Here's mine.. With no bias involved.
NL MVP
Paul Goldschmidt
- Ranks in the NL top five in homers (4th), OBP (5th), Slugging Percentage (3rd), OPS (3rd), WAR (4th), Hits (5th), and RBIs (1st) on a first place team. Take him off the Diamondbacks, they're hurting badly and not in this position, in my humble opinion.
NL Cy Young
Adam Wainwright
- Leads the NL in wins (12), has a sub 1 WHIP, ranks 3rd in ERA and 5th in Ks. Right now, to me he's the best all around pitcher in baseball, and gets my first half Cy by a hair over Matt Harvey.
NL Manager of the Year
Clint Hurdle
- Tied for the best record in the NL, managing the PIRATES... 'Nuff said.
AL MVP
Miguel Cabrera
- If ever there's a case for a plausible co-MVP, this might be the year. It's hard to pick against Miguel Cabrera, especially considering he leads the league in BA, OBP and OPS by a LARGE margin. Chris Davis' ridiculous home run numbers so far make this REAL tough. Consider, Davis needs just 24 homers to catch 61; and 36 to catch Barry Bonds atop the list of single season home runs. That said, I give it to Miggy, by the thinnest of hairs.
AL Cy Young
Max Scherzer
- Leads the AL in wins, and ranks in the top 3 in both WHIP and Ks. Also in the top ten in ERA. Can I officially say I HATE revisiting the fact that Arizona traded him more and more each day? Not to play revisionist history. I know Ian Kennedy had a few successful years in Arizona; as well as the fact that Dan Hudson and David Holmberg (who I think may be the most underrated pitcher in the Diamondback organization) were byproducts of the Scherzer trade.. However, I was uneasy about trading Max at the time; and his performance the last handful of years really make me dislike it more and more.
AL Manager of the Year
John Farrell
- Took a Red Sox franchise that was declining fast and has helped re-shape them in to a plausible playoff team. Boston heads in to the All-Star break with the best record in baseball. Mind you, this is Farrell's first year at the helm in Fenway. He wins this award running away.
Biggest Surprise (Player)
Dominic Brown
- The talent has always been there with Brown, however more than a fair share of Phillies fans were beginning to wonder if he'd ever realize it and were ready to write him off as a loss. Not anymore.
Biggest Disappointment (Player)
Matt Kemp
- For the last four seasons, Kemp has been one of MLB's more steady and consistent bats. It was universally believed that 2013 would be the season where Kemp would take the next step into the upper echelon of players in MLB. This wasn't an unreasonable thought, considering he's hit over 100 homers, stole over 100 bases and drove in over a shade under 400 RBIs from 2009-2012.
This season he just hasn't been able to get off the ground, hitting just 4 homers and 24 RBIs. Perhaps it's injuries, as Kemp was recently placed on the DL. However, so far, it just hasn't been a year Kemp would like to remember anytime soon.
Biggest Surprise (Team)
Pittsburgh
- This is a team that ranks 26, 25th, 23 and 21st in team runs scored, batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. Outside of Pedro Alvarez, only Andrew McCutchen has more than 9 homers (he has 10) on the season. Ranked fifth and sixth on the team in batting average? Gerritt Cole and James McDonald... Pitchers.
With that bats this poorly, you'd imagine they have the '93 Braves pitching staff.. Then you realize, their rotation consists of AJ Burnett, Jeanmar Gomez, Francisco Liriano and Jeff Locke. Not exactly what you'd call a rotation that brings the fear of God in to people.
Yet, despite an underwhelming rotation and a patchmark pitching staff, the Pirates head in to the All-Star break with the second best record in the NL. Crazy.
Biggest Disappointment (Team)
Los Angeles Angels
- Some would argue Toronto, but to me there's not a bigger disappointment than the Angels. A team with Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout and Mark Trumbow should not be below .500 heading in to the break and just a game up on the hapless Mariners.
