The MLB season is just a couple of weeks away from coming to an end, and there’s no better time to look at the awards race. This section will focus on the National League (NL) awards. Stats are as of Sept. 24.
Whereas the AL MVP has been a one-horse race since the beginning of the summer, the NL MVP will come down to the wire. Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. has put up a season nobody has ever seen. He is the first player in history with a 30 homerun (HR)/60 stolen base season to go along with a 1.010 on-base plus slugging (OPS) and 7.8 wins above replacement (fWAR.)
Despite that, he is not a runaway favorite as Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts has kept up in this tight race. Betts has played second base and outfield, which makes him more valuable than Acuña Jr. defensively. With his bat, Betts has hit 39 HR to go along with a 1.000 OPS and 8.2 fWAR.
NL Cy Young is given to the best pitcher in the league, and San Diego Padres lefty Blake Snell is on the cusp of his 2nd Cy in his career. Snell has been thoroughly dominant since an early season slump, which is shown with a 1.26 earned run average (ERA) dating back to May 25th. Despite Snell having command issues that lead to a lot of walks, a slump by his closest competitor in Chicago Cubs lefty Justin Steele, Snell’s Sept. 19 start vs the Colorado Rockies almost served as a coronation party after he didn’t give up a hit or run in 7 innings.
The last award given out is for Rookie of the Year, and Arizona Diamondbacks speedster Corbin Carroll has been the favorite since Spring Training. Carroll has lived up to the hype, becoming the first rookie in MLB history with 25 HR and 50 stolen bases in a season. Carroll’s spectacular year has allowed the Diamondbacks to stay in the playoff hunt for the first time in six years.
While the award winners won’t be known until the World Series concludes in November, it is interesting to spotlight the players contending for major hardware.