Award Selections

American League

MVP-Evan Longoria- I really feel Longoria is primed for a huge year. Unlike the NL there is no clear cut favorite to win the MVP. This leaves the door open for Longoria, who is on the verge of exploding. As of now he should be a household name. By the end of the year he will be one.

CY Young- Jon Lester- While there are several great candidates in Zach Greinke and C.C. Sabathia as well as darkhorses in Francisco Liriano, Fausto Carmona, and Brett Anderson. However, after watching Lester pitch regularly for the past two years I can feel an absolutely dominating season on the brink. He may very well be the best left hander in the game.

ROY- This is an interesting one with the likes of Matt Weiters, Neftali Feliz, and David Price. However, I am going with Weiters often overlooked teammate Brian Matusz. In 44.2 innings pitched he compiled a 4.63 ERA and a 5-2 record. Outside of his two ugly losses against the Angels and Blue Jays, he pitched a phenomenal 3.47 and a Jon Lesterish 1.24 WHIP.

Comeback-Fausto Carmona- I could go Carmona or Francisco Liriano here. Both definitely fit the bill with Carmona struggling with control lately and Liriano’s inability to stay healthy. But I am going with Carmona in hopes that he can get his groundball rate back to 2007 levels and make a run for the CY Young.

National League

MVP- Albert Pujols- Do I really even need to justify this pick. Sure someone else can win and it may even be more than likely that it happens, but no single player has a better chance than the greatest baseball player we have seen in a long time.

CY Young- Roy Halladay- When was the last time Halladay didn’t compile a sub-4.00 ERA, 200+ innings pitched, and double digit wins? 2004. He was downright nasty in Toronto and was one of the few bright lights of several disappointing seasons. Now in the Philadelphia market and on the big stage this award is his to lose. As good as Lincecum may be, very few current pitchers even deserve being mentioned in the same sentence as Halladay.

ROY- Jason Heyward- How can you pick against this guy? At worst case he becomes Fred McGriff and that is worst case scenario. Braves pitcher Derek Lowe compared him to a young A-Rod. Manager Bobby Cox compared him to Hank Aaron. While he may be someone in between, he is an outstanding baseball player and future of a stagnant Braves franchise.

Comeback- Brandon Webb- Well considering Webb already hit the DL this year this pick will probably be wrong. The 2006 NL CY Young award winner has a career ERA of 3.27. While returning to CY Young form is asking a lot of him a bounce back season is not out of the question and almost expected.