Two Washington Nationals hope to bring home the hardware next week.
Nationals ace Max Scherzer and rookie outfielder Juan Soto were named finalists on Monday night by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America for the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards, respectively.
Scherzer will try to make it three straight NL Cy Young awards next week. Scherzer joins the New York Mets’ Jacob deGrom and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Aaron Nola as the three finalists for the Cy Young, with deGrom favored to win for the first time despite a 10-9 record.
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Felix Hernandez had 13 victories when he won the 2010 AL Cy Young, the fewest wins ever by a starting pitcher to win the award.
Scherzer, who has won the past two NL awards, also has one Cy Young in the American League. Scherzer led the major leagues in innings pitched and strikeouts and tied with deGrom with a 0.91 WHIP. Scherzer’s 2.53 ERA was third-best in the NL.
The teenage Soto will try to cap an amazing rookie season with the NL Rookie of the Year Award. He joins the Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler as finalists. At 19 years old, Soto had the second-most home runs in history for a teenager with 22, tying teammate Bryce Harper’s 2012 mark. He also had the most mult-homer games, most walks and highest OBP and OPS for a teenager.
The NL Rookie of the Year Award will be announced on Nov. 12, while the NL Cy Young is set for Nov. 14.
The Los Angeles Angeles’ Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award along with two New York Yankees infielders.
Ohtani figures to be in a tight race with Yankees infielders Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres after a historic first season. The two-way Japanese sensation was 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA as a starting pitcher before an elbow injury forced him off the mound. He finished out the season exclusively as a designated hitter, hitting .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs.
Ohtani is the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and strike out 50 batters in a season, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only players ever to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings. He had Tommy John surgery after the season and is not expected to pitch in 2019.
Andujar hit 47 doubles, tied for the second-most by a rookie in major league history, while Torres had 24 homers and 77 RBIs as a 21-year-old. They are the first teammates to finish top three in Rookie of the Year voting since Wil Myers and Chris Archer with Tampa Bay in 2013.
The World Series champion Boston Red Sox might be in line for more hardware. Mookie Betts is a finalist for AL MVP, and Alex Cora is in the final three for AL Manager of the Year in his first season. Betts led the majors with a .346 average and .640 slugging percentage while setting career highs with 32 homers and a 1.078 OPS.
Los Angeles’ Mike Trout and Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez are also finalists for AL MVP. Trout has finished in the top two in AL MVP voting in five of the past six seasons after finishing fourth in 2017. Ramirez was third in the voting last year, when Houston’s Jose Altuve beat out Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich is the favorite for NL MVP, and Colorado’s Nolan Arenado and Chicago’s Javier Baez also were revealed as top vote-getters. Yelich emerged from a crowded field by hitting .370 with 10 homers and a 1.313 OPS in September while the Brewers topped the Cubs for the NL Central title.
Corey Kluber has a shot at a second straight AL Cy Young Award and third overall. The Cleveland right-hander is up against Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell and Houston’s Justin Verlander, who won the AL Cy Young and MVP Awards in 2011.
Cora is up against Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash and Oakland’s Bob Melvin. Cash oversaw the Rays’ successful experiment with using relief pitchers as “openers” to begin games, a trend that others — including Melvin — adopted later in the season. Melvin led Oakland as it charged back into the AL playoff picture and earned a spot in the wild-card game.
Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell, Colorado’s Bud Black and Atlanta’s Brian Snitker were named NL Manager of the Year candidates.
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