Mid-Season Awards

The half way point of the 2014 MLB season is coming up so I thought it would be a perfect time to do midseason awards. There have been some pleasant surprises this season and for Rays and Red Sox fans maybe not so pleasant surprises. With that being said lets get into my midseason picks. These are the players I feel would win the award if the season ended today.

NL MVP – Giancarlo Stanton

This guy has crazy power and has shown it this season. He is striking out at a high rate but he is also being productive, currently hitting over .300. The reason I think Stanton edges out Tulo for this award is because the Marlins are still in contention. They sit just 2.5 games out of the division where the Rockies are 11 games back.

AL MVP – Edwin Encarnacion

His batting average is a little low but he leads the bigs in home runs and RBI. What is more valuable than driving in runs? The Blue Jays are playing great baseball right now and it all starts with EE.

NL Cy Young -  Johnny Cueto

Cueto has been ridiculous this season posting an ERA under 2.00 and a WHIP under 1.00. This might be the best race for the rest of the season with Kershaw throwing so well now but because we are saying the season ends today, Cueto wins.

AL Cy Young – Scott Kazmir

Its so nice to see Kazmir finally healthy and throwing like the player he was once thought to be. King Felix and rookie Masahiro Tanaka are two other pitchers that anyone could make a case for to win this award but Kazmir edges them both out in ERA and WHIP while posting a great 9-2 record.

NL Rookie of the Year – Billy Hamilton

There really wasn’t much to pick from when it came to making this decision. Billy Hamilton has done a decent job in his first full season in the big leagues. He has also hit much better recently and has racked up 31 stolen bases. Polanco has had a great start but he has only played 13 games so you really can’t give him an award with that small of a sample size.

AL Rookie of the Year – Masahiro Tanaka

The American League is the complete opposite of the National League. There are plenty of rookies have great seasons to pick from. I feel Tanaka might not be the best rookie pitcher on his own team but I think because of the fact he is a starter he gets more points than teammate Dellin Betances. You could also make a case for slugger Jose Abreu and no one would think you were crazy.



Zachary Hoffmann - Shaping the minds of America's youth while waiting for an owner to call and offer him a GM job. Don't forget to follow on Twitter @zhoffmann1 @LTRBaseball

Blue Jays Will Win The AL East

Coming into the season I picked the Tampa Bay Rays to take the AL East crown. Well I couldn't be more wrong thus far. They are in dead last and have worst the record in the AL which is actually shocking to everyone. Time to jump on the Blue Jays Bandwagon and don't worry their is plenty of room left.

Yeah the Jays are up 4.5 games, so it might not be that bold but no one is talking about this team. They have the best 3-4 punch in the league right now with Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. They have a combined 34 HR and 91 RBI going into Wednesdays game. They have been one of the hottest teams in the league and have won 8 out of the last 10 and have started to pull away in the AL East. They can score runs that is no question. The pitching has been the problem in recent years. They are starting to finally get some pitching led my Mark Buerhle who leads the league with 10 wins.

The rest of the division is not as dominate as it used to be. They Rays are done, I think that is safe to say. The Red Sox do not look like the same team they were last year, even though they just won 7 in a row after losing 10 in a row. They are currently 7.5 back of the Jays. Then you have the New York Yankees who we all know went out and spent a boat load of money this offseason. It hasn't really come together for them either. The rotation is actually pathetic besides Tanaka who has been dominant. OH, and they don't have Robinson Cano and Mariano Rivera anymore. Those two are not easy to replace. Yankee fans are starting to learn what life is like without a shutdown closer. They have too many injuries and holes in order to win this division.

The biggest competition the Jays have are the Orioles. Led by Nelson Cruz who has an absurd 21 home runs so far this season. They have a loaded lineup similar to Toronto but it has underperformed this season. Chris Davis who had a monster season last year, is now batting .230 and only has 7 HR after hitting 53 last year. The  rotation for the O's hasn't been great either. They do not have on starter that has an ERA on under 4. Ubaldo Jimenez has been an utter disappointment this season. He has an ERA of 4.39 and a WHIP of 1.48.

This division is not what it used to be, it is sitting right in the hands of the Jays. I believe that this is their year to take the crown. I expect them to lead this division the rest of the way.