Our 2016 AL Award Predictions

Evidently this and our NL predictions never got posted. Oops…

Enjoy anyway! *Note: This was written about a week before the season started.

MVP – Jose Altuve

Standing at only 5’6″ (supposedly), Altuve is one of the premiere players in baseball. He can do it all. In 4 full Major League seasons, Jose is a 3-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, Gold Glove winner, has led the AL in steals twice, led the Majors in hits in 2014 (225) and the AL in ’15 (200) and, the most impressive stat, has struck out only 308 times in 668 games. Altuve also added power to his game last year, hitting a career best 15 long balls. Given the strong lineup around him, Altuve could hit 20 home runs this year while potentially swiping 60+ bags and lead the Majors in hits yet again. If my prediction holds up, Altuve will tie Phil Rizzuto and Bobby Shantz as the shortest MVP in Major League history.

Runner-up: Mike Trout, again.

Cy Young – Chris Sale

The lanky lefty has pitched 4 seasons out of the White Sox rotation and has made the All-Star team all 4 years. The strikeout machine saw his ERA jump over a run last season (3.41 – 2.17 in 2014); however, that should not be of concern because his FIP sat at an AL best 2.73. Expect his ERA to drop back to that number as Sale will lead baseball in strikeouts and garner his first 20 win season. Sale has finished in the top-5 in Cy Young voting the past 3 seasons.

Runner-up: Sonny Gray, wait, didn’t Springsteen write a song about him?

Rookie of the Year – Blake Snell

This 6’4″ lefty posted an astonishing 1.41 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in the minors last year. He dominated hitters at all 3 levels and appears ready to pitch in the Majors. Expect him to come up in late June and help solidify Tampa Bay’s young and potentially great rotation for years to come. I give Snell the edge over A.J. Reed because I don’t see a clear path to the Majors for Reed as Houston seems content with Tyler White and Evan Gattis manning 1B/DH.

Runner-up: A.J. Reed

What do you think of our selections? Sound off in the comments.