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AL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD

RankNameTmVote Pts1st PlaceShareWAR
1Josh DonaldsonTOR3852392%8.8
2Mike TroutLAA304772%9.4
3Lorenzo CainKCR225054%7.2
4Manny MachadoBAL158038%7.1
5Dallas KeuchelHOU107025%7.2
6Nelson CruzSEA94022%5.2
7Adrian BeltreTEX83020%5.8
8Jose BautistaTOR82020%5.1
9David PriceTOT62015%5.8
10Jose AltuveHOU44010%4.5
11Miguel CabreraDET40010%5.2
12Edwin EncarnacionTOR3809%4.7
13Prince FielderTEX3308%1.9
14Chris DavisBAL3208%5.2
15J.D. MartinezDET1804%5.0
16Jason KipnisCLE1704%4.6
17Kevin KiermaierTBR1002%7.3
18Kendrys MoralesKCR702%2.4
19Mookie BettsBOS401%6.0
19Chris SaleCHW401%3.3
21Jose AbreuCHW301%3.8
21Ian KinslerDET301%6.0
21Mike MoustakasKCR301%4.4
24Carlos CorreaHOU200%4.1
24Eric HosmerKCR200%3.6
24Russell MartinTOR200%3.3
24Brian McCannNYY200%2.8
26Michael BrantleyCLE100%3.4
26Wade DavisKCR100%3.4
26Brian DozierMIN100%2.4
26David OrtizBOS100%3.2
26Alex RodriguezNYY100%3.1
26Mark TeixeiraNYY100%3.8
 
Share = Percentage of vote total received. 100 percent is the total of course.
 

Donaldson racked up 23 first place votes to just seven for Trout. The reason Trout lost could very well have been his down August (.218/.352/.337). Let’s compare the duo.

Donaldson tied Trout with 41 homers, the third best mark in the AL. Donaldson drove in 123 runners, the most in the league. Donaldson also scored 122 times, the most in the junior circuit. He hit .297 with a .371 OBP and .568 SLG leading to a .939 OPS. How many players in the 21st century have gone .297-41-123-122? The answer is eight if you include Donaldson. Three men have done it twice: Alex Rodriguez five times, Albert Pujols three times and Todd Helton twice. Deserving of the award.

Trout fell to just 11 steals, but the rest of his game was as strong as usual. He hit a career best 41 homers and led the AL with a .991 OPS. Trout also drove in 90 runs, scored 104 times, posted a .402 OBP and .590 SLG. It was a hell of a season. Perhaps Trout “being Trout” has lost some of its cache? Perhaps it was his loss of steals? I’m betting finishing second had more to do with Donaldson’s Blue Jays’ making the playoffs than anything else.

 

NL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD

RankNameTmVote Pts1st PlaceShareWAR
1Bryce HarperWSN42030100%9.9
2Paul GoldschmidtARI234056%8.8
3Joey VottoCIN175042%7.6
4Anthony RizzoCHC162039%6.2
5Andrew McCutchenPIT139033%4.9
6Jake ArrietaCHC134032%9.0
7Zack GreinkeLAD130031%9.9
8Nolan ArenadoCOL102024%5.8
9Buster PoseySFG84020%6.1
10Clayton KershawLAD49012%7.5
11Kris BryantCHC3408%5.9
12Matt CarpenterSTL2606%3.9
13Yoenis CespedesNYM2406%2.3
14A.J. PollockARI2105%7.4
15Jason HeywardSTL1504%6.5
16Dee GordonMIA601%4.9
17Trevor RosenthalSTL501%2.7
18Curtis GrandersonNYM401%5.1
19Gerrit ColePIT301%4.6
19Adrian GonzalezLAD301%3.9

 

Share = Percentage of vote total received. 100 percent is the total of course.

 

Harper completely deserved the award. Written off by so many in the fantasy game because of the overabundance of fickleness, the 22 year old Harper, he didn’t turn 23 until after the regular season was completed, was a flat out superstar. He was second in average (.330), first in OBP (.460), first in SLG (.649) and first in OPS (1.109) in the NL. We don’t even need to get involved with sabermetrics to understand how stupendous his season was, do we? Harper also tied for the league lead with 42 homers, drove in 99 and was first with 118 runs scored. How many players since 1950 have gone .330-42-99-118? Only nine men have done that and only three have done it more than once: Albert Pujols three times, Barry Bonds twice and Todd Helton twice. To repeat, Harper was only 22 years old. Moreover, Harper became the youngest unanimous MVP ever. There were only three men who won the award who were younger but they weren’t unanimous choices: Stan Musial (1943), Johnny Bench (1970) and Vida Blue (1971).

 

Finally, three data points (thanks to @theaceofspaeder).

 Bryce Harper went .330/.460/.649. He is the youngest player to reach all three of those marks since Levi Meyerle in 1871. 

Through their age 22 season there is no difference between Harper and one of the all-time greats, Mickey Mantle.

Harper: .289/.384/.517 with a 19.8 WAR in 510 games

Mantle: .296/.391/.505 with a 20.1 WAR in 511 games.

One more. Through their first four seasons is there any difference between Hank Aaron and Bryce Harper?

Harper: 143 OPS+, .902 OPS

Aaron: 143 OPS+, .902 OPS

 

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AL CY YOUNG AWARD

RankNameTmVote Pts1st PlaceShareWAR
1Dallas KeuchelHOU1862289%7.2
2David PriceTOT143868%6.0
3Sonny GrayOAK82039%5.8
4Chris SaleCHW30014%3.3
5Chris ArcherTBR29014%4.3
6Wade DavisKCR1005%3.4
7Felix HernandezSEA904%4.4
8Collin McHughHOU502%3.1
9Corey KluberCLE402%4.2
10Marco EstradaTOR301%3.6
10Andrew MillerNYY301%2.2
10Shawn TollesonTEX301%1.8
11Carlos CarrascoCLE201%3.8
12Dellin BetancesNYY100%3.7
       
 Share = Percentage of vote total received. 100 percent is the total of course.

 

I doubted Dallas Keuchel heading into the 2015 season. I was wrong, and he stuffed it in my face by winning the AL Cy Young award in 2015. Keuchel picked up 22 of 30 first place votes to easily outdistance David Price and Sonny Gray for the award.

Keuchel went 15-0 at home with a 1.46 ERA in one of the best home efforts from a hurler in 50 years. Dallas led the AL in ERA (2.48), wins (20), WHIP (1.02), innings pitched (232) and ground ball rate (61.7 percent). Dallas also struck out 216 batters, tied for 5th in the AL in punchouts, the same ranking he had in the K/BB column (4.24). He pitched wonderfully and completely deserved the award.

I was wrong Dallas. Apologies.

 

 

NL CY YOUNG AWARD

RankNameTmVote Pts1st PlaceShareWAR
1Jake ArrietaCHC1691780%8.7
2Zack GreinkeLAD1471070%9.3
3Clayton KershawLAD101348%7.5
4Gerrit ColePIT40019%4.5
5Max ScherzerWSN32015%7.1
6Madison BumgarnerSFG804%4.8
7Jacob deGromNYM703%4.7
8Mark MelanconPIT502%1.9
9John LackeySTL100%5.7
       
 Share = Percentage of vote total received. 100 percent is the total of course.

 

The decision here is the toughest of the four major awards. We know how it played out, with Arrieta winning, and I have no issue with the vote at all. Let me relay the case for each of the top-3 hurlers.

Arrieta was 6-5 with a 3.40 ERA at one point. He then went bonkers down the stretch going 16-1 while allowing 14 earned runs in 20 starts (he was also 11-0 in his last 12 starts). Over those 20 starts he had a 0.86 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP with 147 strikeouts in 147 innings. Honestly, you simply cannot pitch better than that, can you? Arrieta was first in wins (22), second in ERA (1.77), second in WHIP (0.86) and third in strikeouts (236) in the NL.

Greinke led baseball with a 1.66 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. He also won 19 games while losing only three, struck out 200 batters, had a 5.00 K/BB ratio and threw 222.2 innings. In virtually any other season he would have won the Cy Young Award. In fact, his ERA was the lowest since Greg Maddux posted a 1.63 mark in 1995. Moreover, there is only one pitcher since 1956, when the Cy Young award was first given out, that had an ERA lower than Greinke but didn’t win the award (Luis Tiant was at 1.60 in 1968 but lost out to Denny McLain who won 31 games with a 1.96 ERA). In 32 starts in 2015 Greinke allowed more than three earned runs just twice.

Kershaw had won the award the previous three seasons and easily could have made it 4-straight. He was likely hurt by “only” 16 victories and a slow start to the year, not to mention that his teammate pitched so well, but check out the facts with Clayton. (1) Kershaw led the majors with 301 strikeouts, the most in baseball since 2002. (2) Kershaw’s 11.64 K/9 rate was a career best. (3) Kershaw’s 0.88 WHIP was the second best mark of his career. (4) Kershaw’s 1.77 GB/FB ratio tied his mark from 2014, his career best. (5) Over his final 24 starts Kershaw had a 1.39 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 11.77 K/9 and a 8.77 K/BB ratio. He was every bit the pitcher the first two men were.  

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Thursday at 8 PM EDT and Friday at 9 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).