The pomp and circumstance of the 2021 MLB All-Star Game is complete and meaningful regular season games will return later this week. When they do, 14 of the 30 teams will be within six games of a postseason spot.
With 55.4 percent of the 2021 regular season is in the books (1,347 of 2,430 regular season games have been played) and the All-Star break entering its dark period, this is as good a time as any to hand out midseason awards. After all, those first half games counted too.
To determine our midseason awards, our five CBS Sports MLB scribes (R.J. Anderson, Katherine Acquavella, Mike Axisa, Dayn Perry, Matt Snyder) each cast a hypothetical ballot for the four majors award (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie and Manager of the Year) in each league. Our rules:
- Our individual ballots for each award are three names deep. In reality, the MVP ballot is 10 players deep and the Cy Young ballot is five players deep. Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year each include three slots.
- The scoring system: Three points for a first place vote, two points for a second place vote, and one point for a third place vote. Most points wins. Nice and easy.
Below are our 2021 midseason award voting results as well as a short blurb on the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie and Manager of the Year races. Away we go ...
AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani, Angels
| First place | Second place | Third place | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Shohei Ohtani, Angels | 5 | - | - | 15 |
- | 5 | - | 10 | |
- | - | 1 | 1 | |
- | - | 1 | 1 | |
Rafael Devers, Red Sox | - | - | 1 | 1 |
JD Martinez, Red Sox | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Marcus Semien, Blue Jays | - | - | 1 | 1 |
It is unanimous, as it should be. Ohtani is redefining "valuable" this season. He's been one of the game's best hitters -- Ohtani currently leads MLB with 33 home runs -- and he's been an above-average starting pitcher too. Certainly his team's best starter. For those who believe the MVP should come from a contending team, the Mike Trout-less Angels are hanging around the postseason race, something they would not do without Ohtani's two-way efforts. He is the sport's most valuable player, bar none.
Vlad Jr. is having a remarkable breakout season, one that would earn him the MVP award in most other years. The race for third place behind Ohtani and Guerrero is pretty wide open, as evidenced by our voting results. That the Red Sox had three different players receive a third place vote is a testament to their star power and depth. They're in first place and not because one guy is having a monster season. Three Boston players are having years worthy of MVP votes.
NL MVP: Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres
| First place | Second place | Third place | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres | 3 | 2 | - | 13 |
2 | 1 | - | 8 | |
Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves | - | 2 | 2 | 6 |
- | - | 2 | 2 | |
- | - | 1 | 1 |
Despite missing time with a shoulder injury, Tatis entered the All-Star break as the NL leader in home runs and stolen bases, and is a real threat to go 40/40. The Padres are not your typical third place team (they have the NL's fourth best record) and Tatis has been the best player on one of the league's best teams. That's a good way to earn MVP votes. Ditto being an electric talent who demands your attention. It's impossible to take your eyes off Tatis when he's on the field.
Pitchers are eligible to win the MVP, though some voters (not necessarily us at CBS Sports) believe pitchers have their own award, and should not be considered. Either way, deGrom is having the sort of season that deserves MVP consideration. He's been historically great and is in position to make a run Hall of Famer Bob Gibson's single-season ERA record (1.12 in 1968). Acuña suffered a season-ending knee injury last weekend and that is just terrible for the sport. The injury will remove him from the full season MVP conversation, but at midseason, he is very much in the mix.
AL Cy Young: Lance Lynn, White Sox
| First place | Second place | Third place | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lance Lynn, White Sox | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |
1 | 2 | - | 7 | |
Carlos Rodón, White Sox | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Our most wide-open race. Four different pitchers received a first place vote, and Lynn's margin of victory is rather small. Lynn is the only AL starter with a sub-2.00 ERA and he ranks top three in pretty much every other meaningful pitching statistic. He's also one of the game's great workhorses. Gibson (Lynn's former teammate) has been outstanding since his Opening Day meltdown and Rodón (Lynn's current teammate) is having a brilliant comeback season.
Cole's struggles since MLB began cracking down on foreign substances likely cost him our midseason Cy Young. He had a 1.78 in April and May and now has a 4.15 ERA in June and July, even after throwing a 129-pitch shutout last weekend. That performance is a reminder Cole can be great even without sticky stuff, and there's more than enough time left in the season to again take over as the Cy Young favorite. At midseason though, he falls behind Lynn and Gibson in our voting.
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, Mets
| First place | Second place | Third place | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacob deGrom, Mets | 5 | - | - | 15 |
- | 4 | 1 | 9 | |
- | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
- | - | 1 | 1 |
Perhaps the easiest call in our midseason awards. Even with all the great pitching in the NL -- and there is a ton of it -- deGrom is a cut above, and is having a potentially historic season. Some minor injuries mean his innings total lags behind the other Cy Young candidates, though he's been so good when he has been on the mound that he takes our top spot unanimously. Not since peak Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000 has the best pitcher in baseball been this much better than everyone else.
The race for runner-up is primarily between Wheeler and Gausman, who are having seasons that would earn them the Cy Young in a year when deGrom was not doing this. Gausman has the edge in run prevention (1.73 ERA vs. 2.26 ERA), though Wheeler leads MLB in innings (119 2/3), and he plays in front of a much worse defense. Either one is a worthy runner-up to deGrom. Same goes for Woodruff.
AL Rookie of the Year: Adolis García, Rangers
| First place | Second place | Third place | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Adolis García, Rangers | 5 | - | - | 15 |
Luis Garcia, Astros | - | 2 | - | 4 |
- | - | 4 | 4 | |
- | 1 | - | 2 | |
Nick Madrigal, White Sox | - | 1 | - | 2 |
Casey Mize, Tigers | - | 1 | - | 2 |
Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Back in February, Texas designated García for assignment and he slipped through waivers unclaimed. Any team could have had our midseason Rookie of the Year for nothing. Instead, he cleared waivers, remained with the Rangers as a Triple-A player, and got called up to the big leagues when the team dealt with injuries in April. More than 20 home runs later, he is the league's top rookie, and it's not particularly close right now either.
The Rookie of the Year field behind García is wide open. The six players above all deserve consideration (Madrigal's season-ending shoulder injury will take him out of the running for the full season award, however), as do others like Randy Arozarena and Shane McClanahan of the Rays, Astros outfielder Chas McCormick, Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal, and White Sox youngsters Michael Kopech and Andrew Vaughn. Garcia is head and shoulders above the rest of the AL rookie class at the All-Star break.
NL Rookie of the Year: Trevor Rogers, Marlins
| First round | Second round | Third round | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Trevor Rogers, Marlins | 5 | - | - | 15 |
- | 2 | 3 | 7 | |
Ian Anderson, Braves | - | 2 | 2 | 6 |
- | 1 | - | 2 |
Very quietly, Rogers have been the best rookie in baseball this season (his 3.1 WAR is a full win better than the next best rookie) and if NL pitching wasn't so outrageously good this year, he might even garner Cy Young consideration. He leads all rookie starters in ERA, WAR, strikeouts, the whole nine. The Marlins have a dynamite pitching core with Rogers, Sandy Alcantara, Pablo López, and the currently injured Sixto Sánchez.
Among rookies with at least 200 plate appearances, India has the highest on-base percentage (.397) by a significant margin, and he rates well defensively. Anderson's recent shoulder woes will hurt him when it comes to the full season award, and Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes still has a chance to play his way into the mix for the full season award. He missed time with a wrist issue. Rogers is the clear-cut pick at midseason. India or even Hayes could give him a run for the full season award.
AL Manager of the Year: Alex Cora, Red Sox
| First place | Second place | Third place | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alex Cora, Red Sox | 3 | 1 | - | 11 |
Dusty Baker, Astros | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
Scott Servais, Mariners | - | 2 | - | 4 |
Kevin Cash, Rays | - | - | 3 | 3 |
Terry Francona, Cleveland | - | 1 | - | 2 |
Tony La Russa, White Sox | - | - | 1 | 1 |
The Manager of the Year award typically goes to the manager of the team that is most exceeding expectations, and that describes Cora's Red Sox. They were among the worst teams in baseball last year and now they have the AL's second best record despite seemingly persistent rotation questions. Will Cora's involvement in the Astros' and Red Sox's sign-stealing scandals hurt him in the real voting? It shouldn't. He served his suspension and is a member in good standing in MLB's eyes. The Manager of the Year field is fairly wide open, and we could see as many as seven or eight managers receive votes for the full season award.
NL Manager of the Year: Gabe Kapler, Giants
| First place | Second place | Third place | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gabe Kapler, Giants | 4 | 1 | - | 14 |
Craig Counsell, Brewers | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
Luis Rojas, Mets | - | 2 | 3 | 7 |
Unlike the AL award, the NL Manager of the Year field is narrow. Kapler's Giants are the biggest surprise in baseball this season (at 57-32, they have MLB's best record at the All-Star break) and that usually wins a skipper the Manager of the Year award. Counsell is in the running for this award every year because he wins with a small market team. The Mets are in first place but aren't a dominant powerhouse, or at least they weren't in the first half, yet Rojas deserves consideration for the job he's done.
