The All-Star Break is finally here. It’s a time for fans to take a break from their teams, relax, and watch the All-Star Game and the events that come with it. It’s also time for you to reflect on how your team has lived up to their failure or success. They also get to make their arguments about whether their favorite players will win some season awards. In this article, I will present the top 2 players from each league most likely to win the following MLB awards: MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Manager of the Year.

2018 NL MVP:

1: Nolan Arenado

This one is an easy no-brainer. Arenado has been one of the MLB’s top hitters for the past 3 or 4 years. His stats this year include a .312 BA, 23 HR, 68 RBI, .395 OBP, .586 SLG, .981 OPS, 49 walks, 72 strikeouts, 107 H, 21 2B, and 2 3B in 395 PA. His OPS isn’t the best in the NL, as Brewers 1B Jesús Aguilar has a .995 OPS. The difference between Aguilar and Arenado is the fact that Arenado has 79 more plate appearances. Considering plate appearances, Nolan’s OPS is most similar with Freeman, who has a .938 OPS in 420 PA. Arenado also has good plate patience, as he has a 4.05 pitches per plate appearances, which ranks 21st in the NL. He also ranks 4th in the MLB, tied with Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter, for extra base hits as he has 46. All of these and more make a good argument to why Arenado is a legitamte MVP candidate.

2: Freddie Freeman

Freeman is an easy top 3 candidate for NL MVP and he’s having a down season from last year. His stats so far this year include a .315 BA, 16 HR, 61 RBI, .405 OBP, .533 SLG, .938 OPS, 53 walks, 79 strikeouts, 114 H, 25 2B, and 3 3B in 420 PA. Last year he finished with a .989 OPS and a 1.201 OPS before the All-Star Break. He’s a phenomenal player as anyone can tell from those stats and more. This year, he currently has a 3.9 WAR, which ranks him 22nd in the MLB! In terms of some fielding stats, his dWAR isn’t very good, as it stands at -0.2, but he ranks high in some defensive stats. One would be putouts, which he ranks 4th in the MLB at and 3rd in the NL. The guy is a stud and definitely could be an MVP candidate if he keeps up his stats.

2018 NL Cy Young:

1: Max Scherzer

Scherzer is still contending for his third Cy Young in a row at age 33, as since being a National he has looked absolutely unreal as a pitcher. So far this year he has posted a 12-5 record, 2.41 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 182 strikeouts, 34 walks, and a .180 BAA in 134.2 innings pitched. Every year since being a National, he has posted incredible stats per 9 innings, and every year his walks per 9 innings have rounded to 1 or 2 and his strikeouts per 9 innings have rounded to 11 or 12. This year has been no different, as he has posted a 12.16 strikeouts per 9 innings (3rd in MLB) and 2.27 walks per 9 innings. His strikeouts to walks has been an incredible 5.35, which ranks 5th in the MLB. As long as he keeps these up, he’s an easy Cy Young winner.

2: Jacob deGrom

deGrom is a little over halfway through a career season on the Mets, as although he has a 2.78 career ERA, this season he’s been pitching almost unreal. So far this season, he has posted a 5-4 record, 1.68 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 149 strikeouts, 30 walks, and a .202 BAA in 123.1 innings pitched. Now with these stats he looks like the easy winner for the Cy Young, but expanding past ERA you can see how Scherzer has posted a better WHIP and BAA. deGrom has posted very similar stats per 9 innings however, having a 10.87 strikeouts per 9 innings (10th in MLB) and 2.19 walks per 9 innings. His strikeouts to walks are also great, as they stand at 4.97 and rank 6th in the MLB. If he posts a bit better strikeouts per 9 innings, he could edge out Scherzer.

2018 NL Rookie of the Year:

1: Jack Flaherty

Flaherty is a 22-year-old rookie starter for the Cardinals and is now in his second season, but it still qualifies for his rookie season. So far this year, Flaherty has posted a 4-4 record, 3.15 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 96 strikeouts, 28 walks, and a .207 BAA in 80 innings pitched. The thing that puts Flaherty above most rookie starters would be his ERA, which is very good for a rookie pitcher like him entering his second year. In fact, it’s the lowest out of every NL rookie with double-digit starts. He also has an incredible 10.80 strikeouts per 9 innings which is unbelievable because he’s a rookie and not very experienced. He also has a 3.15 walks per 9 innings which is also pretty good for a rookie. If he keeps these stats up, he could be a solid rookie of the year.

2: Brian Anderson

Anderson is in the midst of a really solid MLB rookie season for the Marlins and has potentially proven to be a solid piece for the future. So far this season, Anderson has been hitting a .288 BA, 8 HR, 49 RBI, .363 OBP, .429 SLG, .792 OPS, 37 BB, 72 SO, 109 H, 23 2B, and 3 3B in 424 PA. Anderson has been a huge and good surprise for the Marlins, who we all expected to be a joke of a franchise for the next few years or so, but they have surprised us all and leading the charge is Anderson. One argument for him for the Rookie of the Year would be his plate appearances which are very high for a rookie and help excuse his stats which are worse than some NL rookies. If he can get his OPS up to .820-.850 with over 600 PA he could be an easy win the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

2018 NL Manager of the Year:

1: Gabe Kapler

After the Twitter war between Gabe Kapler and Phillies fans on Opening Day which represented Jason Heyward’s grand slam against Adam Morgan, the Phillies have really grown with Kapler, who’s been setting up lineups that are making Nats fans hide in the dark as the Phils lead the NL East. Currently, Philly has a 53-42 record, which definitely has some to do with their free agent acquisitions of Jake Arrieta and Carlos Santana, but Kapler has been able to make a lineup that allows the hitters to show their talents that make this team so well. He also has been able to find some decent closers as the Héctor Neris experiment went south very quickly. Overall, the Phillies have improved the most, so Kapler is an easy candidate.

2: Brian Snitker

Snitker is the manager of the Atlanta Braves and I feel like, although he is relatively new, he deserves this award for how the Braves have done so far this year. He has been able to help their team get to a good spot despite a large absence from their top prospect, Acuña Jr., being able to make a lineup that had fit to their needs without Acuña and the Braves lineup has certainly been helping him a lot. The rotation also has gotten a lot better with Snitker at the helm, although I think this shouldn’t be very thoughtof because of the pitching coaches. Just the improvement to a 52-42 record could get Snitker this award.

2018 AL MVP:

1: Mookie Betts

The Red Sox have had one heck of a season. From what I thought, I was almost sure that they were going to be playing second fiddle to the Yankees, but no, they have had great seasons from many of their guys, especially Betts. So far this season, he has been posting a .359 BA, 23 HR, 51 RBI, .448 OBP, .691 SLG, 1.139 OPS, 46 walks, 42 strikeouts, 108 H, 25 2B, and 3 3B in 355 PA. Those stats are not just unbelievable, they’re godly. No one has seen an OPS like that since 2015 when Bryce Harper posted a 1.109. Betts also ranks 7th in the MLB in extra base hits and 5th in the AL. He can regress, but as long as he keeps up a 1.07 OPS or so, he’ll be fine.

2: Mike Trout

The Angels are regressing, but one player who is not, which is not surprising, is MVP candidate Trout. Trout never fails to impress anyone, posting great offensive and defensive numbers this year. So far this year, he has posted a .310 BA, 25 HR, 50 RBI, .454 OBP, .606 SLG, 1.060 OPS, 84 walks, 83 strikeouts, 104 H, 18 2B, and 3 3B in 428 PA. Right now, Trout is not a claer MVP winner, but I do believe that Betts could regress a bit and Trout regularly posts high .900s to high 1s OPS’ so it’s definitely very possible he could win his third MVP by the end of the season. He posts great defensive stats every year, posting not 3, not 1, but 0 errors this season with 733.1 innings played in the outfield! He definitely could win his third MVP, but he has to get his OPS up to 1.08 to 1.1.

2018 AL Cy Young:

1: Justin Verlander

Since being an Astro, Verlander’s age of 35 is practically just a random number as his stats have been the real numbers. He has posted a 9-5 record, 2.29 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 172 strikeouts, 24 walks, and a .184 BAA in 137.2 innings pitched so far this year. Now, the AL Cy Young award is going to be unbelievably close this year, but I think what really sets Verlander from his opponents are his walks and his walks per 9 innings. While guys like Sale have 31 walks and 2.16 walks per 9 innings, Verlander has 24 walks and a 1.57 walks per 9 innings in more innings pitched than Sale. Verlander also posts an incredible 11.24 strikeouts per 9 innings, which ranks 8th in the MLB and a godly 7.17 strikeouts to walks, which ranks 2nd in the MLB! However, his walks and walks per 9 innings, in my opinion, is the stat that really carries him to lead my Cy Young votings right now.

2: Chris Sale

Sale has been one of the best pitchers in the MLB for his entire time pitching for both the White Sox and the Red Sox. This year has been no different, as Sale has posted a 10-4 record, 2.23 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 188 strikeouts, 31 walks, and a .184 BAA in 129 innings pitched. Now, it’s certainly possible that a good argument could be made to put Sale above Verlander right now, as it’s unbelievably close, but I feel like Sale’s walks, which are worse than Verlander’s in less innings pitched, but Verlander above Sale. Still, Sale has a MLB leading 13.12 strikeouts per 9 innings and a 6.06 strikeouts to walks which ranks 3rd in the MLB! The guy is an absolutely incredible strikeouts machine and he doesn’t allow many walks, as he has a 2.16 walks per 9 innings! It definitely is possible that Sale could be passing Verlander by the season’s end.

2018 AL Rookie of the Year:

1: Gleyber Torres

Torres has been a very largely hyped prospect for the last year and a half or so. This season he finally got his chance for the MLB, and he hasn’t disappointed. He has posted a .294 BA, 15 HR, 42 RBI, .350 OBP, .555 SLG, .905 OPS, 17 walks, 61 strikeouts, 64 H, 10 2B, and 1 3B in 241 PA. Now, it’s really close for Torres winning Rookie of the Year, and although he’s not listed in my votings, I’d say him and his fellow teammate Miguel Andújar are pretty close. The one argument that someone could use that Andújar is a better option are his plate appearances, as he has 98 more than Torres. Torres, however, has much better stats, as his OPS reaches .900 which Andújar’s barely reaches .800. For his great stats, I’d say that Torres takes the award.

2: Jaime Barria

Baria is a 22-year-old rookie starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels. He has largely been a reason they are able to maintain a .500 record with of course guys like Mike Trout and Tyler Skaggs. So far this season, Barria has posted a 5-6 record, 3.55 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 52 strikeouts, 19 walks, and a .246 BAA in 66 innings pitched. Barria currently leads in ERA for all AL rookie pitchers with more than 10 starts. Barria has some solid advanced  stats for a rookie starter in a really good division as well. Some of these include his 7.09 strikeouts per 9 innings, 2.59 walks per 9 innings, and a 2.74 strikeouts to walks. If he keeps up these stats and gets his control ramped up to a 8 strikeouts per 9 innings and a 2.3 to 2.5 walks per 9 innings then he could win the award.

2018 AL Manager of the Year:

1: Bob Melvin

Melvin is the manager of the Oakland Athletics and has been for since 2011. Now, with that in mind you may be wondering how he can win it now after being the manager of the team for the last 7 years. I think that this year he has done a good job in making a lineup that is giving the A’s success by putting the hitters where they need to be to exceed despite the fact they didn’t improve very much. That revamped lineup has led the A’s to a 55-42 record and being 3 games back from a Wild Card spot. This is also his first year in a while with a bullpen that can help the team and capable starters, and even then Melvin has done a good job showing when they need to pitch and possibly helped them improve over the offseason.

2: Scott Servais

Servais is the manager of the Seattle Mariners and has been since 2016. I think he really deserves it this year for how spectacular the Mariners have been, especially since losing their star second baseman Robinson Canó to a PED suspension for a majority of the season. He has adapted the Mariners lineup to work suffeciently, maybe even better, without Canó as he now has guys like Denard Span helping fill some of the cracks that Canó leaving left. He also has been able to help the team to a 58-39 record with a bullpen that hasn’t been extremely good, especially with Alex Colomé regressing a bit. All of this I think could lead him to a manager of the year award or at least get him in the top 3 of votings.