny Cueto nipping at his heels just to name a few. But as of the moment, Strasburg’s surprisingly grand season stands out the most.
Writer’s Prediction: Stephen Strasburg
Golden Glove Award Predictions
American League
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1B | Mitch Moreland | TEX |
| 2B | Robinson Cano | SEA |
| 3B | Adrian Beltre | TEX |
| SS | Jose Iglesias | DET |
| LF | Melky Cabrera | CHW |
| CF | Carlos Gomez | HOU |
| RF | Mookie Betts | BOS |
| C | Russell Martin | TOR |
| P | Steven Wright | BOS |
National League
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1B | Wil Myers | SD |
| 2B | Ben Zobrist | CHC |
| 3B | Nolan Arenado | COL |
| SS | Jordy Mercer | PIT |
| LF | Matt Holliday | STL |
| CF | Andrew McCutchen | PIT |
| RF | Curtis Granderson | NYM |
| C | Yadier Molina | STL |
| P | Bartolo Colon | NYM |
Silver Slugger Award Predictions
American League
| Postion | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1B | Miguel Cabrera | DET |
| 2B | Jose Altuve | HOU |
| 3B | Manny Machado | BAL |
| SS | Xander Bogaerts | BOS |
| OF | Mike Trout | LAA |
| C | Salvador Perez | KC |
| DH | David Ortiz | BOS |
National League
| Postion | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1B | Anthony Rizzo | CHC |
| 2B | Daniel Murphy | WSH |
| 3B | Nolan Arenado | COL |
| SS | Corey Seager | LAD |
| OF | Carlos Gonzalez | COL |
| C | Wilson Ramos | WSH |
| P | Madison Bumgarner | SF |
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