Major League Baseball Midseason Awards: American League

The 2017 Major League Baseball season is over halfway complete. As always, the first half has brought some stellar individual performances. I have decided to honor those men, with my second annual “midseason awards.”

To keep things relatively short, I have decided to break down both leagues in separate articles. Last week, I started with my favorite league, the good old NL. Now, I will complete this short series by going over the inferior American League.Unlike the National League, things have not exactly gone according to plan in the junior circuit.

Before the season started, the defending league champion Cleveland Indians were expected to romp over the rest of the Central Division. That has not been the case, as the scrappy Kansas City Royals are within three games of the Tribe for first place.

The Western Division was thought to be wide open, with the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and Houston Astros all thought to have a shot. It has turned into a one horse race, however, with Houston being that thoroughbred.

In the east, the Boston Red Sox were thought to be the clear favorites. Although the Bosox are right in the thick of things, they have faced more competition than expected thus far, as they are in a fierce battle with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. In short, nothing has gone according to plan in the AL.

Enough about the teams. This article is about the players that are the cream of the crop in the junior circuit. Let’s get into it.

Rookie of the Year: Aaron Judge
Stats (As of 7/29): 5.3 WAR, .308 Average, 33 HR, 74 RBI, .430 OBP, .644 SLG, 177 OPS+, .439 WOBA, 181 WRC+
As much as myself and most baseball fans have fallen in love with Judge, his other worldly 2017 probably won’t last forever.

With all due respect to this mountain of a man, he has been lucky this season.  His Batting average on balls in play is .395, which probably is not sustainable. Judge also has a strikeout rate of 30.1%. It would only be natural for these numbers will slow him down a bit as the season rolls forward. With that said, it’s hard to argue that Judge hasn’t been one of the best players in the American League to this point, and by far the best rookie in the junior circuit.

As is the case will all of the games best players, Judge is dominating in traditional baseball stats, as he leads AL in home runs and is 11th in batting average. His more advanced stats are also fantastic, as his WOBA(weighted on-base average) and wRC+(Weighted Runs Created plus) are pretty much insane.

Judge is also in the mix for MVP, along with Houston’s Jose Altuve, Boston’s Mookie Betts and, of course, the great Mike Trout. Although I don’t think he’s the best player in the AL quite yet, as far as junior circuit newcomers go, Judge is the cream of the crop.

Cy Young: Chris Sale
Stats (As of 7/29): 5.3 WAR, 13-4, 2.37 ERA, 211 K, 0.876 WHIP, 1.92 FIP, 12.8 K/9, 7.81 SO/W, 192 ERA+, 35 RAA
When Boston traded two of baseball’s top prospects this past winter to land Sale, I had my doubts. While the fact that he has been one of the best pitchers in the game over the last five years is indisputable, Sale’s behavior in the past has raised questions. So I wondered if the price would end up being too steep in the long run. While it has yet to be determined how good Michael Kopech and Yoan Moncada will be for the White Sox, the Red Sox are positive getting results right away.

Not only has Sale been living up to what the city expected from him, he’s been even better. Sale has dominated in traditional stats. He recently became the fourth pitcher in MLB history to strike out 200 men in less than 20 starts, and leads the league in earned run average with a mark of 2.37. He’s also dominated in advanced metrics, as his FIP is a ridiculous 1.92 and his ERA+ is 192, which is 92 points above the league average.

With respect to Corey Kluber and Jason Vargas, the question of who has been the best starter in the AL is a pretty easy one.

MVP: Jose Altuve

Stats (As of 7/29): 6.2 BWar, .369 Average, 15 HR, 59 RBI, 21 SB, .433 OBP, .585 SLG, 181 OPS+, .428 WOBA, 176 WRC+
The best player in baseball is Michael Nelson Trout. If not for missing several weeks with a thumb injury, Trout would probably be in line to win his third MVP Award. But injuries happen, and because Trout got hurt, a door has opened for Altuve to win his first such trophy.

Over the past five years, Altuve has gone from one of baseball’s most underrated players to one of its best, and he keeps getting better as the years roll on. When you look at Altuve’s stat line, the number that will jump out to the casual fan is his .369 batting average.  Over the course of his career, however, Altuve has become more than a guy who can hit for a high average. He is on pace to hit 20+ homers for the second year in a row, as well as finish with an On-base percentage above .400 and an OPS over 1.000 for the first time. These feats will officially destroy any idea of Altuve being just a high average, Punch and Judy hitter.

Perhaps the stat that is most telling of how much better Altuve is than he was a few years ago is his WRC+. In 2015, Altuve’s WRC+ was a respectable, but not eye-popping 123 (the league average is 100). Last season, it spiked to 150. So far in 2017, it is a career best 176, which is just five points behind the power hitting Judge.

With respect to Judge and Trout, in 2017, Altuve is putting together the finest season in the American League. It also doesn’t hurt that he is the best player on the AL’s best team.

Comeback Player of the Year: Mike Moustakas
When baseball fans think of the transformation of the Kansas City Royals from perennial cellar dwellers to World Series champions, it’s a safe bet that Moustakas is one of the first pieces that come to mind. After back-to-back AL pennants and the 2015 World Championship, the Royals fell on hard times last season. Moustakas was no exception.

The big third baseman’s 2016 campaign came to a premature end in late May as he suffered a torn ACL. It doesn’t take a medical degree to know that those types of injuries are hard to come back from. Moustakas has done just that. He is among the league leaders in home runs (30) and RBI (69) while posting a solid OPS+ of 125 to somewhat make up for a lackluster On-base percentage of .308. To get a little more analytical, Moustakas .359 weighted on-base average indicates that his poor OBP is somewhat misleading.

In short, Moustakas is on track to post career best totals in most categories aside from OBP, which is a pretty vital number. If he can get that up to respectability, he’ll be in even better shape.

As it is, his recovery is impressive, and the Royals are right in the thick of things largely because of it.