MLB Awards
NL MVP – SS Javier Baez – Chicago Cubs
AL MVP – OF Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels
NL Cy Young – Mike Soroka – Atlanta Braves
AL Cy Young – Mike Clevinger – Cleveland Indians
NL Rookie of the Year – 3B Carter Kieboom – Washington Nationals
AL Rookie of the Year – OF Luis Robert – Chicago White Sox
NL Manager of the Year – Mike Shildt – St. Louis Cardinals
AL Manager of the Year – Bob Melvin – Oakland Athletics Continue reading
* – indicates new to team
+ – indicates injury
1. New York Yankees
A stacked lineup with a legitimate ace in Gerrit Cole and a deep bullpen has them atop the contender list in the American League.
2. Tampa Bay Rays
Their pitching depth is almost unmatched in baseball. They’ll need to score plenty of runs though in a stacked league.
3. Toronto Blue Jays
The youth movement could surprise a lot of folks in a 60-game sprint to the finish.
4. Boston Red Sox
Fortunately for them they have the Baltimore Orioles to keep them out of the cellar this year.
5. Baltimore Orioles
A 60-game season could work to their advantage, but that won’t make them contenders with more playoff spots available.
Player to Watch: SS Gleyber Torres – New York Yankees
Best Acquisition: P Gerrit Cole – New York Yankees
New Kids on the Block: Toronto Trio; SS Bo Bichette, 2B Cavan Biggio, 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Continue reading
For the 90th year of the Midsummer Classic, baseball turns its sights to Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field or “The Jake”) in Cleveland, Ohio. The last time the mid-summer classic was played in Cleveland was in 1997. Now every year there is always a lot of discussion and some of it a little dated about how the teams are put together. No system will ever be perfect. Fans don’t always get it right and managers won’t either, nor the commissioner’s office. The fact that the players are able to vote for participants was a great choice and they know who is deserving. Regardless of who should or shouldn’t be in the game lets just accept that the best players will always be involved one way or another. Here are my all-stars keeping with the rules that every team be represented and a total of 32 players for each league.
AVG – Batting Average
ERA – Earned Run Average
HR – Home Runs
RBI – Runs Batted In
SV – Saves
BAA – Batting Average Against
WHIP – Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched
K – Strikeouts
Stats are accurate as of July 5
* – asterisk indicates starter Continue reading
* – indicates new to team
+ – indicates injury
1. New York Yankees
Armed with the deepest bullpen in baseball, they’ll look to unseat the defending champion Red Sox.
2. Boston Red Sox
Not having an established closer could put a damper on any talk of repeating as World Series champions.
3. Tampa Bay Rays
Their pitching depth knows no bounds, but they essentially hit the reset button on their lineup.
4. Toronto Blue Jays
The rebuild north of the border is in full swing. Lots of intriguing prospects will be making their debuts shortly.
5. Baltimore Orioles
A repeat of last years 115-loss season is all they have to look forward to.
Player to Watch: OF Mookie Betts – Boston Red Sox
Best Acquisition: P Charlie Morton – Tampa Bay Rays
New Kid on the Block: 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Toronto Blue Jays Continue reading
For the 88th year of the Midsummer Classic, baseball turns its sights to Nationals Park in Washington D.C. This will be the first MLB All-Star game played at Nationals Park and the first in the nation’s capital since 1969 at RFK Stadium, the home of the then Washington Senators. Now every year there is always a lot of discussion and some of it a little dated about how the teams are put together. No system will ever be perfect. Fans don’t always get it right and managers won’t either. The fact that the players are able to vote for participants was a great choice and they know who is deserving. Regardless of who should or shouldn’t be in the game lets just accept that the best players will always be involved one way or another. Here are my all-stars keeping with the rules that every team be represented and a total of 32 players for each league.
AVG – Batting Average
ERA – Earned Run Average
HR – Home Runs
RBI – Runs Batted In
SV – Saves
BAA – Batting Average Against
WHIP – Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched
K – Strikeouts
Stats are accurate as of July 13
* – asterisk indicates starter Continue reading
