MLB Awards 2022: Finalists & Winners For MVP, Rookie Of The Year, CY Young & More

Here’s what you need to know about the MLB Award 2022 finalists and winners. Winners will be announced the week of Nov. 14 during two-hour shows on MLB Network, with one award revealed at 6:40 p.m. ET and the other at 7:40 p.m. ET each day. The day-by-day schedule is as follows:

  • AL and NL Rookie of the Year awards: 6 p.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 14 on MLB Network
  • AL and NL Manager of the Year awards: 6 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Nov. 15 on MLB Network
  • AL and NL Cy Young awards: 6 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Nov. 16 on MLB Network
  • AL and NL MVP awards: 6 p.m. ET, Thursday, Nov. 17 on MLB Network

 

Here’s a breakdown of the three nominees for each MLB Award Award in the American League and National League-

AL MVP Award

Yordan Alvarez, DH/LF, Astros

This season, Alvarez was once again among the best hitters in the American League. Left-handed slugger for the Astros at bat. He hit.306 with 97 RBIs, 37 home runs, and was one of just two batters with an OPS over 1.000. Aaron Judge. Alvarez finished second in the Majors in both OPS and OPS+ (league average is 100), only behind Judge. For the World Series champions in the postseason, he also added several noteworthy home runs.

Aaron Judge, OF, Yankees

Judge is the MVP favourite, thanks to his remarkable season. He broke Roger Maris’ previous record of 61 home runs and established a new one for the American League with 62. Aaron Judge was also on the verge of a Triple Crown, leading the AL with 131 RBIs and finishing second with a .311 batting average.

Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH

The current AL MVP had another outstanding season in ’22 after his historic two-way 2021. Ohtani became the first player in the World Series era to reach the top of both the league leaderboards for batting and pitching. As a hitter, he had 34 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 95 RBIs. As a pitcher, he had a record of 15-9, a 2.33 ERA, and 219 strikeouts.

NL MVP Award

Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Cardinals

Goldschmidt spent a considerable amount of time attempting to win the Triple Crown in the National League. He eventually finished with a batting average of.317, 35 home runs, and 115 RBIs while also dominating the league in slugging (.578) and OPS (.981). Prior to 2022, Goldschmidt finished second in the MVP voting twice and advanced to the finals three times. He is vying for his first MVP Award in a 12-year career.

Nolan Arenado, 3B, Cardinals

The finest teammates in baseball in 2022 were probably Arenado and fellow MVP finalist Goldschmidt. Arenado won his 10th consecutive Gold Glove Award while batting.293 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs and providing his usual stellar defence at third base. Can he, though, add his first MVP Award to that list? He has never won, but he has been in the top five three times and the top ten five times.

Manny Machado, 3B, Padres

As a member of the Padres during his second consecutive All-Star season, Machado batted.298 with 32 home runs and 102 RBIs. His 7.4 WAR, per FanGraphs, was slightly above Arenado’s 7.3 and Paul Goldschmidt and Freddie Freeman’s 7.3 and 7.3, respectively, as the NL leader in Wins Above Replacement. Machado led the Padres to the postseason despite the absence of Fernando Tatis Jr., a fellow superstar. He has placed in the top five of the MVP race three times and is going for the first time.

AL Cy Young Award

Dylan Cease, RHP, White Sox

The 26-year-old Cease improved on his breakthrough 2021 season with an even better 2022 campaign for the White Sox, going 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA (second in the AL only to Justin Verlander) and 227 strikeouts, one more than he had the previous year. From May 29 to August 11, Cease had a record-breaking 14 starts in a row with no more than one earned run allowed.

Alek Manoah, RHP, Blue Jays

Manoah had an even better sophomore campaign in 2022 after a fantastic rookie campaign in 2021. The 24-year-old right-hander had a record of 16-7, a 2.24 ERA that ranked third in the American League, with 180 strikeouts. Manoah led the Blue Jays to an AL pennant in September by going 4-0 with a 0.88 ERA.

Astros’ Justin Verlander, RHP

In 2022, at the age of 39 and in his first season following Tommy John surgery, the ageless Verlander once again dominated for the Astros. Verlander led the AL in wins with 18 and was the MLB ERA champion with a 1.75 score. His career total of 3,198 strikeouts is the highest among active pitchers after he added 185 more. Verlander is vying for his third Cy Young Award of his career, which would make him only the 11th pitcher in history to accomplish the feat.

NL Cy Young Award

Sandy Alcantara, RHP, Marlins

Alcantara was the kind of workhorse that is now uncommon to see in baseball. The Marlins’ ace pitcher threw six complete games, which is more than any other club did in 2022 and the most since Chris Sale in 2016. Alcantara pitched a Major League-best 228 2/3 innings, going 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA. From May 11 to July 15, he made 13 straight starts, going at least seven innings, the longest such run since the 2014 season.

Max Fried, LHP, Braves

The 2021 World Series champions’ ace was just as excellent — if not better — in 2022. Fried led the Braves past the Mets for their fifth consecutive NL East victory with a 2.21 ERA in nine starts in August and September. In his first All-Star season, Fried went 14-7 with a 2.48 ERA and 170 strikeouts.

Julio Urías, LHP, Dodgers

With Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw out for significant portions of the season for Los Angeles, Uras was a rock-solid ace for the best club in baseball during the regular season. With a 2.16 ERA for the 111-win Dodgers, the 26-year-old lefty pitcher took home the NL ERA crown. A year after he led the Majors with 20 wins and received Cy Young votes for the first time, Urías went 17-7 in 2022 with 166 strikeouts.

AL Rookie of the Year

Julio Rodríguez, CF, Mariners (winner)

J-Rod, the favourite to win the AL Rookie of the Year, quickly established himself as one of baseball’s most electrifying players and propelled the Mariners to their first postseason berth since 2001. With a 147 OPS+, 28 home runs, 25 stolen bases, and a.284 average, Rodriguez also played outstanding center field defence. The 21-year-old is the first rookie since Mike Trout in 2012 to have 25 home runs and 25 thefts. He is one of only three rookies in history to accomplish both feats.

Other two nominees-

Steven Kwan, LF, Guardians

Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles

NL Rookie of the Year

Michael Harris II, CF, Braves (winner)

Both of the Braves’ contenders for the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year, a pitcher and a hitter, are on the team. Number 1 is Harris. After being called up at the end of May, the 21-year-old center fielder for the NL East champions stole the show by batting.297 with 19 home runs, 20 stolen bases, a 135 OPS+, and excellent outfield defense. With 5.3 WAR, Harris had the most among NL rookies.

Other two nominees-

Brendan Donovan, UTIL, Cardinals

Spencer Strider, RHP, Braves

 

 

FOR MORE MLB UPDATES-

GM James Click Part Ways With Astros After World Series Win