2009 Award Predictions

Continuing with my craze of 2009 picks, I'll brake down my predictions for the winners (and two runner-ups) of all the major awards for the upcoming season.  Some awards are flawed like MVP, where some voters pick the player who had the best overall season and some voters vote literally for the player most valuable to a (usually successful) team.  I usually sway toward the player with the best overall season so here it goes:

AL MVP

1) Mark Teixeira

            -- It almost seems too easy to pick Teixeira as MVP, when he is the bright new star on the team everyone is picking to go the distance.  The New Yankee Stadium's short porch, identical to its predecessor, will make Teixeira an even more dangerous power hitter.  If can have a .632 SLG in the cavern of Turner Field, I can only guess that next season will be one his greatest.

2) B.J. Upton

            -- No one knows for sure how much Upton's shoulder affected his power in 2008, but judging from his past slugging numbers, it did a woozy.  I expect B.J. Upton to bounce back and have his power explode onto the scene.  I'm guessing a 30/40 season in the works.  If only he was as good of a autograph signer as he was a baseball player...

3) Grady Sizemore

            -- As you may have already known, I've tabbed the Indians as next year's World Champions, and I fully believe Sizemore will be one of the main reasons they are going to be so successful.  He could wind up having an identical line as B.J. Upton, but I think Upton could rack more stolen bases and a better OBP.  But if the Indians go all the way, Sizemore will without a doubt by vying for MVP.

NL MVP

1) Albert Pujols

-- Anyone want to argue with me?

2) David Wright

            -- As of now, with all of their players healthy, the Mets are better than Philly.  Wright probably will be challenged by Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes for votes, but most likely will overcome.  The only question is whether Citi Field will be better suited for right-handed or left-handed hitters.  Given some smaller, lefty-friendly confines, Beltran could reach 40 home runs and Reyes could reach 20.

3) Hanley Ramirez

            -- I had the first pick in my fantasy draft this year and I chose Hanley.  Going from leading off to hitting third can only help his numbers as long as Cameron Maybin can do a good job of getting on base in the leadoff spot.  The Marlins are poised to make a run for the NL Wild Card, but even if they falter this year, Ramirez is almost a lock to have another great season.

AL Cy Young

1) Roy Halladay

-- Besides run support, Halladay has everything in place to repeat his dominant 2008 performance.  It really is impressive how effective he's has been considering he pitches in the best offensive division in baseball for the for the worst hitting team in that division.

2) Cliff Lee

            -- Has anyone figured yet why Cliff Lee had such a great year?  I don't think so.  Well, then I have no reason to think Lee can't repeat his pure brilliance of 2008.  But of course, the chances that he actually does recapture his sudden outstanding brilliance of last season are not that great.  If I were a betting man, I'd still go with Halladay.

3) John Danks

            -- There are a slew of young pitchers who I predict will take it to the next level in 2009 like Ervin Santana, Zack Greinke, and Jon Lester.  But I think Danks will be the one who really pitches himself into the elite class of American League pitchers.  He was rushed into the majors in his rookie season but I have a gut feeling 2008 is only a little of what Danks can accomplish.

NL Cy Young

1) Tim Lincecum

-- I didn't think Lincecum should have won the Cy Young last year, but I do think he'll deserve it this season.  With Santana having health issues, Webb moving slightly back to normal, and Sabathia moving to the AL, Lincecum is by far the top favorite for the 09 NL Cy, and I don't see a reason why he can't get even better in his second full season.

2) Cole Hamels

-- Everybody knows how good Hamels already is already but he's still getting better each season.  I predict 238 innings and a 2.85 ERA for Hamels with a WHIP below 1 (he was only .08 above last year).

3) Chad Billingsley

-- You saw what I predicted for Hamels and Billingsley won't be far behind if at all.  Like Hamels, the 24-year old has been getting more effective every season.  The big difference between Billingsley and Hamels is that Hamels is entering his fourth season of starting full-time in the bigs.  Billingsley is just entering just his second.

AL Rookie of the Year

1) Matt Wieters

-- I'm well aware of the possibility that Wieters has only played half a season in Double A and might spend the first month or so in Norfolk.  However it's a sure thing that Wieters will be in Baltimore by June if he stays healthy.  And if he stays healthy...[whistle]

My Prediction: .377 OBP, 26 HR, 78 RBI,

-- Unlike Matt Wieters and David Price, Snider has the pleasure of knowing he has a spot in the lineup come Opening Day.  I'm slightly worried about how fast the Jays moved Snider through the minors in 2008, but his numbers held up so I'm excited to see how well Snider can hit.  And needless to say, he needs to swing the bat well to stay with Toronto since he really can't do anything else.

Prediction: .347 OBP, 19 HR, 71 RBI, 1 SB

3) David Price

-- It would seem David Price winning the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year would be oh so fitting after he burst onto the scene down the stretch and dominated in the playoffs last season.  But then reality sets in and a reasonable fan realizes Price might spend a good chunk of time in Durham next year due to the presence of Jeff Niemann.  Plus, Price was having all of that playoff success as a reliever not a starter, where he would have to spread all of his strength and energy into six or seven innings, not one or two.  However, I've obviously seen the first overall pick's filthy stuff, so a full effective year in the bigs definitely isn't out of the question; just not very probable unless someone in the Rays rotation gets injured.

My Prediction: 21 GS, 3.60 ERA, 9 W, 4 L

NL Rookie of the Year

1) David Freese

-- Other than Freese, I would like to know the last time a player completely skipped Double-A and still had an amazing year at the next level.  Oh wait, I know: Albert Pujols!  Anyway, the 25-year-old Freese had a great year in Class A Advanced Lakeland before being traded over to St. Louis for Jim Edmonds (nice going Kevin Towers) and had an even better offensive season in the PCL.  Troy Glaus will be recovered from his injury by June at the latest, so Freese may end up either making the Cards trade away Glaus or get traded away himself.  No matter what happens with Glaus though, I doubt Freese will be forced back to AAA again.

My Prediction: .356 OBP 26 HR, 89 RBI, 4 SB

2) Chris Dickerson

-- Unless the horrific Reds front office for some reason doesn't let Dickerson play everyday, he'll become the next young Reds position player to break out.  Imagine a prototypical athletic outfielder...that can actually hit.

            My Prediction: .362 OBP 15 HR, 69 RBI, 34 SB

3) Gaby Sanchez

-- Sanchez is a risky pick here because unlike other ROY candidates like Travis Ishikawa, Colby Rasmus, or Elvis Andrus, he really needs to have a great spring to secure a major league roster spot.  However, I predict he will not only win the Marlins first-base job but have a very good rookie year.  The only problem with Gaby Sanchez winning a spot is that Dallas McPherson or Jorge Cantu will unfairly be sent down or put on the bench.

                                                    Prediction: .343 OBP, 20 HR, 67 RBI, 5 SB