My choices will be spread through out the All-Star Break as follows:
Monday: Rookie of the Year Award and Manager of the Year Award
Tuesday: Goose Gossage Award (Reliever of the Year) and Pitcher of the Year award
Wednesday: Most Valuable Player Award
Most Valuable Player:
1) Joey Votto – Reds, Votto has put together the most complete season of anyone in the National League. He has been stellar at the plat hitting for amazing power, maintained a high average and gotten on base better then anyone in the NL. It was a shame that he was the last man on the All-Star team and should have been a starter. The least that I can do is give him the honor of my first half MVP.
2) David Wright – Mets, last season there was much worry about Wright. This season he has gone out and proved that the power outage last season was a one season kind of thing. He has already surpassed last seasons total and is posting one of his best season according to OPS+. In addition to this he continues to play great defense at the hot corner.
3) Albert Pujols – Cardinals, I was tempted to put Albert lower in the rankings because he hasn't been head and shoulders better then everyone else in the National League. This season he has some peers who are having great seasons, it will be interesting to watch to see if the other guys can keep the MVP pace because we already know the Pujols will be there at the end of the season.
4) Adrain Gonzalez – Padres, Gonzalez is in San Diego so he gets a lot less attention then if he were to play in a larger market and he certainly deserves to get a lot more attention. He is one of the most feared hitters in the league and it is a wonder that he even gets to swing the bat at all in the lineup he is in. There were trade rumors that he may leave but with the first half going perfect for the Padres it looks like he is there for the entire season to the dislike of his NL west rivals.
5) Josh Johnson – Marlins, go read the blurb about him in Pitcher of the Year award. This kid is having an amazing year.
6) Aubrey Huff – Giants, talk about under the radar success. Huff was the third choice for the Giants this off season behind Adam LaRoche and Nick Johnson but he is proven those who doubted him very wrong. He looks to have a lot left in the tank and has been reborn in the misty air of AT&T park after learning to not try to put the ball in the cove every time up.
7) Roy Halladay - Phillies, check out why he is here in the Pitcher of the Year award post.
8) Ryan Zimmerman – Nationals, Some guy named Strasburg may be getting all the publicity but Ryan Zimmerman is the best player on the Nationals. It is between him and David Wright for the Best third basemen in the NL right now with Zimmerman a very close second. He has all the tools that you could ask for in a middle of the order bat and has put them to good use this season.
9) Ubaldo Jimenez – Rockies, check out why he is here in the PPitcher of the Year award post.
10) Andres Torres – Giants, I am putting Torres here not just because the Giants are the team that I love and follow everyday but because if you watch him he is the gear that makes the rest of the Giants offense move. He does everything that you want from a lead off hitter, he works pitchers, he takes walks, he has great bat control, he has a little pop, he can steal a base with a high success rate, he runs the bases well, he has a good baseball IQ, the list could go on. On top of it all he is a spectacular defender which even without the hitting would make him a valuable player to have on your team. He is unknown to those outside of San Francisco but this season according WAR he is the fifth most valuable player in the National League and that his value needs to brought to peoples attention.
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