We are now more than a third of the way through the baseball season. The N.L. West is suddenly the best division in baseball, the last two world champions are struggling, and the Yankees are making their inevitable surge. Time to revise my preseason picks. Let’s see how they stack up.
–My pre-season picks are the ones that stand throughout the season; this is just the picks I wish I’d made at this point. Preseason picks are in italics. And all stats and numbers are through Tuesday, June 19.–
NL MVP: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
Berkman is hitting just .254 with 8 homers and 37 RBI’s, and the Astros are doing much worse than I expected. On the other hand, the Brew Crew sits atop the N.L. Central, led by their young first baseman. Fielder is hitting .290 with 25 homers and 54 RBI’s and carrying the team offensively. By no means is he doing it himself, but he is the star; the core; the heart of this Brewer offense, and the league’s most valuable player so far.
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox
This was actually a tough call, between A-Rod and Magglio Ordonez of the Detroit Tigers. When it comes down to it, A-Rod’s .315, 27 homers, 75 RBI line trumps Ordonez’s AL-leading .371 average, 13 homers and 64 RBI’s. While it can be argued that Ordonez is more valuable to the Tigers than A-Rod is to the Yankees, you can’t really win that argument against the sheer numbers A-Rod is putting up. Oh, and Manny? Still in the race, because he’s just starting to get hot.
NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres
Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros
Peavy is dominating everybody. He is 9-1 with a 1.98 ERA and 110 strikeouts against just 29 walks to help vault the Padres into first place in the uber-competitive N.L. West. Oswalt is having a decent year at 7-4, but his ERA is very abnormal for him, as it is above 3.00.
AL Cy Young: Dan Haren, Oakland Athletics
Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins
To defend myself, it was hard not to pick the two-time Cy Young winner Santana in the pre-season, but he’s having an average, to above-average season right now at 7-6 with a 2.91 ERA. Dan Haren on the other hand has been absolutely lights out, and easily the best pitcher in the majors this year. He is 8-2 with a 1.64 ERA and has become the ace of the A’s rotation. In his two losses he’s allowed one earned run combined, and has not allowed more than three in any start this year. Barry Zito who?
NL Rookie of the Year: Hunter Pence, Houston Astros
Chris Iannetta, Colorado Rockies
Chris Iannetta who? No seriously, where has this guy been. So much for pre-season hype. But, Hunter Pence came out of the blue to hit .344 with 6 homers and 30 RBI. He’s been a catalyst on the Astros who are still underachieving in the N.L. Central.
AL Rookie of the Year: Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
Elijah Dukes, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Dukes has had a pretty good season, but nothing compared to Pedroia’s .320 average and 22 RBI’s. Pedroia is also a daily member of ‘Web Gems.’ I can’t say enough about the kid, who was so hyped, started the season off slow, but has emerged into not only the best rookie in the A.L. but one of the best second basemen in the league, regardless of age.
NL Manager of the Year: Ned Yost, Milwaukee Brewers
Ned Yost, Milwaukee Brewers
Yes! Finally got one right! Yost has led the Brew Crew to a big lead in the N.L. Central and they are 10 games over .500.
AL Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge, Cleveland Indians
Bob Geren, Oakland Athletics
Geren has done a respectable job, especially having to deal with all the injuries the A’s have, but Wedge has outdone him. Cleveland finally is playing to its potential and they are tied for first in the A.L. Central under Wedge, 12 games over .500.
NL Comeback Player of the Year: Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubs
Josh Hamilton, Cincinnati Reds
I’m still taking credit for giving this award to Hamilton in the pre-season because he’s still a regular in the Reds lineup and producing every day. But Derrek Lee has been unbelievable. He’s hitting .345 with 6 homers and 37 RBI’s and getting on base at a clip of .420.
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Sammy Sosa, Texas Rangers
Rich Harden, Oakland Athletics
What was I thinking? Harden ALWAYS gets hurt. Always. Sosa has made a surprising impact with the Rangers, despite the team being terrible. He’s stuck at 599 homers, but he’ll hit that milestone within a week. Besides, who else are you going to give it to?
And just for fun…
Best Transaction: Gary Sheffield, Detroit Tigers (.295, 17, 49, .402 OBP, .543 Slug %)
Worst Transaction: Jason Schmidt, Los Angeles Dodgers (1-4, 6.31, 2 stints on the DL)
One reply on “Second Guessing the Preseason Picks”
Rookie of the Year I think if the A’s make their usual August-September surge then Travis Buck may work his way into the Rookie of the Year race. Pedroia may get him on average but Buck will have superior power numbers.