National League
MVP: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds. It was cute last year when Buster Posey won the award, but I guess you could say he deserved it. First bold prediction: NO GIANT WILL WIN A MAJOR AWARD THIS YEAR. Not exactly bold, but back to my thought, Votto will take the crown. He should have a been a no-brainer last year. The guy was hitting .337 at the All-Star break until the pesky injury bug hit him and he never was really the same. Full season in uniform this year could return him to his 2010 MVP campaign days and bring something to cheer about in Cincy other than a first round playoff exit.
Cy Young: Steven Strasburg, Washington Nationals. Finally, they are letting Strasburg off his innings leash, which in my opinion, cost them a trip to the NLCS last year. This dude, and SDSU Alum, can throw a freakin' baseball really hard and do other amazing stuff with it, too. Several of the so called "professionals" have him as an outside chance to hit 300 strike outs this year. If Davey Johnson lets him go 220IP this year, this a no-brainer, even with Kershaw on the mound. Either way, we know it won't be a knuckle-baller taking down the trophy this year.
Rookie of the Year: Jedd Gyorko, San Diego Padres. Okay, okay, this might be a little bit of a homer pick, but I think the dude has a chance. With the injury bug hitting hard on the Padres (again...) he is getting a chance to come up early and show what he has got. No real high expectations of him and a predicted 4th place finish, so it may allow him to come in and feel very comfortable right away. He has signs of power as he hit for 30 HR, 100 RBI in the minors last year and he is going to start season off in his natural position at 3rd base. If he cuts down his K's (16 this spring), give him a shot. Lets bring home some hardware to Petco this year, Jedd.
Manager of the Year: Unfortunately, Don Mattingly, Los Angeles Dodgers. The guy basically has to screw up badly (somewhat similar to last year) not to get this award. Star studded team that will be potentially winning the NL West, make the playoffs for first time since 2009 and potentially a deep run into the playoffs. Don't mess up, Don. I am sure Bud Black would like to take that title home again if he can muster up some magic a few miles south.
American League
MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers. Don't give me any of this Trout business. Dude hit for the Triple Crown last year AND his lineup got an upgrade from Brennan Boesch/Quintin Berry to Torii Hunter. More RBI chances in an already star-studded Detroit lineup. Sure, Trout is good, but his numbers went down a bit in September of last year. Will he be able to avoid a sophomore slump completely. What he did last year was incredible. I think that will be too hard to duplicate.
Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers. He lost the ultimate prize in dating Kate Upton this offseason, but did just collect $180 million contract that will make him a Tiger for life, so things are going well for the guy. Also, he was Cy Young in 2011, runner up last year and I think he wants to go out and prove he deserved that paycheck and that he is better than his 2012 World Series appearance
Rookie of the Year: Wil Myers, Tampa Bay Rays. Key stat in this decision: the Rays traded James Shields and Wade Davis for him AND he hit 37 bombs in the minors last year. If this kid gets a call up this year, he could get a trophy.
Manager of the Year: Ned Yost, Kansas City Royals. The last few years, people have been saying to look out for the Royals if their prospects get hot. Well, this year, they added some talented and sprinkled in the prospects in their $70M payroll. Vegas line has them for 79 wins, but if they can break .500 for the first time since 2003, the Royals manager will win a trophy.
Remember everyone, these are called predictions. They might not always be 100% accurate when things come to a close at the end of the 2013 campaign, but you better believe we are going to boast about our picks if the stars align and we did pick a few correctly out of a hat...eh.. I mean from our baseball knowledge.
To all: Happy opening day and enjoy this baseball season. It was long awaited and may your team or any other team besides the Yankees or Giants win the World Series. We just can't have that again.
