MLB First Half Awards: American League

     With the National League's awards out of the way in my last post, it is now time to take a look at the players who earned their keep in the American League.  The American League was more difficult to decide who earned each award, but all have earned their status'.
   

Josh Hamilton looks to get the Rangers
to a third straight World Series

     MVP:  Josh Hamilton, OF, Rangers.  This was the no-doubter in the American League, even though there are still guys that can overtake him for the MVP in the second half of the season.  Hamilton has cooled off this month, and it didn't help missing about a week of playing time being in the hospital thanks to an intestinal infection, but he is still batting with a .313 average and is still ranks in the top three in the AL with 24 homeruns and 67 RBIs.  Hamilton won the MVP back in 2010, and for the Rangers to make the run to World Series again for a third year in a row, and possibly winning it, they will need Hamilton to keep going all season to ward off the resurgent Angels of Anaheim.
     Next in Line: Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees; Paul Konerko, 1B, White Sox; Adam Jones, OF, Orioles; Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Tigers

   

Chris Sale has had an excellent year for the Chicago White Sox

     Cy Young:  Chris Sale, LHP, White Sox. Tough decision for the American League Cy Young because there hasn't been the Justin Verlander performance of last year.  Sale does have the best numbers, even though it took Chicago a while to decide if he is better suited for starter or closer.  The White Sox has made the right decision, because Sale has posted a 9-2 record with a 2.27 ERA along with a WHIP of 0.97.  Sale has also struck out 94 batters, good for sixth in the AL, and has walked only 24.  Along with the limited walks, Sale is only giving up an opponents' batting average of .198, which is why he has a tiny WHIP.  Another point to bring up, Sale's home ballpark (U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago) is known as a "hitters ballpark" because of the homeruns it yields, and he is still putting up good numbers on the mound, making him my first half Cy Young winner for the American League.
    Next in Line: Jason Hammel, RHP, Orioles; Justin Verlander, RHP, Tigers; C.J. Wilson, LHP, Angels; Jered Weaver, RHP, Angels

Rookie Mike Trout expects to keep the Angels
in the hunt

     Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout, OF, Angels.  This is the no-doubter pick for the AL.  Trout has been a standout ever since the Angels brought him up from the minors in May.  Trout has been the spark in the Angels turnaround lately, with his offense and defense.  Defensively, nothing has gotten by him in centerfield, as he runs down everything it seems like.  Offensively, he is hitting a scorching .344 with seven homeruns and 30 RBI's.  He also has an on-base percentage of .402, while scoring 47 runs.  Trout is expected to cool off at some point, but for now, he is the playmaker the Angels need to have to get their promising season back on track.


    Next in Line:  Yu Darvish, SP, Rangers; Yoenis Cespedes, OF, A's; Drew Smyly, SP, Tigers




     All six players in these last two articles are based solely on my opinion (even though the consensus for a lot of these picks agrees with me).  However, if thes players hold up the rest of the season following the All-Star Break, they very well might actually earn these honors.

MLB First Half Awards: National League

     With the first half of the MLB season coming to an end at the All-Star break next week, it's time to take a look at who preformed the best in the first half and who is on pace to win each of the big yearly awards.  The awards I give out for each league are MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year.  There will also be a little sentence saying the next in line for each award.  I will focus on the National League in this post and the American League in a future post.
   

The Pirates look to MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen to lift them
to the postseason for the first time in almost 20 years.

     MVP: Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates.  A surprise, yes, but McCutchen has the numbers to be worthy of the league's most valuable player.  McCutchen is hitting .345 with 13 home runs and 45 RBI's and also has a .404 on-base percentage.  On top of that, he is electric on defense and continues to be one of the best centerfielders in baseball.  A huge reason McCutchen gets the award is how much the team depends on him.  The Pirates have no one on the team that is remotely near a .300 average, and is among the bottom of the league in offense, so Andrew McCutchen earns the MVP.
     Next in line: Joey Votto, 1B, Reds; Matt Kemp, OF, Dodgers; Melky Cabrera, OF, Giants; Carlos Beltran, OF, Cardinals

37-year-old R.A. Dickey looks to continue on his great first half for
the Mets.

     Cy Young:  R.A. Dickey, SP, Mets.  It is pretty weird when a knuckleballer wins the Cy Young Award, but Dickey sure does deserve it.  The 37-year-old Dickey has been a phenom for the Mets so far this season, going 11-1 in 14 starts with a 2.00 ERA.  He has also struck out 103 batters this season and is not allowing many baserunners overall, having a microscopic WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched) at 0.89.  Dickey has had recent outstanding performances, throwing one-hit shutouts in back-to-back starts against the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles.  Dickey is having the best success he has ever had in his career, and if he continues, he will win the Cy Young over many good pitchers in the National League.
     Next in Line:  Stephen Strasburg, SP, Nationals; Gio Gonzalez, SP, Nationals; Matt Cain, SP, Giants; Johnny Cueto, SP, Reds

Nationals rookie phenom Bryce Harper may help the
Nats reach the playoffs.

     Rookie of the Year:  Bryce Harper, OF, Nationals.  Harper wins the Rookie of Year by a landslide, mostly because there is no competition in the National League, but that doesn't mean Harper hadn't earned it.  One of the most talked about prospects in the last year, Harper has done very good with the spotlight on the 19-year-old former first-overall pick, hitting .281 with seven homers and 20 RBIs.  Harper has also been outstanding defensively, making web gems while switching around from centerfield and rightfield.  The way Harper is playing, and playing it with the heart and determination players should play with, expect him to easily win the voting in Rookie of the Year.
     Next in line:  Brandon Beachy, SP, Braves (Beachy will undergo season-ending Tommy Johns surgery)

     All three players mentioned have the chance to win the awards at the end of the season and help their teams make the postseason.  Next up, the American League first half awards.

Darkhorse Lion: Kevin Smith

     The final installment of my three-part series of darkhorse Lions features running back Kevin Smith.  Smith was a third-round pick by the Lions in 2008 out of Central Florida, drafted to fit former coach Rod Marinelli's zone blocking offense.
     Smith has hung around the Lions roster for his first three professional seasons, but entered the 2011 season without an NFL team to call home.  That is until the Lions came calling again to start in the week 10 match up against the Chicago Bears and got the nod as the starter the next week against the Carolina Panthers because of injuries at the top of Detroit's running back depth in Jahvid Best and Mikel Leshoure.

Kevin Smith looks to make his impact as backup running back.

     Smith's return to the gridiron put up headlines with him putting up the best performance in his career.  Smith put up 140 yards rushing with two rushing touchdowns and added 61 more yards and one touchdown receiving  in the 49-35 victory.
     The rest of the season, however, Smith only gained 197 yards in five starts.  Granted, the Lions rarely ran the ball with their great passing game, but the Lions weren't very efficient in the run game.  The addition of offensive tackle Riley Reiff in the first round of the draft shouldn't create as much of an improvement needed, but the running game should have a significant improvement with a shuffle of the offensive line.
     Now, even with a shift of in the offensive line and an increase in running the football on offense, Smith's role in the role in the offense will still be limited because expectations for the top backs on the depth chart to be Jahvid Best and Mikel Leshoure, leaving Kevin Smith at number three.  However, with the injury history to Best and Leshoure and the uncertainty if Leshoure will be suspended due to off-field issues, Smith will need to help the offense as the backup running back and he will get touches.
     Kevin Smith won't have the impact on offense like Matthew Stafford or Calvin Johnson, but his role can help the Lions become more of a balanced offense and help keep Jahvid Best and Mikel Leshoure healthy by giving them a breather every so often during a game.

Darkhorse Lion: Alphonso Smith

     The second player to be featured in my three part series of players that should make a big impact for the Detroit Lions without star power is cornerback Alphonso Smith.
Smith was a second round pick (37th overall) by the Denver Broncos back in 2009.  He was then traded to the Lions for backup tight end Dan Gronkowski.
     Smith has been scrutinized for his performance on Thanksgiving on national television against the Patriots in which he had a terrible game allowing many catches in which Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed a perfect passer rating for the game.  Another example is the recent matchup between the Lions and Green Bay Packers where Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn shattered backup quarterback records with over 450 yards passing and 6 touchdowns, and he picked on Smith, who was covering wide receiver Jordy Nelson, all day and completed 3 of his touchdowns.
     However, opinions don't include that Smith was put in a bad situation and was put out of place.  In those particular games, Smith was put as a starting cornerback, when in fact, he is better suited for nickelback.
Smith has 8 career interceptions in ten games where he saw legitimate playing time.  Those are numbers not easily replaced.

Alphonso Smith is looking to make the Lions roster and
to give an impact at nickel corner.

     Even with the Lions selecting three corners in April's draft (Dwight "Bill" Bentley, third round Louisiana-Lafayette; Chris Greenwood, fifth round Albion College; Jonte Green, sixth round New Mexico State) there is still a chance Smith can make the roster and be able to be a big contributor at nickel corner.
     The fact of the matter is is that Smith has to step it up not only for his sake, but for the teams' sake.  The consensus around state of Michigan was for the Lions to take a corner high in the draft last April because of the secondaries performance the last two games of 2011. Without using the first round pick, the Lions will have to depend on guys like Alphonso Smith to make an impact in a secondary that is actually underrated.