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The season is over, so we can begin handing out some virtual hardware. The real awards won't be handed out until November 14-17, but we can begin making judgments on who was the best in baseball this year.
There won't be many Royals up for awards this year, since they don't have an award for "most blown leads in a season". The Royals will have some players up for Gold Gloves - Salvador Perez, perhaps Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer and Alcides Escobar. But we probably won't see any Royals get anything more than a vote or two in MVP voting, and the "Danny Duffy for Cy Young" campaign faded quickly.
So who will be getting the accolades this off-season? Here are our picks.
American League Awards
| AL MVP | AL Cy Young | AL Rookie | AL Manager | |
| Josh Duggan | Mike Trout, LAA | Corey Kluber, CLE | Gary Sanchez, NYY | Jeff Bannister, TEX |
| Jeremy Greco | Mike Trout, LAA | Chris Sale, CHW | Tyler Naquin, CLE | Jeff Bannister, TEX |
| Matthew LaMar | Mike Trout, LAA | Justin Verlander, DET | Tyler Naquin, CLE | Terry Francona, CLE |
| Matt Jackson | Mike Trout, LAA | Corey Kluber, CLE | Gary Sanchez, NYY | Jeff Bannister, TEX |
| Shaun Newkirk | Mike Trout, LAA | Justin Verlander, DET | Gary Sanchez, NYY | None |
| Max Rieper | Mike Trout, LAA | Corey Kluber, CLE | Michael Fulmer, DET | Jeff Bannister, TEX |
| sterlingice | Mike Trout, LAA | Zach Britton, BAL | Michael Fulmer, DET | Jeff Bannister, TEX |
| Tim Webber | Mike Trout, LAA | Corey Kluber, CLE | Gary Sanchez, NYY | Terry Francona, CLE |
Hokius: I wanted to vote for someone else other than Trout because he never looks that good to me, but apparently all of his bad games are against the Royals because looking at the numbers he is clearly the best in the AL. Mookie Betts isn't that far behind him, though.
Josh Duggan: The AL Cy Young is kind of a complete toss-up between Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Rick Porcello, and Justin Verlander. Wins are nonsense, and I'm a K-man, so Porcello is out. I erred on the side of the markedly lower FIP.
sterlingice: Zach Britton. Because I want to be that guy. If not him, I'd go Verlander.
Shaun Newkirk: I don't really care to use ERA when looking at a pitcher but Verlander does lead the league. While he doesn't take the top spot in FIP (he's 4th) he's tied for 1st in fWAR among AL pitchers. You can make arguments for many guys but Verlander having the best strikeout rate among his competitors puts him over the top for me.
Max Rieper: Sanchez had a monster two months, but I feel like Fulmer was better for helping his team all year.
sterlingice: I voted Michael Fulmer, I guess. It's probably just because I hate the Yankees. It's 1990 all over again and I'm basically voting for Ben McDonald and his unsustainable ERA with peripherals that don't match over Kevin Maas, who you know is never going to produce anywhere close to his rookie season again.
National League Awards:
| NL MVP | NL Cy Young | NL Rookie | NL Manager | |
| Josh Duggan | Kris Bryant, CHC | Jose Fernandez, MIA | Corey Seager, LAD | Joe Maddon, CHC |
| Hokius | Kris Bryant, CHC | Jose Fernandez, MIA | Corey Seager, LAD | Dusty Baker, WAS |
| Matthew LaMar | Kris Bryant, CHC | Clayton Kershaw, LAD | Corey Seager, LAD | Joe Maddon, CHC |
| Matt Jackson | Kris Bryant, CHC | Jose Fernandez, MIA | Corey Seager, LAD | Joe Maddon, CHC |
| Shaun Newkirk | Kris Bryant, CHC | Clayton Kershaw, LAD | Corey Seager, LAD | None |
| Max Rieper | Kris Bryant, CHC | Noah Syndergaard, NYM | Corey Seager, LAD | Joe Maddon, CHC |
| sterlingice | Kris Bryant, CHC | Max Scherzer, WAS | Corey Seager, LAD | Joe Maddon, CHC |
| Tim Webber | Kris Bryant, CHC | Jose Fernandez, MIA | Corey Seager, LAD | Joe Maddon, CHC |
Hokius: Kris Bryant is a beast. Bryce Harper sure fell off in a hurry.
Matthew LaMar: Clayton Kershaw has an FIP under 2 FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW! That I'm most incensed in the NL Cy Young makes me think it's gonna be a long offseason
Shaun Newkirk: I don't like being super sentimental but I want to give the Cy Young to Jose Fernandez. He had the second best fWAR among NL pitchers (0.3 behind Syndergaard) and right behind Syndergaard in FIP (by 0.01). He also has the highest K/9 in all of baseball. Can't think of a better honor for the now deceased young phenom. I miss him. However, Clayton Kershaw is fortunately still with us today and he's still just as bonkers as he's been since like 2011. He just put up the fourth best FIP from a starter in the live ball era. Joining Pedro Martinez, Dwight Gooden, Bob Gibson...and himself in 2014.
Max Rieper: Maddon should win, but Terry Collins deserves some credit for taking the Mets back to the playoffs with a rotation held together by duct tape and chicken wire. Maybe Matt Harvey will allow Collins to make decisions this fall.
Hokius: I didn't think it would be possible to turn around the dumpster fire former manager Matt Williams left in Washington that quickly. I would have doubled my doubt if I had thought Harper would be any less than he was last year.
Tim Webber: Joe Maddon will win this award every time the Cubs make the playoffs while he's their manager.
| Royals Player of the Year | Royals Pitcher of the Year | |
| Josh Duggan | Jarrod Dyson | Danny Duffy |
| Hokius | Jarrod Dyson | Danny Duffy |
| Matthew Lamar | Jarrod Dyson | Danny Duffy |
| Matt Jackson | Salvador Perez | Danny Duffy |
| Shaun Newkirk | Jarrod Dyson | Danny Duffy |
| Max Rieper | Salvador Perez | Danny Duffy |
| sterlingice | Drew Butera | Danny Duffy |
| Tim Webber | Lorenzo Cain | Danny Duffy |
Max Rieper: Slim pickings among Royals hitters. Salvy slumped badly with the bat in the second half, but he was so valuable defensively, hit for a career-high in homers, and intangibles, leadership, heart!
Josh Duggan: Dyson was so valuable with so little playing time. It's not his fault Frank didn't pencil him into the lineup enough.
sterlingice: Drew Butera! Highest OPS (.808), lowest ERA (0.00), and plays a premium position (C)! He should be league MVP as the best two way threat since Babe Ruth! And I don't want to just pick Dyson like everyone else. There just was no good choice. That offense was just not good this year.