Article:The Travis Time MLB Awards Ballots: June 23, 2008

Travis goes back to the ballot box, and finds some new leaders for both of the MVP awards.
It’s been a few weeks, and maybe saying that I’d do these weekly was a bit much, but let’s take a look at how the landscape has changed in the “competitions” to determine each league’s best. Each player’s performance on the previous ballot will be put in parentheses.

AL MVP

1. (6) Milton Bradley, Texas

2. (1) Josh Hamilton, Texas

3. (UR) Alex Rodriguez, NY Yankees

4. (2) Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox

5. (UR) JD Drew, Boston

6. (UR) Jason Giambi, NY Yankees

7. (9) Grady Sizemore, Cleveland

8. (UR) Ian Kinsler, Texas

9. (3) Manny Ramirez, Boston

10. (10) Magglio Ordonez, Detroit

What a difference a few weeks makes. What’s scaring me off of Hamilton is his .358 OBP. If he bumps that up a bit, he wins this thing. Until then, consider A-Rod the prohibitive favourite, as his cumulative totals are just gonna keep piling up. By the way, I’m stunned that the names Milton Bradley, Josh Hamilton, JD Drew, and Jason Giambi are all in the top six of this list. Talk about a motley crew in the American League this year.

NL MVP

1. (2) Chipper Jones, Atlanta

2. (1) Lance Berkman, Houston

3. (4) Albert Pujols, St. Louis

4. (7) Dan Uggla, Florida

5. (3) Chase Utley, Philadelphia

6. (UR) Brian McCann, Atlanta

7. (5) Pat Burrell, Philadelphia

8. (UR) Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs

9. (UR) Hanley Ramirez, Florida

10. (UR) Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego

Though I’m definitely still high on Utley, Uggla’s outpowered him at his own position and I realized that I haven’t been giving enough credit to Pujols’ skill in getting on base. If I did an all-MLB MVP list, this top five would likely be the same. Also, as long as Chipper floats around a .400 BA, I’ll have him in first, though I expect Berkman’s likely going to sneak back up top.

AL Cy Young

1. (1) Cliff Lee, Cleveland

2. (2) Roy Halladay, Toronto

3. (4) Ervin Santana, LA Angels

4. (3) Shaun Marcum, Toronto

5. (UR) Justin Duchscherer, Oakland

6. (UR) Felix Hernandez, Seattle

7. (UR) Joe Saunders, LA Angels

8. (10) John Danks, Chicago White Sox

9. (9) Zack Greinke, Kansas City

10. (UR) Josh Beckett, Boston

I had a bit of trouble justifying Greinke and Beckett in their over Jon Lester and Gavin Floyd, especially with Beckett’s ERA, but those K/BB numbers couldn’t be passed up. Otherwise, not much action at the very top, though Duchscherer should climb if he keeps up that ERA.

NL Cy Young

1. (1) Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati

2. (3) Tim Lincecum, San Francisco

3. (4) Ben Sheets, Milwaukee

4. (10) Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs

5. (7) Johan Santana, NY Mets

6. (2) Brandon Webb, Arizona

7. (UR) Cole Hamels, Philadelphia

8. (9) Dan Haren, Arizona

9. (5) Tim Hudson, Atlanta

10. (8) Adam Wainwright, St. Louis

With the exception of Hamels replacing Carlos Zambrano, it’s the same group in here! I tried giving some weight to the guys who overpower with strikeouts, as nothing’s left to chance with that type of pitching, but having a record like Dempster or Webb’s or an ERA like Hudson’s definitely merits top ten consideration. I’ll definitely try to fine tune my methods in the coming weeks, as I was probably even a little narrow-minded on the earlier MVP rankings, but I feel the list I came up with here is a fairly accurate one.

AL Rookie of the Year

1. (1) Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston

2. (UR) Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay

3. (3) Nick Blackburn, Minnesota

4. (UR) Armando Galarraga, Detroit

5. (UR) Jesse Carlson, Toronto

It’s gonna be tough for anybody to beat out Ellsbury in the race this year, though Longoria’s got the best shot if he can keep raising those power numbers. Also, I might admit to a slight amount of bias in that five-spot.

NL Rookie of the Year

1. (3) Jorge Campillo, Atlanta

2. (1) Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs

3. (2) Joey Votto, Cincinnati

4. (UR) Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta

5. (UR) Kyle McLellan, St. Louis

It might still be early (and Jay Bruce still has something to say about this list), but Campillo’s held his own as a starter thus far, and should be considered the best guy until any drop-off occurs. For now, his line’s still fantastic, he doesn’t walk too many (though they are starting to go up), and his starts have been pretty good. I doubt he’ll hold on, but he’s the best of the lot for now.

Best Closer

1. (1) Mariano Rivera, NY Yankees

2. (5) Brad Lidge, Philadelphia

3. (UR) Joakim Soria, Kansas City

4. (3) Joe Nathan, Minnesota

5. (UR) Francisco Rodriguez, LA Angels

I know K-Rod’s ERA makes him a bit tougher to justify over a lights-out Jonathan Papelbon, but he’s already got 30 saves. Once I digest that fact, I’ll probably take him off the list.

Best Set-Up Man

1. (2) Scott Linebrink, Chicago White Sox

2. (5) Taylor Buchholz, Colorado

3. (UR) Kyle McLellan, St. Louis

4. (1) Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs

5. (UR) Damaso Marte, Pittsburgh

I’m honestly unsure of whether this category’s even worthwhile, as everybody in the role’s incredibly similar. As for Marmol’s drop from the top, his walks are a bit high, but his total holds and his incredibly high strikeout rate definitely place him in a prominent spot on this ballot.

My AL All-Star Ballot (Using the vague stats provided by MLB.com!)

1B: Kevin Youkilis, Boston

2B: Ian Kinsler, Texas

SS: Michael Young, Texas

3B: Alex Rodriguez, NY Yankees

C: AJ Pierzynski, Chicago White Sox

OF: Josh Hamilton, Texas

OF: Milton Bradley, Texas

OF: Manny Ramirez, Boston

DH: Aubrey Huff, Baltimore

SP: Cliff Lee, Cleveland

My NL All-Star Ballot

1B: Lance Berkman, Houston

2B: Dan Uggla, Florida

SS: Hanley Ramirez, Florida

3B: Chipper Jones, Atlanta

C: Brian McCann, Atlanta

OF: Carlos Lee, Houston

OF: Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis

OF: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee

SP: Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati

''All of Travis MacKenzie’s work can be found on his site, Travis Time. He also covers sports for the Brock Press. Any questions or comments directed towards Travis can be placed in comments on Travis Time, on any of his Armchair GM posts, or e-mailed to [mailto:travistime@gmail.com TravisTime@gmail.com]''