MLB Awards Season is Here Early! (Very Early)

Really, is it ever too early to start handing out awards in a sports season? That’s the most fun exercise for any writer/blogger/journalist. So let’s jump into our MLB awards, even though we still have about 45 games or so left in the season:

National League MVP – Shohei Ohtani, DH/SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

And then there were two (when you thought there was just one).

The field is whittled down to PCA vs. Shohei, and the two put on quite a show when their teams squared off in Chicago last week.

The tricky part, obviously, is forecasting whether Ohtani pitches again and if so, how much. PCA’s offensive numbers give him the edge (although not by much), but Ohtani is a unicorn who, despite curbing pitching, has already delivered 85.2 stellar innings to the tune of an 8-2 record and 1.79 ERA over 14 starts.

Even if he does not pitch again this year, how can you ignore that? Sure, it feels like we all have Ohtani and Dodgers fatigue at this point. PCA’s WAR draws Ohtani’s (league-leading 7.5 to 3.4), but again, can you fairly quantify that when factoring in Ohtani’s value as a pitcher?

The batting average (Ohtani by eight points), homers (tied at 26), RBIs (Ohtani by one), and OPS (Ohtani by nine points) numbers are very tight, but PCA’s 30 steals to Ohtani’s seven is a big edge to the Cubs outfielder.

I’ll summarize it this way: in my opinion, if both players’ offensive numbers primarily stay the same, Ohtani deserves the award because of his outstanding pitching season. But I don’t believe the voters will see it that way if Ohtani doesn’t see the mound again.

If he does, then it feels like PCA is fighting a major uphill battle despite his amazing year and incredibly high value to a Cubs team that appears well on its way to the postseason.

American League MVP – Yordan Alvarez, DH, Houston Astros

What once was a tight race has turned into a runaway. Alvarez was second in betting odds for a while to Aaron Judge when Judge was healthy. With Judge out of the picture, this is no lo contendre.

Alvarez’s numbers are, for lack of a better word, ridiculous. He may very well with the triple crown, as he currently leads the league in average, home runs, RBIs, hits, runs scored, OBP, slugging, and OPS. For good measure, he is getting the Barry Bonds treatment with 23 (!) intentional walks.

Junior Caminero has had a whale of a season and is incredibly important to the first-place Rays’ success, but Alvarez cannot lose this award. If he didn’t play a single game the rest of the year, I honestly think he’d still get a slight edge. That’s how good he’s been in a bounceback 2026 campaign.

National League Rookie of the Year – Sal Stewart, 3B, Cincinnati Reds

This one is the most baffling to me when looking at the betting odds. JJ Wetherholt is -175 to Sal Stewart being +135, but why? Stewart not only leads all NL rookies with 25 home runs, but he’s nine ahead of Wetherholt, who is second with 16.

If the obsession with WAR is as real as I believe it to be, then I understand why Wetherholt has the bettors’ edge. He has a healthy lead on Stewart’s number (4.4 to 1.7), but Stewart leads in all other major offensive categories. And some of those margins are rather healthy.

Stewart leads in RBIs (87 to 54), OPS (.807 to .736), batting average (.255 to .247), and the two are tied in stolen bases with 12. Stewart has played in all 117 of his team’s games.

Based on the fact that Stewart’s final numbers are likely to be in the upper echelon overall among NL hitters, I’m giving the Reds infielder the nod.

American League Rookie of the Year – Kevin McGonigle, SS, Detroit Tigers

This one is a lot easier. McGonigle has had a stellar season for Detroit and leads all rookies across baseball in several of categories.

The Tigers’ shortstop is tops among MLB rookies in runs scored (76), on-base percentage (.390) and hits (125). Had Munetaka Murakami not missed a month with a hamstring injury, his candidacy would be much stronger, especially considering he leads all rookies with 26 home runs in just 82 games.

National League Cy Young – Jacob Misiorowski, SP, Milwaukee Brewers

Misiorowski is living up to the hype in year two, with eye-popping numbers that are simply unparalleled even in a year with some other terrific pitching seasons.

Consider that Christopher Sanchez fired 50.2 scoreless innings at one point, and Chris Sale is in vintage form with a 2.20 ERA and 1.02 WHIP over 21 starts for the first-place Braves. And yet, their numbers are virtually dwarfed by Misiorowski.

The 6’7” flamethrower is taking the league by storm at just 24 years of age. He leads all of baseball in ERA by nearly a half-run (1.76), strikeouts (204), average against (.147), and WHIP (0.74). He is also one of just seven pitchers this year to fire a complete game shutout.

American League Cy Young – Cam Schlittler, SP, New York Yankees

This may be the single tightest award race of all, even more so than the MVP discussion in the Senior Circuit. Who has the upper hand at this point? There are great arguments for both, but I’m going with Schlittler primarily based on a couple of categories.

While both have elite key numbers with minimal margins (2.21 and 2.28), WHIP (1.02 and 1.04), BAA (.196 and .179) and strikeouts (182 and 184), Schlittler takes a notable edge in two important categories: BB/9 IP (1.9 to 3.7) and innings pitched (146.2 to 126.1).

In fairness, Cease has a better H/9 IP number (5.7 to 6.44), but Schlittler’s impeccable control and ability to go a little deeper into games gets him my vote (for now).

National League Manager of the Year – Walt Weiss, Atlanta Braves

This is such a hard award to pick. How do you quantify it? There really isn’t a way, and the award has basically always been judged on what manager’s team exceeded expectations the most, which actually isn’t all that fair.

But Weiss has navigated through a wave of injuries, especially to the pitching staff, to steer the Braves to a 7.5-game lead in the NL East with a 71-48 record.

Atlanta, in fairness, came to camp with quite a strong roster. But it’s the players who haven’t seen the field much (or at all) that make the team’s accomplishments to this point all the more impressive.

Ronald Acuña has been limited to just 67 games, and Drake Baldwin missed nearly a month with an oblique strain. Sean Murphy, an All-Star three years ago, has played just 12 games.

The pitching staff has been downright decimated. Spencer Strider, once one of baseball’s budding superstars, appears to be done with elbow inflammation. Spencer Schwellenbach hasn’t pitched an inning all year, while AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep have combined for just 15 innings.

Robert Suarez, signed to be Raisel Iglesias’ setup man, went down in late June with forearm and elbow inflammation during a spectacular season in which he allowed just two earned runs over 32 innings. He also may not pitch again in 2026.

All things considered, Weiss has not only kept the train moving for the Braves, but has them currently in pole position for a first-round bye.

American League Manager of the Year – Will Venable, Chicago White Sox

This one feels easier to me than the odds would indicate. Chad Tracy is currently the favorite after the Red Sox’s incredible 27-3 surge, but how can you not hand it to Will Venable? He has the White Sox in first place just two years removed from an all-time worst 121 losses.

Chicago survived without Murakami, winning with an unheralded rotation that has relied mostly on the quintet of Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Anthony Kay, Noah Schultz, and Eric Fedde.

Breakout seasons from youngsters Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery have complemented resurgent ones from Andrew Benintendi and Randal Grichuk. And yet, no starter in the ChiSox’s lineup is hitting over Grichuk’s .277. Chicago has truly been a classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.