MLB Awards Ballot

With the regular season coming to a close, it's time to cast ballots for the 2016 season awards. This year, I'm lucky to be a member of the IBWAA and received my first vote this year. The format is similar to the one's that the BBWAA cast will announce their winners in November.

Below is my ballot for this year's awards. My process to determine the winners was comparing players bWAR, fWAR, and WARP values while taking into consideration of team impact. Below my ballot is a form for fans to fill out for themselves that will be tallied and those results will post next week.

Now to my ballot, starting with the National League MVP because that was the easiest call.

NATIONAL LEAGUE MVP: KRIS BRYANT, CHICAGO CUBS

On the North Side, it has already been a special season that has seemingly been in the making since 2013. A big reason for the Cubs success is how Kris Bryant has met the hype after being selected second overall in the 2013 draft. He leads the NL in WARP, bWAR, and fWAR making him the clear-cut choice for MVP.

Rest of the Top 10

2. Corey Seager

3. Daniel Murphy

4. Anthony Rizzo

5. Nolan Arenado

6. Freddie Freeman

7. Justin Turner

8. Joey Votto

9. Dexter Fowler

10. Anthony Rendon

AMERICAN LEAGUE MVP: MIKE TROUT, LOS ANGELES ANGELS

I used to be someone who would only consider players for MVP if they were on winning teams. Then I discovered South Side Sox, learned about WAR, and now my opinion has changed on who is most deserving. It's a much simpler approach now: whoever has the best season regardless of team's win-loss record should be MVP.

With that criteria, Mike Trout is hands down the best player in all of Major League Baseball and is posting the best season in the game, again. He is a 10-win player according to Baseball Reference and a 9-win player by Fangraphs standards. Sure, Mookie Betts is having an outstanding season on a division winning team, but his season hasn't been as good as Trouts.

Rest of the Top 10

2. Mookie Betts

3. Jose Altuve

4. Josh Donaldson

5. Manny Machado

6. David Ortiz

7. Robinson Cano

8. Adam Eaton

9. Adrian Beltre

10. Ian Kinsler

NATIONAL LEAGUE CY YOUNG: JOSE FERNANDEZ, MIAMI MARLINS

Deciding who has been the National League's best pitcher was a tough task. New York Mets demi-god, Noah Syndergaard, leads all NL pitchers in fWAR. Washington Nationals flamethrower, Max Scherzer, leads all NL pitchers in bWAR and strikeouts.

Then there is Jose Fernandez, who leads all NL pitchers in WARP. He was virtually tied with Syndergaard in FIP and lead the NL in K/9. It's those reasons why I gave Fernandez the edge, and it's unfortunate that if he does win the NL Cy Young, it will be posthumous.

Rest of the Top 5

2. Noah Syndergaard

3. Max Scherzer

4. Jon Lester

5. Kyle Hendricks

AMERICAN LEAGUE CY YOUNG: CHRIS SALE, CHICAGO WHITE SOX

While it was tough to decide the NL Cy Young, it was almost impossible to pick a winner in the American League. Honestly, you could rank Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Rick Porcello, and Justin Verlander 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D as all four are deserving of the honor.

I'm giving Sale the nod because he leads all MLB pitchers in WARP, leads all AL pitchers in fWAR and complete games. Corey Kluber is a very close second on my ballot because he leads the AL in FIP. Thanks to Boston's outstanding offense, Porcello has the edge in wins with 22 and has a lower ERA/FIP than Sale. If you want to say this is a homer pick, sure go for it. The benefit of watching every Sale start is understanding that he has nowhere near the offense to support him like Porcello has and the defense is nowhere as good as Kluber has with the Indians.

Plus, Sale had Dioner Navarro catching him which significantly impacted his strike zone. So many things were working against Sale, and yet he managed to earn 17 wins along with numbers that are right there with Kluber and Porcello.

Rest of the Top 5

2. Corey Kluber

3. Rick Porcello

4. Justin Verlander

5. Jose Quintana

NATIONAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: COREY SEAGER, LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Dodgers shortstop phenom, Corey Seager, is posting a 6.4 bWAR season - the highest mark by a rookie in the NL since Troy Tulowitzki in 2007. I had him second on my MVP ballot and after watching him this season he does live up to the hype. It will not surprise me if he follows Kris Bryant's footsteps of winning RoY in 2016 and the MVP in 2017.

Rest of the Top 5:

2. Trea Turner

3. Jon Gray

4. Trevor Story

5. Aledmys Diaz

AMERICAN LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: MICHAEL FULMER, DETROIT TIGERS

I wish the White Sox found a way to acquire Gary Sanchez, and I wish the Detroit Tigers didn't acquire Michael Fulmer in the Yoenis Cespedes deal. This decision is pretty much a coin flip as Sanchez has set the world on fire hitting 20 home runs in just 51 games with a 1.050 OPS.

While that performance has been impressive to watch, I know that without Fulmer the Tigers are not sniffing the playoffs. He leads the AL in ERA, and while Verlander began to rediscover his old self, it was Fulmer that took the reigns and acted as the team's Ace.  His performance has taken a step back in the month of September (1-2, 4.76 ERA), but he still gets my vote for how well he performed in June, July, and August.

Rest of the Top 5

2. Gary Sanchez

3. Tyler Naquin

4. Tim Anderson

5. Edwin Diaz

NATIONAL LEAGUE RELIEVER OF THE YEAR: KENLEY JANSEN, LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Remember when the Los Angeles Dodgers almost traded for Aroldis Chapman to make him the closer, thus moving Kenley Jansen to the set-up role? At the time Jansen wasn't cool with the idea and just to prove his mettle, he has posted the best season for all NL relievers with this stat line: 70 games, 47 saves, 102 K, 9 BB, 1.39 FIP, 1.86 ERA. I'm sure the Dodgers would still love to have Chapman in the bullpen rather than have to face him in the NLCS, but Jansen has been terrific.

Rest of the Top 3

2. Seung-hawn Oh

3. Addison Reed

AMERICAN LEAGUE RELIEVER OF THE YEAR: ZACH BRITTON, BALTIMORE ORIOLES

There are some in the baseball community who believe Zach Britton should be this year's AL Cy Young. Those people are wrong, but Britton has been the best reliever in the American League.  He leads the AL in Saves with a microscopic 0.55 ERA, which equals to just 4 ER in 65.1 IP. Back to those that think he should be the AL Cy Young, it's not a slam dunk that Britton earns the best reliever nod. Andrew Miller for the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians this season has a lower FIP than Britton while striking out 119 batters in 72 innings. While you marvel at that K/9, he has only walked nine batters all season. He doesn't have the Save numbers because he is used in the 7th and 8th innings, but you can make the case that Miller is the pitcher you want in the highest leverage situations.

If I ponder anymore on this award, I will change my mind. Alas, let's move forward.

Rest of the Top 3

2. Andrew Miller

3. Brad Brach

NATIONAL LEAGUE MANAGER OF THE YEAR: DAVE ROBERTS, LOS ANGELES DODGERS

According to spotrac, 28 players for the Los Angeles Dodgers have spent 2,142 days on the disabled list, including Clayton Kershaw. Newcomer Dave Roberts has kept the ship steady, and the Dodgers won the National League West.

Rest of the Top 3:

2. Dusty Baker

3. Don Mattingly

AMERICAN LEAGUE MANAGER OF THE YEAR: TERRY FRANCONA, CLEVELAND INDIANS

I thought the loss of Michael Brantley to injury was going to be a major blow for Cleveland, but they easily won the American League Central. Despite the annoying amount of pitching changes, I've always been impressed by Terry Francona, who has now managed 12 straight winning seasons.

Rest of the Top 3

2. Jeff Bannister

3. Buck Showalter

Now it's your turn. Submit your awards ballot by clicking on this link: AWARDS BALLOT. Submissions are due by Friday, October 7th and we'll post the results on Monday, October 10th.