Around the NL: Midseason awards

What’s a Baseball column during the All-Star break without midseason awards? I know everyone picks these awards. Some are whimsical; some are edgy; most are serious.

MVP
Prince Fielder, Milwaukee
The Prince of Milwaukee has led his team to a surprising lead in the NL Central, and all indications are that the Brew Crew will hold on for its first postseason appearance since 1982. Fielder leads the NL with 29 homers at the break, and is second with 73 RBIs.

Matt Holliday, who the fans snubbed for All-Star honors — is having a terrific season putting up numbers that Coors Field prior to the humidor would be proud of. He’s third in RBIs, second in batting average and sixth in OPS.

Another name that should be in conversations is Chipper Jones. He’s second only to Barry Bonds in OPS, and when Chipper is in the lineup, the Braves are a different team. The Braves are 37–28 with Chipper in the lineup, 10–14 without him.

Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez has proven immune to the sophomore jinx. He is batting .331 with an OPS north of .900 and has crossed the plate 70 times.

Almost a forgotten man in the NL race is Philadelphia’s Chase Utley. The second baseman is fourth in the league with a .972. With 2006 MVP Ryan Howard on the shelf for a good part of the season, Utley has carried the Phillies getting them back in the race.

2nd Half Prediction:
The Brewers will hold on to the NL Central, earning votes for Fielder. A healthy Chipper and consistent Utley will finish high in the voting.

Cy Young
Jake Peavy, San Diego
The first half Cy Young is clearly a two-man race. Peavy is our choice, with a slight edge over the Dodgers’ Brad Penny. Peavy’s 2.19 ERA is second in the league, but his 125 strikeouts lead the league. Peavy has a 1.06 WHIP, but has just nine wins compared to Penny’s 10–1 record. Penny has gotten about a run more support per start than Peavy.

Peavy’s teammate Chris Young is hot on their heels. He actually leads the NL in ERA and has gotten less support than Peavy.

John Maine of the Mets should be mentioned. At a time when the Mets desperately needed starting pitching, Maine has been terrific. He’s 10–4 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.

2nd Half Prediction:
Penny will begin to fall apart, but Peavy will remain healthy and in control.

Rookie of the Year
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee
For much of April, it appeared that Cincinnati’s Josh Hamilton could be a lock for ROY. The celebrated former first pick overall was once out of baseball. He was a Rule V pick last winter giving him, apparently, one last hope at a decent career. He didn’t disappoint fans in Cincinnati, but he wasn’t the best rookie in the NL.

That honor should go to Ryan Braun of Milwaukee. After a fast start at AAA Nashville, the Brewers couldn’t resist calling up their future star and throwing him in the midst of a pennant race. He isn’t just in the middle, he bats third for one of the best teams in the league.

Hunter Pence of Houston leads the league in batting with a robust .342 average. He has 23 doubles, six triples and just recently accrued enough plate appearances to qualify for the league lead in batting at .342.

In many seasons past, Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzky would be worthy of the award. But a strong field will keep him well off the pace.

2nd Half Prediction:
The voters will judge this award on stats alone and the edge will go to Pence. He had several weeks head start on Braun and the final numbers will show that.

Manager of the Year
Ned Yost, Milwaukee
Yost will get most — if not all — of the attention for this award. Although expectations have been growing in Milwaukee for a few years, few expected a first-place run this deep into the season.

Bob Melvin of Arizona and Bud Black of San Diego have their teams over achieving.

2nd Half Prediction:
See Fielder above.

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