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Writer's pictureRyan Bishop

Projected NL Award Winners

Well, baseball is back. Opening day was awesome… for the first eight innings.


Chris Sale did Chris Sale things, holding the Rays scoreless through six full innings. Eduardo Nunez hit a pretty improbable and definitely impressive two-run inside-the-park home run. Bogaerts even went 3-4 after a relatively terrible season last year. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, everything went to hell. The bullpen was exposed and frankly, the team didn’t show the mental toughness we all wish they had. As heartbroken as I was, I had to move on for the good of Third and Long. That’s just the kind of guy I am. The team, the team, the team.


Here are my picks for the award winners in the national league:


MVP: Nolan Arenado

Maybe I talk too much baseball with Rockies fanatic and friend of T&L Wil Gonzales, but I really think he’s onto something here. Arenado is easily one of the most underappreciated players in the sport. Last season, Arenado finished with 37 home runs, a .309 batting average and 130 RBI. Yet, he finished just fourth in the MVP voting. This seems to be a recurring theme for the All-Star third basemen, as Arenado led the NL in both home runs and RBI in 2015 and 2016, but finished in MVP voting eighth and fifth, respectively. Colorado bias? Maybe.


(photo courtesy of Arturo Pardavila III)


Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw

I mean, come on. Kershaw is one of the most dominant athletes of my lifetime and one of the greatest pitchers of all time. In the last seven seasons, Kershaw has won the the Cy Young three times, finished top five in voting every season, been an All-Star every year, led the league in ERA five separate times and WHIP four times, and has been the strikeout king three separate times. He has posted 118 wins and just 41 losses, a 2.10 ERA and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. I’m Box Score Bishop––I’m obviously gonna pick Kershaw.


ROY: Ronald Acuna

I mean, maybe I should’ve asked Prospect Jakob for a comment because I pretty much know nothing about Acuna, but he’s my pick for national league Rookie of the Year. Last year, he was just 19 when he was called up to AAA ball and has lived up to the massive expectations that have been put on his shoulders, as he posted a .344 average in 139 games. Obviously, I’m no expert, but this guy seems legit.

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