Predicting the winners and nominating the top candidates for MLB‘s end of season awards is kind of our thing here at Bleacher Report. Since entering September there has been an updated stock watch for one award or another on what feels like an hourly basis.
But listing the top five candidates for each major award in order and predicting how many votes they’ll actually get? Well that’s something of a new wrinkle.
Just how close is the race between Jose Fernandez and Yasiel Puig for the NL Rookie of the Year? Conversely, will anyone actually steal a first place vote from Clayton Kershaw for the NL Cy Young?
Will the Manager of the Year awards simply go to the skippers from each league’s top team, or has Pittsburgh’s first winning season in two decades clinched the award for Clint Hurdle?
A few weeks ago, the only question about the AL MVP was whether Miguel Cabrera would get the maximum score possible or if a few writers might sheepishly cast first place votes for Chris Davis.
But now? Now there’s a pretty rock solid case and historical precedent for Mike Trout to win the award.
Before we get to all that, let’s get the party started with what might be an unpopular opinion about the American League Rookie of the Year race.
*Unless otherwise cited, all statistics are courtesy of Fangraphs.com and are accurate through the start of play on Monday, September 9.