The Major League regular season is about to end, giving way to the emotions of a playoff that promises to be historic. Several players and teams have left very outstanding notes throughout the contest and will have their reward at the end of the road, but there is still a long time to know the verdict on the official prizes.
Who will be the Most Valuable Player or Manager of the Year? Who will win the Cy Young or the Rookie of the Year? To answer these questions and draw conclusions about the regular season, we offer you our early predictions for the AL prize money, as well as our vote for the surprise team and the disappointment of the new circuit.
Rookie of the Year: Julio Rodriguez
The Mariners have been the Braves of the American League with the debuts of their prospects. Among the three finalists they can place two: George Kirby and Julio Rodríguez. The latter should be the Rookie of the Year, although we recognize the seasons of Adley Rutchman and Steven Kwan.
Julio took his quality to another level by leaving an offensive line (Average/On-Base Average/Slugging/OPS) of .280/.342/.502/.844 in 129 games, at the same time, he has been 44 points better than average according to PAHO+. J-Rod, as his fans call him, and Mike Trout are the only rookies in MLB history to have scored 80 runs, driven in 70, added 25 stolen bases and 25 home runs.
Exploring history, the Dominican has been better at the beginning of his career than a large group of talented rookies who debuted with Seattle. Such are the cases of the members of the Hall of Fame, Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martínez, as well as Alex Rodríguez, Danny Tartabull, Alvin Davis or Kyle Lewis.
That performance earned Julio Rodriguez a seven-year, $119.3 million mega-contract that could grow to 12 years and $209.3 million if he performs very well.
Manager of the Year: Terry Francona
My heart wishes it would go to Brandon Hyde (Orioles) but the trend is that the winners of this award over the past decade have been the qualifying managers. With that in mind, we can’t hide the fact that the team that surprised the world with its Cleveland ranking, with Terry Francona in the lead.
The helmsman is about to win his third award, only this time he will do it with the youngest team in MLB and the youngest to have qualified in Cleveland history. The Guardians have taken advantage of the fact that the White Sox couldn’t find a rhythm, and also that the Twins couldn’t last until the end without good pitching.
Figures like Steven Kwan, Andrés Giménez and Amed Rosario resurfaced to support the offense. Let’s remember that his pitching is one of the best in the business and because of him they maintained consistency in the campaign. His mission is complete and what happens in the postseason will matter little, although they will not be a delicacy for any opponent.
Cy Young: Justin Verlander
If the “insensitive”, as many call Justin Verlander, wins his third Cy Young, it will be historic, first, because of what he is achieving statistically and, second, because he will do it in the campaign that he returned from Tommy John surgery at the age of 39 . As Gerrit Cole said of his former partner: “It’s like changing the tires on the old car.”
Justin has posted a 1.80 ERA with a 0.85 WHIP in addition to 17 wins. In each of those departments he leads the American League, as well as in average hits allowed per nine innings (6.14), while he ranks second in batting average against (.190) in all major leagues.
The only thing holding him back is total innings pitched (170.0), but 12 times has a pitcher won a Cy Young with 170 innings or less. The most recent such case was Corbin Burnes last year, who took home National League honors with 167 innings.
Most Valuable Player: Shohei Ohtani
The best word to characterize Aaron Judge’s season is exceptional. Suffice to say, it’s the second time in American League history that a player has hit 61 home runs. In addition, he does it in a different era, marked by study and technology, and also in the campaign where the commissioner’s office presented a new ball to reduce the home run rate.
We are happy to see what the “Judge” is achieving, who in addition to his spectacular home run pace is fighting for the triple crown. No player has won it since 2012 when Miguel Cabrera did it. Put that in context and you’ll see what the two-meter giant is achieving.
On the other hand, we have the alien who came to MLB in 2018 and who in 2021 taught us what planet he came from. In the same way that he amazed last year, he has in this 2022. Does seeing a chainsaw juggler twice stop being amazing? I don’t think so.
We are talking about the Japanese Shohei Ohtani, who has not hit 48 homers like last year –he will not even reach 40–, but he is leaving his mark with a colossal performance from the box. To give you an idea, two-way player only Nolan Ryan and Ohtani posted sub-2.40 ERAs while going at least 160 innings and 210 or more strikeouts.
Wait, it’s just the beginning. The Japanese has the best strikeout rate per nine innings for an Angels starter, and he has also become the first player in MLB history with ten game wins, 200 strikeouts and 30 home runs.
“The alien” has been 70 points better than the average pitcher, at the same time, he has been 49 points better than the average hitter, only nine points less than he registered in 2021, his great offensive year.
Don’t be blinded, that you want Judge to win MVP is a respectable criterion, but for him to fail to recognize that Shohei Ohtani is the most spectacular player in MLB would be blocking the sun with a finger.
The anomalies must be appreciated, as we see Halley’s comet pass every 75 years, or as we see the pyramids of Egypt before our era. A player pitching and hitting with supreme quality is unmatched. Quite simply, there are no statistics or metrics that can measure its true value. Admire it and enjoy it, maybe he will never see it again.
Before we close the column, it’s important that we understand what Judge means to MLB as a business. First, he is the face of the league right now, second, he is the best player on the Yankees (the most famous and storied team in the Major Leagues), and third, he serves as a springboard to raise the ratings. Finally, he is a native, something that is a plus in any sport. Let’s wait for the votes, but it is important to keep that in mind. Finally, as I said in previous paragraphs, we are not trying to reduce what he is doing: It is impressive!
Upset of the Year: The Orioles
We can talk about the good things the Orioles have done in 2022, but for the sake of summarizing their performance, let’s remember that they are the first team in Major League history to lose 110 games one year and win at least 80 the next. they’ve done it in the strongest division in baseball. The question we all ask ourselves is how they have done it, and we can try to discover the answer by points:
* His first move was to consolidate the base of the team. It is made up of young talent, almost all from its farm system: Cedric Mullins, Austin Hyas, Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutchman and Gunnar Henderson.
* They have managed to straighten out the careers of pitchers who were not finding success, some of them were recruited in the rule 5 draft or claimed off waivers: Jorge López, Cionel Perez, Byan Baker, Beau Sulser.
* In the bullpen era, having a good relief staff is essential. Baltimore has fielded a respectable bullpen, evidence of which is that its firefighters have the ninth-best ERA in the league and have the fourth-lowest walk rate per nine innings.
* Give manager Brandon Hyde credit, who has proven to be a good strategist. Questionable GM Mike Elias seems to be doing the right things, though we have to wait to see if he keeps his word: “We’re going to have aggressive free agency because we’re going into competitive mode in 2023.”
The truth is that the O’s have given us a dream season. Hopefully this is the beginning of a golden era for the Camden Yards franchise. Finally, the light is seen at the end of the tunnel.
Disappointment of the Year: The White Sox
We have dedicated many columns to the Chicago White Sox over the course of the contest and now what we said since the All-Star Game has been confirmed: If they don’t qualify, their season will be disappointing.
A spate of injuries, poor hitting and poor decisions have gotten Chicago to this point. They have simply lost a competitive year and nothing can justify that. To make matters worse, his manager Tony La Russa has health problems and we do not know what direction the organization will take in the coming months after the resignation of his mentor. Will they clean up your dugout? We will have to be vigilant.
The overwhelming favorite to win the division did not win it. His 80% projection (according to Fangraphs) to stay with the American League Central only exposes the failure. Let us hope that they do not continue to lose years of a generation that deserves to go further.
