MLB Awards: Rays and Cubs Players Make Final Cuts
Caminero and Crow-Armstrong join other stars on the ballot for the season's top honors, with winners set to be revealed in November.
By Rafael Bailey ·
Baseball's top honors are narrowing down.
MLB Network announced the finalists for the Most Valuable Player awards in both leagues on Monday.
Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays is among the three American League candidates. He helped lead the team to the World Series while hitting .276 with 42 home runs and 101 RBIs.
His AL counterparts are Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals. Alvarez led the majors with a .316 average, 42 home runs, and 106 RBIs. Witt batted .281 with 18 home runs, 54 RBIs, and 45 stolen bases.
In the National League, Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs is a finalist. He tied for the major league lead with 45 home runs and drove in 107 runs while batting .280.
Joining him are Brice Turang of the Milwaukee Brewers and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Turang hit .268 with 21 home runs and 100 RBIs. Ohtani batted .275 with 30 home runs and 81 RBIs. He also went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 pitching starts before injuries stopped his mound work in July.
Jacob Misiorowski of the Brewers is the leading candidate for the National League Cy Young Award. The right-hander led the majors with a 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, and 252 strikeouts while posting a 16-5 record. Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies are the other finalists.
Misiorowski credited his support system during his run. "The biggest thing was just believing in yourself and trusting people around you to help you with anything that happens in this game," he told MLB Network.
The American League Cy Young finalists are Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees, Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Parker Messick of the Cleveland Guardians. Schlittler posted the second-best ERA in the majors at 1.95 with a 14-6 record. Cease went 11-6 with a 2.40 ERA, and Messick finished 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA.
Pat Murphy of the Brewers is a candidate for the National League Manager of the Year award. He guided Milwaukee to 103 wins and its first title. Walt Weiss of the Braves and Don Mattingly of the Phillies round out the NL group. In the AL, Will Venable of the White Sox, Kevin Cash of the Rays, and Chad Tracy of the Boston Red Sox are in the running. Venable led Chicago to 84 wins, Cash took Tampa Bay to 98 wins, and Tracy managed Boston to 77 wins after joining in late April.
Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds is the prohibitive favorite for the National League Rookie of the Year award. He hit 32 home runs with 111 RBIs and a .263 average. Carson Benge of the New York Mets and JJ Wetherholt of the St. Louis Cardinals are the other candidates. In the AL, Messick is a finalist alongside Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers and Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox.
The Relief Pitcher of the Year award introduces new categories for this season. Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres leads the NL candidates with 38 saves and a 1.67 ERA. Trevor Megill of the Brewers and Jhoan Duran of the Phillies are the others. In the AL, Louis Varland of the Toronto Blue Jays is a candidate with 35 saves and a 1.27 ERA. Bryan Baker of the Tampa Bay Rays and Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians also made the cut with 41 saves each. The Rookie and Manager awards will be announced on Nov. 9 and 10. The Cy Young and Reliever awards follow on Nov. 11. The MVP winners will be named on Nov. 12.
