My predictions For the 2023 Season of where I see all of the awards being divvied up amongst the players in the AL and NL.
This week the pitchers and catchers in both the AL and NL report to Spring Training for the 2023 season. After a long offseason nature is finally healing. This offseason was great, there were many major players that moved like Dansby Swanson, Trae Turner, and Xander Bogaerts. The season will have a lot of new players in new uniforms, new rules, and new stars emerging. Today we are going to look at my predictions for MLB awards.
National League
This year I am sure the world will see the full star power of Ronald Acuña Jr. He has been nothing but stellar this offseason from showing up to random sandlot games to pimp homers off random people in his hometown, to playing winter ball and hitting walk offs and torturing opposing teams. Every stat prediction is giving Acuña a relatively easy 30 and 30 season and with his knee fully healthy, I don’t see why he couldn’t do it.
In my way-too-early top 24 I listed Max Fried for my prediction for Cy Young for multiple reasons. The main reason is I see this being a big year for Max is his yearly improvements, but also at his age and with his skill set, he is set up to make his biggest push for Cy Young this year. He posted a sub-three ERA last year earning him second in Cy Young voting behind Sandy Alcantara, an All-star bid, and his top-tier fielding earned him a Golden Glove.
I see Walker leaving Spring Training after a boom carving out a spot for himself on the full 40-man. With the 2022 season spent raking in the minors, I think it is time that he gets the call to go up and is able to prove his worth full-time in an STL uniform. Walker hit at a .306 rate and .510 slugging percentage in the minors last season so even with an expected drop off he will still be sitting pretty in St. Louis.
The Brewers are one of the more consistent teams and they will be better this season. With Corbin Burnes coming into the season after a great 2022, they will have more confidence and more wins on their record. The Brewers and the Cubs will be in a battle for the Central, and if my thoughts are correct, the Brewers will scrape by. With a win in the Central I think it will be hard to argue with what Craig Counsell has done for this ball club.
American League
Peña was, in my opinion, robbed of Rookie of the Year last year by Julio Rodriguez. All is well that ends well though because then the Astros rookie went on to win the World Series MVP. The DR native was stellar in all aspects last year, posting a .253 batting average and a .426 slugging percentage. If these numbers improve the way they should, I see no reason the shortstop shouldn’t have some new hardware.
There is rarely a year where DeGrom is not the odds-on favorite at the beginning of the season and that is for a reason. There are few pitchers who throw as hard and with as much control as he does. He is moving to Texas to join the Rangers. The two-time Cy Young winner pitched to a 3.08 ERA and .746 WHIP. This upcoming season will be big since the level of batters he will face is far different than those he is used to seeing in the NL East.
AL Rookie of the year: Josh Jung
Jung posted .311 BA and .538 SLG in his minor league career. He has the bat power to step up in the Majors and send some balls flying. He had an amazing career in college, and he has been great in the minor leagues. The Rangers are going to be a much better team this year and are making a great push to revive the club. The move to Josh Jung at DH will be a move that happens before the All-Star break, and we will see him thrive in that position.
AL Manager of the Year: Dusty Baker
I think Dusty Baker is regarded by most as the top manager in the American League yet he still seems to be underrated after looking at the way he runs his Astros. Because of this, my pick to win the American League is the Astros and if that is correct it is very hard to argue with him for MOY if he gets his team to another World Series.
