No Diamondbacks today, as they travel to the coast, and prepare for the road-trip against the Padres and GIants. So, instead of that, figured it might be fun to discuss who we think will win the end of season awards in the NL - the races potentially seem a lot closer than last year, where Pujols was a unanimous choice for MVP. Of course, there's also the question who will win, and who should win, which are not necessarily the same thing.
After the jump, you'll find the leading contenders for MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year. Let the discussion begin!
The general criteria used was Wins Above Replacement (the version provided by baseball-reference.com). For MVP and Cy Young, it was the top five or six, depending on where a convenient break fell. However, for Rookie of the Year, which is particularly open to both pitchers and hitters (yeah, I know the MVP technically is too, but...), I listed all qualifying players who are currently in the top 50 by WAR in their particular category.
Most Valuable Player
| Rk | Player | WAR | Tm | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Gonzalez | 5.4 | SDP | 534 | 458 | 73 | 136 | 25 | 79 | 69 | 92 | 0 | 0 | .297 | .389 | .515 | .904 |
| 2 | Albert Pujols | 5.0 | STL | 533 | 453 | 84 | 143 | 32 | 89 | 75 | 54 | 12 | 3 | .316 | .411 | .592 | 1.002 |
| 3 | Aubrey Huff | 5.0 | SFG | 510 | 434 | 77 | 128 | 21 | 70 | 64 | 60 | 5 | 0 | .295 | .388 | .523 | .911 |
| 4 | Ryan Zimmerman | 4.9 | WSN | 482 | 415 | 71 | 125 | 24 | 70 | 60 | 82 | 3 | 1 | .301 | .388 | .540 | .928 |
| 5 | Angel Pagan | 4.8 | NYM | 482 | 434 | 64 | 128 | 10 | 54 | 39 | 76 | 30 | 6 | .295 | .351 | .452 | .802 |
| 6 | Joey Votto | 4.7 | CIN | 500 | 424 | 86 | 137 | 29 | 86 | 70 | 96 | 10 | 4 | .323 | .422 | .592 | 1.014 |
Cy Young
| Rk | Player | WAR | Tm | G | CG | SH | W | L | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | ERA+ | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roy Halladay | 6.5 | PHI | 26 | 8 | 3 | 16 | 8 | 200.0 | 181 | 54 | 48 | 25 | 180 | 2.16 | 191 | .241 | .269 | .351 | .620 | 68 |
| 2 | Josh Johnson | 5.9 | FLA | 25 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 166.2 | 138 | 44 | 42 | 38 | 162 | 2.27 | 182 | .225 | .273 | .324 | .596 | 63 |
| 3 | Tim Hudson | 5.6 | ATL | 25 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 171.2 | 131 | 42 | 41 | 56 | 91 | 2.15 | 186 | .217 | .290 | .295 | .584 | 63 |
| 4 | Adam Wainwright | 5.5 | STL | 26 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 183.1 | 136 | 45 | 42 | 43 | 165 | 2.06 | 194 | .211 | .262 | .308 | .570 | 57 |
| 5 | Ubaldo Jimenez | 5.2 | COL | 25 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 4 | 169.1 | 121 | 52 | 50 | 66 | 156 | 2.66 | 167 | .205 | .290 | .311 | .601 | 60 |
Rookie of the Year
| Rk | Player | WAR | Tm | G | CG | SH | W | L | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | ERA+ | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Jaime Garcia | 2.8 | STL | 24 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 141.1 | 123 | 51 | 38 | 54 | 111 | 2.42 | 165 | .233 | .304 | .306 | .611 | 70 |
| 34 | Jon Niese | 1.9 | NYM | 23 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 138.0 | 141 | 56 | 51 | 43 | 110 | 3.33 | 120 | .262 | .324 | .396 | .720 | 99 |
| 35 | Barry Enright | 1.9 | ARI | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 59.1 | 50 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 35 | 2.73 | 163 | .230 | .295 | .392 | .687 | 80 |
| 39 | Jonny Venters | 1.8 | ATL | 58 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 63.2 | 38 | 14 | 8 | 27 | 69 | 1.13 | 355 | .175 | .277 | .212 | .489 | 38 |
| 50 | Stephen Strasburg | 1.6 | WSN | 12 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 68.0 | 56 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 92 | 2.91 | 141 | .221 | .268 | .328 | .596 | 65 |
| Rk | Player | WAR | Tm | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Jason Heyward | 2.8 | ATL | 450 | 378 | 62 | 100 | 14 | 57 | 62 | 95 | 9 | 5 | .265 | .378 | .452 | .830 |
| 50 | Buster Posey | 1.9 | SFG | 301 | 276 | 38 | 94 | 9 | 46 | 18 | 35 | 0 | 1 | .341 | .385 | .518 | .903 |