All-Star Break Awards

Alright so there won't be any meaningful baseball for 5 days (don't try to feed me the "All-Star game has meaning" speech, who are you, Bud Selig?). As we've reached the mid-ish point of the season let's look back on the first half and give out some hardware, shall we?

AL Rookie of the Year

L.A Angels OF Mike Trout

Mike Trout, OF L.A. Angels. Plain and simple. Since the 20 year old was called up from AAA Salt Lake on April 28th all he's done is hit and all the Angels have done is win. Since Trout's arrival the Angels are 42-24 (they were 6-14 before). Some might argue that the Angels rise also coincided with Albert Pujols finding his stride at the plate and while that may also be true you can't take anything away from Trout. He leads all qualified MLB Rookies in, virtually, every major category. He's been the Angels lead-off hitter in all but one game and has done everything you could possibly ask for. He is 3rd in all of baseball with a 9.12 Runs Created/27 outs (behind only Joey Votto and Andrew McCutcheon). He owns an OBP of nearly .400 (.397) and ranks 2nd in all of MLB with 26 SB (and has only been caught 3 times). Before Trout's promotion the great Albert Pujols had only driven in 4 runs, yes 4, in 20 games. Since that time Pujols has driven in 47 runs in 65 games. Is Mike Trout the only reason the Angels are winning games? No. Is he a large part of it? Absolutely.

Runner-up: Yu Darvish, SP Texas Rangers

NL Rookie of the Year

Arizona SP Wade Miley

Wade Miley, SP Arizona Diamondbacks. Many people will likely tab Bryce Harper for this award which makes a lot of sense. The Nationals are currently a playoff team and the DBacks are not. Harper is getting a ton of media attention and Miley is not. However the Nationals were winning baseball games before the arrival of the phenom Harper. Whereas Miley has been the most consistent and best starting pitcher on a .500 team. He has more wins, has a lower ERA, WHIP and BAA than any of the other starters for the DBacks and that list includes Ian Kennedy who finished 4th in Cy Young voting in 2011. Miley started the season in the bullpen but after making his first start of the season on April 23rd has pitched into the 6th inning in 13 of 14 starts. He's allowed 3 runs or less in 10 of his 14 starts including a stretch of 4 straight starts only allowing 1 run. The Diamondbacks find themselves a mere 4 games out in the NL West. If Miley can have a strong 2nd Half and push them towards the playoffs he'll get much greater consideration for this award.

Runner-up: Bryce Harper, OF Washington Nationals

AL Cy Young

L.A. Angels SP Jered Weaver

This is a tough one. Through the first half of the season the AL has seen a number of pitchers lay an early claim to this award. The candidate that stands out the most though is another L.A. Angel in Jered Weaver. Despite missing nearly a month of the season Weaver continues to pace MLB in ERA (1.96) and WHIP (0.90). Weaver also has a no-hitter to his name this season after accomplishing the feat against the Minnesota Twins on May 2. In almost half of his starts (7 of 15) Weaver hasn't allowed a run (earned or unearned). In 10 of 15 starts he's only allowed 1 run or less. He's the ace of the Angels pitching staff and holds a 10-1 record. It's not difficult to see why his record is so good as Weaver doesn't rely on run support to get his victories, he does the job himself.

Runner up: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

NL Cy Young

Giants SP Matt Cain

Again just like the AL the NL has seen a number of worthy performances through the first half. It's a difficult choice but the NL Cy Young for the first half goes to Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants. Just like Weaver in the AL Matt Cain has a no-hitter to his name this season (although his was a Perfect Game). It was the first Perfect Game in Giants history (129 years) and only the 22nd in MLB history. Cain has been masterful all season when the Giants pitching staff has needed him most. Tim Lincecum has struggled horrendously and Cain has picked up the slack posting a 9-3 record with a 2.62 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He's struck out 118 batters in 120.1 IP while only walking 24. Currently he ranks 6th in the NL in ERA, 2nd in WHIP, 4th in BAA, 4th in Ks and 2nd in IP. He trails 8 different pitchers in the NL for the lead in wins. Which begs the question why is Matt Cain the Cy Young winner in the first half? Because R.A. Dickey is the only other pitcher who can claim he's in the Top 5 of those stats. It really is a toss up between the two. Their teams hold an identical 46-40 heading into the break. The Perfect Game is really the difference right now.

Runner-up: R.A. Dickey, N.Y. Mets

AL Most Valuable Player

Rangers OF Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton ensures all the big AL Awards stay in the AL West. Hamilton takes the award on the strength of his bat. In 2010 he was the AL MVP after hitting .359/32/100 in 133 games. That season he posted an OPS of 1.044. In 2012 Hamilton has already eclipsed his HR total from 2011 (by 2) and is 5 shy of his 2010 season total. His OPS is a few points lower than his 2010 season (1.016). Barring any further injuries Hamilton once again has a realistic shot at a Triple Crown as he already leads in RBI and is tied for the lead in HR. He's clubbing a HR a MLB best once every 11.1 ABs for the two-time defending AL Champions. In May he became only the 16th player in MLB history to hit 4 HRs in one game. He does trail Mike Trout and David Ortiz in RC27 but his power totals should be enough to sway voters.

Runner-up: Mike Trout, OF L.A. Angels

NL Most Valuable Player

Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen

The 25 year old McCutchen's star continues to rise in relative obscurity in Pittsburgh. Although the Pirates strong season could change that very soon. McCutchen is the driving force of their offence leading the team in every important category. Like Josh Hamilton before him he could have a reasonable chance at a Triple Crown run. He leads the NL in AVG, and is third in RBI (5 behind). His HR total could be what holds him back as he is currently 6 behind 2011 MVP and NL leader Ryan Braun (who has 24). McCutchen trails only Joey Votto in RC27 in all of MLB (10.74-9.75). Without him its hard to imagine the Pirates would hold a one game lead over Votto's Reds in the NL Central at this point in the season. The surprising Pirates will need McCutchen to continue his strong season if they have hopes of making the playoffs. If he does and they do he'll be holding up an MVP trophy come the off-season.