2020 NL Award Ballot

I normally vote in the IBWAA year end awards, but I missed the deadline this year. Here is how my ballot would have looked for the NL side.

NL MVP
1. Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL
2. Mookie Betts, OF, LAD
3. Juan Soto, OF, WAS
4. Marcell Ozuna, OF, ATL
5. Mike Yastrzemski, OF, SF
6. Manny Machado, 3B, SD
7. Trea Turner, SS, WAS
8. Fernando Tatis Jr, SS, SD
9. Trevor Bauer, SP, CIN
10. Corey Seager, SS, LAD

This was a tough vote. Metrics like WAR are hard to judge over 60 games because players really can’t set themselves apart in such a small sample size. I took into account most leader boards; many had Freeman, Soto, and Ozuna at the top. Betts had the top WAR in the NL. Yastremzski had the best WPA. Turner and Seager turned in underrated seasons.

NL Cy Young
1. Trevor Bauer, RHP, CIN
2. Yu Darvish, RHP, CHC
3. Jacob DeGrom, RHP, NYM
4. Zac Gallen, RHP, ARI
5. Max Fried, LHP, ATL

This was another tough vote. Bauer and Darvish were neck and neck, but Bauer led more stats than Darvish. DeGrom would have been in the mix (those strikeout numbers were phenomenal), but the Mets let him down too much. Gallen was a surprise this season, although he showed flashes last year.

NL Rookie of the Year
1. Jake Cronenworth, 2B, SD
2. Edwin Rios, OF, LAD
3. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, PIT

If Hayes would have been called up earlier in the season and put up the same numbers, I’d say it’s his award; since he was only up since the first of September, I chalk this up to small sample size. Cronenworth played the full season with a WAR of 1.5 (second to only Hayes for NL Rookies), .

NL Reliever of the Year
1. Kenley Jansen, RHP, LAD
2. Jeremy Jeffress, RHP, CHC
3. Brandon Kintzler, RHP, MIA

Josh Hader was close to taking it, when you look at saves. If you go deeper, you’ll see Jansen, Jeffress, and Kintzler all did more for their teams with some better all around numbers.

NL Manager of the Year
1. Jayce Tingler, SD
2. Don Mattingly, MIA
3. Gabe Kapler, SF

Picking Dave Roberts or Brian Snitker would have been the easy way out; both teams were expected to win their divisions. No one expected San Diego or Miami to make the post-season, or for San Francisco to be on the cusp of it. Mike Shildt was a possibility due to their roster management and making the post-season, but they also made it to October last year.

Check back tomorrow for the AL Ballot.