Welcome to the first Internet Baseball Awards update. We'll be refreshing you on the voting daily, with updated leaderboards as well as some commentary on each of the separate races, and if at all possible, the calling out of people who have made terrible life decisions based on their voting habits. There's little chance that this matches the excitement of last night's playoff game, but at the same time, there's at least a 50-percent chance Cal Ripken offers more commentary.
Speaking of last night’s game, we kept a camera on Angels Manager Mike Scioscia as he watched the events unfold, determining who his first-place team would take on in the division series. Here's just one of the many telling images:
It would make sense, since we’re on the subject of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, to discuss the AL Player of the Year award ...
/all eyes turn to David Freese
... but we’re not going to do that. Let’s pivot to the AL Rookie of the Year (ROY) award!
Jose Abreu is so far out in front in this race that it’s far more interesting to see who will emerge from the peloton in second place. First though, the nitty-gritty details on Abreu: The 27-year-old first baseman from Cuba slashed .317/.383/.581, launching 36 home runs in the process. Before the season many speculated on Abreu’s slider-bat speed, or questioned whether he’d be able to hit for average and power at the same time. He answered emphatically, producing a top five offensive season per wRC+ and TAv. At the time, the $68 million deal the White Sox undertook seemed like a massive risk. Just under a full year later, it seems like an incredible bargain. Abreau appeared on 177 ballots, receiving a first-place vote in 175 of them.
Only five other candidates received a first place vote in the AL ROY race (in order of overall placement): Masahiro Tanaka, Dellin Betances, Collin McHugh, Yordano Ventura and... Brock Holt.
Look, I have all the love in the world for Brock Holt, but his presence here seems to have more to do with some Bostonian rapscallions having a psyochotic break amidst a losing season (yeah, you remember what those are like now, don’t you) than it bears any semblance to reality.
Holt is an outlier at 14th overall, but Tanaka-Ventura represent the 2nd-5th spots in voting. There’s a dropoff points-wise following Ventura, as he has almost double the point total of sixth place Marcus Stroman. All of this seems about right (barring Holt, mind you), as Betances was absolutely lights out, and having thrown 90 innings, avoids some of the concerns that a reliever doesn’t generate enough value overall to deserve recognition. Tanaka’s missed time drops him closer to the pack, and McHugh and Ventura both put together strong campaigns, but lacked overall impact.
Two strong seasons that aren’t getting the recognition they deserve? Matt Shoemaker and Daniel (Danny) Santana. Neither have the prospect pedigree of a Stroman or Ventura, but Shoemaker posted a 3.04 ERA, and nearly a strikeout per inning to solidify a volatile Angels rotation, and Santana threw down an OPS of 824 while playing shortstop and center field. There’s a ton of value in both of those seasons.
Please remember that voting is still live, and subject to change. So cast your ballot here!
