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Disclaimer: My predictions for this year’s MLB season have been very far off so far. While my player predictions were not nearly as bad as my team predictions, please view these poor predictions through a lens of shock and awe at how wild baseball has been in 2023.

Player Awards

NL MVP: Ronald Acuña Jr.

My original selection for NL MVP was Nolan Arenado. This was not a poor pick by any stretch of the imagination. Arenado has been snubbed of the NL MVP trophy far too many times. Like when he led Kris Bryant in every hitting stat in 2017 and won the NL gold glove for third basemen and didn’t win. Arenado is not having a bad year for a normal player. Nolan Arenado-wise? It’s not his best. He’s not standing out as an MVP candidate so far.

My new pick is Acuña. He’s absolutely mashing. Not only that, but the Braves are so good that he has no pressure to truly perform every night. If Acuña manages to continue this level of offensive production, he deserves MVP. There’s only one man who can stop him: Luis Arraez. A .400 hitting season deserves the MVP award every time, and as of now, Arraez is hitting .398. I think one of these two will take home the MVP trophy this year, but my honorable mention is Corbin Carroll. Barring injury or a horrendous second half, Corbin is the lock for the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani was my original pick and I’m sticking with it. Shohei should and will win the award. I had made an earlier comment about how he doesn’t deserve an MVP and a Cy Young but he does. Shohei’s first half was insane both as a pitcher and as a catcher. I would say it’s unlikely someone else takes home the hardware but I have to give you an honorable mention. That man is a Tampa Bay Ray. Give me Randy Arozarena or Yandy Diaz for runner ups. Possibly Yordan Alvarez as well. I don’t think Julio Rodriguez is a serious MVP contender nor is Mike Trout anymore.

NL Cy Young: Zac Gallen

My initial pick was Jacob DeGrom. Sadly, we’ll never know if this would’ve been an MVP year for him in Texas. Hopefully he can bounce back from injury and return to some level of DeGrominance. Now, my Cy Young pick is Zac Gallen. His Dbacks are in first place in a tough division and it’s largely because of the outings he’s had on the mound this year. It’ll be interesting to see what happens to the Dbacks in this second half. My honorable mention for this award is Spencer Strider. Strider too has been lights out all year. But can anyone truly argue that he’s more valuable to the Braves than Gallen is to the Diamondbacks. To me, the Diamondbacks aren’t a first place team without gallon. I don’t know that you can say the same about Spencer Strider.

AL Cy Young: Sonny Gray

I know I said Ohtani deserves both awards but it’s no fun to pick him for both. Plus, Sonny Gray’s stats are actually a bit better than Ohtani’s. McClanahan and Gray are both extremely dominant and you may be thinking McClanahan is the better pick here but let me tell you why I pick Gray. McClanahan has had the fourth best offense producing for him in his starts which has padded his W/L significantly. Gray has the twenty-fourth offense producing for him in a park that tends to favor hitters. Gray has also only given up TWO home runs on the season. McClanahan and Gray equally deserve to be Cy Young Award winners. There’s also an argument that McClanahan faces much better hitters in the east though. I’m predicting Gray has a better second half than McClanahan and wins his first Cy Young.

NL Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll

I predicted Carroll would come into the MLB and snag the hardware and I was correct. It seems to be trending that way anyway. There’s only one person I can see winning the award at this point and that is Elly de la Cruz. It’s a bit early to pick Elly to win the Rookie of the Year Award. After all, he’s only been in the league for about 20 days. But from what we’ve seen so far, I say why not? He’s absurdly fast with absurd power. I think the award will go to Carroll, unless Elly becomes a driving force in a Cincinnati playoff appearance.

AL Rookie of the Year: Masataka Yoshida

My original pick was Anthony Volpe. Volpe hasn’t panned out to having a great ROY caliber season. Masataka Yoshida however, is hitting .304 as of now and is a bright spot of this struggling Red Sox team. To be honest, I don’t know who else is really competing for it. Josh Jung perhaps? I’m not going to give an honorable mention. It seems like all the good rookies are in either the AL or NL but never both doesn’t it?

NL Manager of the Year: Brian Snitker

My original pick was Bob Melvin but now I don’t think he’ll have a job when they’re giving these awards out. Snitker is a safe choice, the Braves are really good and will almost certainly be a playoff team. If the Reds or Dbacks truly do put together great second halves and show that they can sustain success all year long. I think the award could very well go to Torey Lovullo or David Bell. Two teams that are severely outperforming where everybody thought they would be may be deserving of a MOY award.

AL Manager of the Year: Kevin Cash

Another safe bet here. The Rays are just too good to overlook him. Once again, depending on second half success. Look to Bruce Bochy or maybe Brandon Hyde as honorable mentions to win the award. The Rangers and Orioles have turned things around quick. I like Brandon Hyde for this award if it doesn’t go to Kevin Cash.

Well there you have it. My player award predictions for the second half of this year. Leave a comment and let me know what you think if you’ve made it this far!

-Walker