Major League Baseball is officially in awards season. On Monday night, the league announced this year’s recipients of the Baseball Writers Association of America’s Rookie of the Year awards, with Gunnar Henderson (Baltimore Orioles) taking home the American League ROY, and Corbin Carroll (Arizona Diamondbacks) taking home the honors for the National League. Award announcements continue tonight, with the Manager of the Year in each league set to be announced at 6 p.m. EST on MLB Network. With that being said, let’s predict the award winners for the rest of the week…
Manager of the Year
AL: Brandon Hyde, Orioles
The young Orioles took not only the AL East but the entirety of the American League by storm this season, winning 101 wins en route to the top record in the American League. Led by Hyde, Baltimore shocked baseball fans across the country by surpassing projected win totals set by multiple baseball projection systems. They might be a year early, but they certainly didn’t look like it.
NL: Brian Snitker, Braves
The Braves were far and away the best team in baseball during the regular season. Their squad set multiple offensive records en route to winning 104 games, the most in baseball. Oh, and they also have two top-5 NL MVP finishers in Ronald Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson.
Cy Young Award
AL: Gerrit Cole, Yankees
Cole looks certain to earn his long-awaited Cy Young award that has eluded him multiple times throughout his career. He has had two top-5 finishes, including two second-place finishes in 2019 and 2021. He should win the AL Cy Young Award unanimously after pitching 209 innings and putting up a 2.63 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 9.56 K/9, and a strikeout percentage of 27%. He was the best pitcher in baseball all year and one of the very few bright spots for a disappointing 2023 Yankees team.
NL: Blake Snell, Padres
Snell looks to be on his way to earning his second career Cy Young Award, going very under the radar in league history. Snell previously won the AL Cy Young Award in 2018 with Tampa Bay, and now could rack in his first NL Cy Young Award, becoming just the seventh player to ever win the award in both leagues. This season Snell put up a 2.24 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 11.70 K/9, and a strikeout percentage of 31.5%.
Most Valuable Player
AL: Shohei Ohtani, Angels
Ohtani is primed to win his second career AL MVP award, after losing out last year due to Aaron Judge’s historic 2022 season. Ohtani was on pace to potentially break the AL home run record before injuries derailed his season, but that won’t stop him from racking up more hardware. At the plate, Ohtani hit .304, with a .412 OBP, .654 SLG, 44 homers, 95 RBI, and a 180 wRC+. On the mound, Ohtani pitched to a 10-5 record, with a 3.14 ERA, 11.39 K/9, and a strikeout percentage of 31.5%. Another all-time great season for Ohtani.
NL: Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves
This will be the closest award battle across MLB, but Acuna will just edge out Mookie Betts to win his first career MVP award. Acuna also had a historic season, going 40-70, becoming the first player in MLB history to accomplish the feat. He also hit .337, with a .416 OBP, .596 SLG, and 170 wRC+. His electric offensive production led the Braves to an MLB-best 104 wins.
(Featured image via Dale Zanine/USA Today)
