A looming work stoppage in Major League Baseball, courtesy of a likely lockout initiated by the owners, is hanging a cloud over the 2027 MLB season, if there is a 2027 MLB season.
However, before looking ahead to what could happen next, we can still look back to what already happened in this past season.
Major League Baseball announced its finalists for its major awards on Monday night, as fans can hold onto what could be the last baseball played for a while in the majors.
Here are the predictions for who takes home the MLB awards, and the winners will be announced by MLB from Monday, Nov. 9 through Thursday, Nov. 12.
AL MVP: DH Yordan Alvarez, Astros
At one point, Alvarez had visions of hitting for the Triple Crown, but he’ll simply have to settle for leading the AL in batting average—and winning the MVP award.
He slugged 42 homers with 106 RBI, but a deeper dive into his stats displays just how outstanding a year Alvarez had.
He was clutch when it mattered the most, with a mind-boggling 1.289 OPS when hitting with runners in scoring position and also a .441 batting average with RISP and two outs.
Other Finalists: Rays 3B Junior Caminero, Royals SS Bobby Witt Jr.
NL MVP: CF Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs
PCA may very well unanimously win this award, ending Shohei Ohtani’s attempt to win MVP four years in a row.
Crow-Armstrong was clearly the best offensive player in the NL, and he may very well have been the best defensive outfielder as well.
He had a 40/40 season, led the majors with 45 homers, led the NL in OPS, led all outfielders in putouts, and was third in defensive WAR.
Had Ohtani stayed healthy and been the two-way force he was to start the year, this would have been a much more interesting race.
Other Finalists: Dodgers P/DH Shohei Ohtani, Brewers 2B Brice Turang.
AL Cy Young: SP Cam Schlittler, Yankees
Dylan Cease was the Cy Young runner-up in 2022, and it appears he’ll have to settle for that same finish in 2026.
That’s because Cam Schlittler’s ERA was nearly half a run lower than Cease’s, and the Yankees ace logged nearly 25 more innings.
Schlittler’s consistency was amazing as he allowed a .181 batting average to RHBs and a .188 average to LHBs.
He also got better in the second half of the year, fueling New York’s run to the postseason, as after having a 2.05 ERA before the All-Star break, he posted a 1.80 mark afterwards.
Other Finalists: Blue Jays SP Dylan Cease, Guardians SP Parker Messick.
NL Cy Young: SP Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers
This is a closer race than many think, considering The Miz’s dominant season.
Sanchez will get many writers’ votes due to his volume, as he pitched over 30 more innings than Misiorowski, but the latter’s exceptional numbers can’t be ignored.
Despite ranking 22nd in MLB in innings pitched, the Brewers ace still led the majors in strikeouts (252), while also topping the NL in all of the advanced stats of ERA+, FIP, and WHIP.
Other Finalists: Phillies SP Cristopher Sanchez, Braves SP Chris Sale.
AL Rookie of Year: SS Kevin McGonigle, Tigers
McGonigle has a case to be an AL MVP finalist—and may be the favorite entering the next MLB season—so he’s a lock to take home the ROY.
Three years after being drafted out of high school, the 22-year-old led the AL in WAR (7.1) and flashed his five tools.
He was one of four players with at least a dozen homers and stolen bases, plus 90 walks, and he did it while logging most of his time at shortstop.
Other Finalists: Guardians SP Parker Messick, Red Sox SP Payton Tolle.
NL Rookie of Year: SS JJ Wetherholt, Cardinals
With all due respect to Sal Stewart—who lacks the all-around talents of his fellow finalists—this is a two-man battle between Wetherholt and Carson Benge.
The Mets outfielder had the better bat, but Wetherholt was better in the field. While Benge had a few more stolen bases—22 to 14—Wetherholt was more efficient on the basepaths, with a higher stolen base percentage, run scoring percentage, and extra bases taken percentage.
In this era of voters loving the StatCast-esque analytics, Wetherholt gets the nod.
Other Finalists: Mets OF Carson Benge, Reds 1B Sal Stewart.
AL Manager of Year: Will Venable, White Sox
Venable helped author a 24-win turnaround for the White Sox, who went 84–78 this year after going 60-102 last year.
The White Sox were the surprise story all season and became the first team in MLB history to make the postseason after three consecutive 100-loss seasons.
Other Finalists: Rays’ Kevin Cash, Red Sox’s Chad Tracy.
NL Manager of Year: Pat Murphy, Brewers
There’s little debate with this award, and Milwaukee winning the World Series is simply icing on the cake.
Murphy will win this award for the third straight year after leading the Brewers to the most wins in baseball despite Milwaukee ranking last in the National League in home runs.
Other Finalists: Phillies’ Don Mattingly, Braves’ Walt Weiss.
