As the Mid-Summer Classic has come to our nation’s capital, there have been a lot of breakout stars and dominate seasons for some players up to this point. Here are my race leaders for ROY, Cy Young, and League MVP’s.
NL Rookie of the Year
Juan Soto, OF – Washington Nationals
This 19 year old, Dominican phenom has taken the league by storm since being called up in late May. He has a ridiculous .941 OPS, .306 batting average, and has 28 RBIs in only a month and a half of playing time. Soto has now created a crowded outfield situation in Washington as he has forced his way into the heart of the Nationals’ lineup. Look for Soto to tear up the league and claim the NL ROY award in the second half of the season.
AL Rookie of the Year Gleyber Torres, 2B – New York Yankees
Torres has taken over the ROY hype in the AL from Shohei Ohtani. The Yankee middle infielder has absolutely hammered since getting the big call in late April. He has hit 15 HR and knocked in 42 RBI in only 63 games. With an also .905 OPS and 140 OPS+, he has lived up to the hype of being labeled one of the top prospects in all of baseball.
NL Cy Young Max Scherzer – Washington Nationals
Scherzer has continued his dominance in the NL once again as he is leading the league in strikeouts (182) and WHIP (0.899), 3rd in the league in league in ERA (2.41) and is tied for the lead in wins with 12. Scherzer has dominated every lineup he faces which has earned him the starting nod for e NL in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Unless Scherzer gets blown hammered in the second half of the season, Mad Max is a lock for NL Cy Young.
AL Cy Young
Chris Sale – Boston Red Sox
Now this is one of he closest award races in baseball. You could argue that you could flip coin for this one between Justin Verlander and Chris Sale, but I’m giving the nod to Sale. Sale has more strikeouts, more wins, and has a better ERA. Sale has led the dominate Red Sox to an incredible 1st half of the season. It will be a close race between the two throughout the rest of the season, but I think Sale will be the one hoisting the hardware.
NL MVP Freddie Freeman, 1B – Atlanta Braves
The breakout Braves have been the story of the season so far in the National League. And Freddie Freeman has been leading that squad to being 1st in the NL East, with an impressive .415 OBP and .938 OPS. He is 2nd in the NL in WAR at 3.9 and is, in my opinion, edging out Javier Baez for the Cubs who is leading the NL with 72 RBIs. If Freeman and the Braves keep this pace up they could make some serious noise this postseason.
AL MVP
Mookie Betts, OF - Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have been the most impressive team in all of baseball so far, and Mookie Betts have been the breakout superstar who is doing it all over the field. Betts is leading all of baseball with a .359 BA and has a ridiculous 1.139 OPS. He could be triple crown candidate if only he didn’t it in the front of the batting order, who has hit an impressive 23 HR. Teammate J.D. Martinez has been uber impressive as well, but I think Betts setting the table at the rate he has, has let Martinez blossom into one of the best sluggers in baseball.