Image Credits: https://www.marca.com/en/mlb/atlanta-braves/2023/10/14/652aa2cf46163fbf9e8b45a0.html

As the cold winter weather turns warm, and the sun starts to shine in Arizona and Florida, the smell of baseball is right around the corner. This time of year is arguably the most exciting time of year for baseball, as fans all across the globe start to see what their favorite team’s rosters may look like, and who the top players will be. Also, fans get to see different faces on different teams, as plenty of off-season moves start to become reality on the diamond. In addition, us fans get to start speculating, and trying to predict things that may occur this year. Beyond predicting the World Series winner and contemplating various potential scenarios, one aspect shines brighter than all the rest: award predictions. In today’s article, we’ll be going over some of the top candidates for these awards, and some players who I personally believe will be taking home these awards come November. From MVPs, to Rookie of the Year awards, the battles will be fierce to take home these trophies. Without further ado, let’s get into our candidates.

Rookie of the Year Award Winners: Wyatt Langford and Yoshinobu Yamamoto

When it comes to the potential American League rookie class, the list of different players you could choose is very extensive. From the likes of Jackson Holliday, to Evan Carter, you really can’t go wrong with any of these options. But, for this year, I think last year’s number four overall pick Wyatt Langford. Langford, a 22-year-old phenom, has really put his name on the map after bursting on to the scene in a big way during his first taste of pro ball. After a short stint in the complex leagues, Langford would go on to the Rangers High-A affiliate, the Hickory Crawdads, where he would put up amazing numbers in the 24 games he played. He posted a 192 wRC+, 5 homers, 8 doubles, and also a wOBA near the .500 mark. After a short, but elite stint with Hickory, Langford would be quickly moved up the chain to Double-A, where he kept hitting. In just 12 games, he put up 4 homers, a .542 wOBA, and a 224 wRC+. Once again, the Rangers had seen enough to promote him straight to Triple-A, where he raked once again. Although he hit no homers in the 5 games he played at Triple-A, Langford still put up a 177 wRC+ with a .493 wOBA. Now, Langford is playing in his first MLB Spring Training with the Texas Rangers, and his skills with the bat have continued to shine. He’s hit 4 homers in 32 plate appearances, while also putting up a 213 wRC+, and a wOBA above .500. This incredible showing on the stat sheet alone is super impressive, especially paired with his .728 wOBACON, incredible exit velocities, and more encouraging numbers. While Langford was in the Minors, he was putting up elite barrel rates, while he was also maintaining such elite on-base numbers. Langford projects to be a 35+ homer bat, which makes him lethal from every point of view. His potential competition from MLB’s number one prospect Jackson Holliday, and his very own teammate Evan Carter will be very fierce, but all things considered, Langford and his top-of-the-line bat seems to be the way to go with this award.

As for the National League, the competition isn’t nearly as fierce as the American League, but there are still some good options. Brewers superstar prospect and consensus top 5 prospect in baseball Jackson Chourio is likely to start the year in the MLB. Intentional free agent Jung-Hoo Lee is also making his Major League debut this year, which should bring in some serious competition to the race. However, one name stands above the rest: Los Angeles Dodgers SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto, one of the most prized and sought-after free agents in MLB history, will finally take the field this year for the Los Angeles Dodgers, in what should be a runaway Rookie of the Year win in my opinion. Yamamoto is coming from the NPB, where he was arguably the best pitcher in the league, let alone a top 5 pitcher in the world before he even set foot in America to play in Major League Baseball. During his last season in Japan, Yamamoto posted a 1.21 ERA in 164 innings pitched, while striking out 169 batters. Since Yamamoto is coming from NPB, his advanced analytics and pitch data is slightly limited, it’ll be harder to get the entire scouting report on his stuff until he begins pitching this year. But, during the WBC where he pitched for the victorious Samurai Japan, we got a glimpse of his stuff in the tournament. With balls that are closer to the MLB caliber baseballs, Yamamoto still posted incredibly elite numbers on his pitch movement, as well as some of the best stuff+ marks in the tournament. Although it’s early, his stuff has also looked really good during the early stages of Spring Training. His main pitch is his splitter, which has shown to put up some mind-blowing movement with MLB baseballs, making it one of the harder pitches to hit in baseball. With the capability to reach the low-to-mid 90s, it’s really hard to distinguish it from his fastball until it’s too late. Obviously, the game of baseball always has some question marks, but right now, it seems like Yamamoto is the runaway choice for this award this year.

Cy Young Award Winners: George Kirby and Zack Wheeler

The American League Cy Young Award has showcased some of the strongest seasons the game has seen in recent years. From multiple Justin Verlander victories, to Gerrit Cole finally winning his first last year, it’s become an incredibly difficult award to win. This year’s American League Cy Young Award has many potential candidates I could choose from, but I’m going to go with Seattle Mariners RHP George Kirby. Last year, Kirby broke out in a big way for the first time in his career, catching the eyes of fans across the globe. He would pitch to a 3.35 ERA, 120 ERA+, 172 Ks, all while making his very first all-star appearance. It’s also important to note that Kirby very rarely walks batters at all, as in his 190.2 innings, he walked just 19 batters when it was all said and done. Kirby is also a chase master, as his 32.9% chase rate was one of the best marks in the entire league. Kirby possesses an extensive mix of pitches, including a fastball that regularly hits 96 miles per hour on the radar gun. His breaking balls are also pretty notable, as his slider, and splitter have both generated opponent xwOBAs below the .300 mark. Kirby can definitely get in some trouble when it comes to limiting hard contact, but as his development continues and he learns the strike zone even better, I don’t see this being a total issue moving forward. Kirby is also a ground ball pitcher more than anything, as his 44.6 GB% was the highest out of his ground ball and fly ball rates as a whole. In short, if he can get his barrel rates and hard hits slightly more under control, we’re looking at one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. Kirby put up a 4.4 fWAR last year which was good for 11th in the league alone. He was ahead of last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, as well as other notable names such as Corbin Burnes in this department. If Kirby can just get the barrel rates and hard hits under control, and keep inducing ground balls, the sky is truly the limit for Kirby with the Mariners. Last year, I selected another Seattle Mariner to win this award in Luis Castillo, but he fell short after a solid year. This year however, will be the year that a Mariner I predict to win the Cy Young Award will get it done.

As for the National League, I think the race is much closer than the American League. Now that National League stars such as Corbin Burnes, and possibly Blake Snell are out of the league, it really opens things up for a lot of other players to get the job done. One player who I think has this ability, who’s been blocked by pitchers slightly above him the past few years, is Zack Wheeler. Since 2021 alone, Wheeler has placed top 6 in Cy Young voting twice, with one of these seasons even being the runner up to the aforementioned Corbin Burnes. Last year, in 32 starts, Wheeler recorded 26.9% K%, 3.21 xERA, a 5.9 fWAR, 5% BB%, and a 119 ERA+. Wheeler was truly one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, and he wasn’t given nearly enough credit for how good he was. His 5.9 fWAR was the most for any pitcher in baseball by 0.4 points, which is a pretty sizable margin. As I touched on previously, Wheeler was one of the best pitchers in the entire National League, but he got very little credit. He’s also coming into 2024 fresh off of signing a record, 3yr/$126 million dollar contract, which is the largest AAV extension ever given to a player in MLB history. Wheeler finished 7th in Stuff+, with a mark of 109. Wheeler’s overall pitching run value of 28 was in the top 1% in all of baseball, as was his fastball run value of 21. Speaking of his fastball, Wheeler regularly throws it near 96 miles per hour. This is extremely important when paired with his 7.3 feet of extension, which leads to the perceived velocity being much, much higher than the actual velocity. Wheeler excels at limiting barrels, hard hit rates, producing low exit velocities, and just overall inducing weaker contact than most pitchers. Wheeler’s previously mentioned 5% BB% is in the top 7% in the game, which really assists him when it comes to limiting base runners. Although it isn’t easy to outperform someone like Spencer Strider, Wheeler is definitely on a track to be able to do it this season. I think that with all things considered, Wheeler is a slam dunk pick to take home the award.

Most Valuable Player Award Winners: Juan Soto and Ronald Acuña Jr.

This year, in the American League, the pairing of young talent as well as older veterans has never been this strong. From the likes of young stars such as Julio Rodríguez and Adley Rutschman, to veterans such as Mike Trout and Aaron Judge, there’s arguably never been a better time for baseball in the American League. I think the award will go to a young slugger this year, but that player will not be Julio or Adley, instead it will be newly acquired Yankees superstar Juan Soto. This will be my second year in a row predicting Soto to win a Most Valuable Player award, but this year I really think he’ll get the job done. Soto continued his stellar showing last year, as he played a fantastic, full, 162 game season in San Diego. In 2023, Soto hit 35 homers, drove in 109 runs, 18.6% BB%, 18.2% K%, .395 wOBA, 155 wRC+, as well as putting up 5.5 fWAR. Soto is genuinely blossoming into one of the most talented players in baseball history, and it’s time we start to truly honor what we’re seeing with our own eyes. The most important thing for Soto this year to me, is the move to New York. He’s now in a stadium which favors left-handed hitters, and with Soto really showcasing his power last year in San Diego, there’s a good chance he hits over 40 home runs this season with the Yankees. Soto is essentially in the top 10% or better in every major category for hitters, which just shows how good he is. Juan’s batting run value of 45 is in the top 3% of all MLB hitters. He also is in the top 5% or better in xwOBA, xSLG, hard hit percentage, chase percentage, and walk percentage. Although his defense is subpar, he still provides a tremendous amount of upside for the Yankees this upcoming season. As of the time I’m writing this, Aaron Judge is in limbo with some potential rib issues, which opens the door even more for Soto to shine the brightest in Yankee stadium. In addition, now that Shohei is out of the American League, this really opens things up even more for Juan Soto. He’s currently one of the best hitters in all of Major League Spring Training through 8 games, as he’s hit 4 homers, driven in 10, slashed .429/.478/.1.095, while also posting a wOBA above .640, as well as an unimaginable 301 wRC+. Juan Soto is truly one of the best hitters we’ve ever seen, and I can’t wait to see him put up a MVP caliber season for the Yankees this year.

As for the National League, the race has gotten a lot closer since Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani joined the conversation, but with him only hitting this year, I think the race is more up for grabs than people think. But, from players such as Mookie Betts, to Corbin Carroll, this race is set to be incredibly exciting. But, when it comes to who I think will win the Most Valuable Player Award, I think it’s hard to look anywhere other than Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. Acuña took home the National League Most Valuable Player Award last year, and with how he played, he definitely deserved it. Acuña hit 41 homers, 106 RBI, 10.9% BB%, 11.4% K%, .337/.416/.596 slash line, .428 wOBA, 170 wRC+, and an 8.3 fWAR. Acuña was truly one of the best players in all of baseball, and I believe he’ll repeat this in a big way during the 2024 season. Acuña was also the first player in MLB history to put up a 40/70 season, which truly speaks to just how great of a player he is. In addition, Acuña was genuinely one of the most valuable players in the game aside from his fWAR, as his batting run value of 64 was in the 100th percentile in the league. Acuña shared the same ranking in xSLG, xwOBA, xBA, and average exit velocity. Although it wasn’t in the 100th percentile, Acuña still ranked in the 97th percentile or higher in hard hit rate, strikeout percentage, and arm strength. Acuña is currently in a great position team wise, as the Atlanta Braves, are arguably one of the best two teams in the game. Assuming that Acuña will only continue to get better with age, the sky is truly the limit for the type of player he can be. He’s been slowed down in Spring Training so far with some injury concerns, but when he’s healthy, he’s truly one of the most talented players in the league. Multiple outlets have ranked him the best player in baseball coming into 2024, as his power/speed combo is unmatched by any hitter around. As long as he stays on this track, Acuña is a surefire bet to take home the National League Most Valuable Player Award for the second year in a row.

Conclusion

The 2024 baseball season is set to be one of the best seasons in recent memory. From great young prospects, to established veteran superstars, our game is beyond blessed with a tremendous amount of talent on the rise. Regardless of who wins these awards we discussed in this article, it’ll definitely be fun to follow along with as fans of our game.