Well we are at the half way point in the season and there have been many surprises and also expected results. As Ryan Carr went out and won the Home Run derby today in slugging fashion let's take a closer look at how the first half has played out!
First let's take a look at both league's early Cy Young Races. Both leagues have a few guys who stand out early. In the AL you have Oscar Baumann (14-4, 3.17) who leads the league in wins and is likely has the slight early edge as you can guarantee he will continue to get the wins with the Wichita lineup behind him. Pat Politte (10-1, 2.55) is right there behind him but I give the early edge to Baumann since he has meant a lot more to the Lightning than Politte has meant to the Brachiosaurus'. Also right behind those two is Salem pitcher Keith Bagwell (11-1, 2.64) and Syracuse pitcher Enrique Carrasquel (11-2, 2.67). I think all four of these guys will be in the mix for the award at the end of the year I give Baumann the slight edge because he has clearly meant much more to his team, without him the Lightning would be lucky to be above .500.
Moving to the NL Trevor Douglass (10-4, 2.04) leads the way. The 23 year old rightie has been amazing this year and will be in the mix right down to the end. Right behind him is a group of three pitchers who have all had fantastic first halves, former Cy Young winner Torey Fernandez (12-5, 2.41) has been electric for Dover. Also Chad Lamb (11-3,2.45) and Doc Hunter (9-2, 2.52) have been fantastic for Austin and have kept the team near the top of the league all year. I'll stick with Douglass and his near sub-2.0 era as my first half Cy Young.
Moving onto the AL MVP race, the story of the year has been Achilles Cohen (43 HR, 97 RBI, .277) , who has been crushing the ball all year and has already matched his Home Run total from last year. But is his .277 going to hurt his MVP candidacy? He has brought Tampa Bay to the top of the South, so in my book he has a very legit claim to the title. This year has also been a career year for Ryan Carr (26 HR, 94 RBI, .360). He came to Wichita this spring in the hopes of getting back to the World Series and if he keeps up these numbers he might make that happen. If neither of those stat lines made you wish those guys were dressed in your colors take a look at a guy that combines both Cohen's Power and Carr's Average - Bill Weaver (32 HR, 80 RBI, .357). Bill has New York fighting for a division title this year and has done what neither of the previous two players have, hit for both power and average. He might not be at the top of the list but I think we also need to mention Trenton All-Star Ed Donovan (23 HR, 71 RBI, 29 SB, .328) he adds speed and stolen bases to his resume which neither of the other top players do. Right now I have to say that Cohen is the early favorite with Carr right on his tail.
In the NL we start out with Chris Lyons (23 HR, 89 RBI, .310). Lyons is a great player who is able to hit for power, average and steal the occasional base. Steven Munson (34 HR, 84 RBI, .341) is also having a spectacular year. Like Lyons, Munson also has the ability to steal bases and is leading Minnesota to their best year ever. Harry Rodriguez (19 HR, 69 RBI, .361) is having a solid year, but no on the level of either Munson or Lyons. I think the MVP will come down between the two of those and my early winner has to be Munson.
The AL has some good rookies this year and I will touch on a few. This award will come down to the very end of the year. Right now I would have to give the early lead to Ken Borchard (10 HR, 40 RBI, 19 SB, .332). He combines everything and what he lacks in power he gets back with his speed. He is helping Albuquerque become relevant this year and getting them close to .500 along with fellow rookie Valerio Rosario (16 HR, 54 RBI, 19 SB, .309). I think that Fred Hutch (1 HR, 27 RBI, 52 SB, .242) as well. If he can raise his batting average 20 to 30 points in the 2nd half he could seriously contend for the award if he goes over 100 SB. The World Record is 118, which he won't hit this year but as he gets more comfortable at the Major League level I'd expect him to contend for the record, as he should get on base enough with his bat.
For the NL Rookie of the Year award I don't really feel there is much of a competition currently. Right now I feel the Award is Desi Carreras (7-2, 3.82) award to lose. Al Alvarado (6-6, 3.67) is the closest competitor but I think his losses hurt him currently.
Let's take a quick look at the leaders for the Fireman Award. Right now I think the AL leader is Danny Brinkley (0-0, 21 SV, 1.71). He doesn't quite have the save numbers yet - which ultimately might kill him because his team had had so many blowouts but he has been near un-hitable this year with a .062 WHIP and .162 OAV. Also Harold Williams (0-2, 25 SV, 4.05), Jose Gabriel (1-5, 19 SV, 3.60) and Bing Frazier (0-0, 23 SV, 2.96) should be in contention. If Esmailyn Rojas (0-5, 29 SV, 4.25) can get his ERA down he could contend as well.
The NL award is a bit harder to predict seeing as how the ERA's are a bit higher. I'd have to say the award will come from between Jerry Murphy (0-1, 24 SV, 3.62), Brian Davis (0-2, 22 SV, 2.78), Hiram Kent (0-0, 21 SV, 2.70) and Omar Franco (0-4, 21 SV, 2.63). I'll take Davis as the current early leader.
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