l know that we are a full year away, and it is way too early to be taking shots on who will be the 2021 MLB Cy Young Award winner or the MVP award. But yet, I´m going for it. These are my 2021 Award predictions.
2021 American League Rookie Of The Year
Wander Franco
This decision was a pretty easy one to make. Wander is the #1 Prospect in the MLB right now. He is a 5 tool player who hits for contact. Ultra talented, the Rays have been so excited to call him up when he is ready. And just by watching him play, you can tell he is a special talent
Honourable Mentions: Jasson Dominguez, Adley Rutschman
2021 National League Rookie of the Year
Mackenzie Gore
If you haven´t heard about this kid, you need to get to know him. Mackenzie is an ultra-talented pitching prospect in the Padres organization. He is ranked #3 in Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list. Yes, as if the Padres didn´t already have an ultra-talented lineup of young talent, they will add Mackenzie here next year most likely.
Gore throws a hard fastball, a 12-6 curveball, a wipeout slider, and an excellent changeup. A pretty typical repertoire, but the way he throws them makes those 4 nearly untouchable.
This kid has a very bright future ahead of him, and in an organization built like the Padres, who feast of young talent, he very well may live out a great MLB career.
Honourable Mentions: Joey Bart, Dylan Carlson
2021 American League Cy Young Award
Gerrit Cole
This one was tough. One of the big names in that discussion would be Justin Verlander, but he most likely will not pitch until 2022, if he doesn’t retire by then. Verlander underwent Tommy John surgery on October 1st, 2020. But that has a silver lining. His ex-teammate and the guy who finished 2nd in the 2019 Cy Young behind Justin, is Gerrit Cole. He is my pick to win the Cy Young next year.
“What are you thinking?! He has no chance to win it”, you might think. That’s where you are wrong. Over the past 3 seasons, he has dominated the league. In the past 3 seasons, he has an ERA of 2.74 and a WHIP of 0.962. That’s insanely good.
The man throws an average fastball velocity of 97.1 MPH. And trust me, he can throw even harder than that. Not to mention, have you seen this guy’s slider? It moves like a wiffle ball. It’s filthy. It starts on the outside corner and runs into your elbow. And he throws it so hard, it looks like a fastball, the runs and nearly hits you.
Also, Yankees park is sort of a factor. When MLB players make solid contact with Cole’s fastball, it usually goes into left center field. To left center in Yankees Stadium is 399 feet. That is a long way to travel to get out, and with a center fielder like Aaron Hicks or Aaron Judge, they can cover a lot of ground to get to deep fly balls, thus resulting in lest extra-base hits, which usually result in runs. I believe Cole will have an absolute monster season next year with the Yankees, that will make his last 3 seasons look average. Maybe the season will help them do excellent in the regular season and even the postseason. Usually, Cole hangs in Verlander’s shadow, but with Verlander injured this season, it is time to step out and win his first award.
Honourable Mentions: Shane Bieber, Hyun Jin-Ryu, Luis Severino, Blake Snell
2021 National League Cy Young Award
Jack Flaherty
Jack Flaherty is my pick to take the National League Cy Young Award. Although he didn’t have the best 2020 season, neither did a lot of superstars, such as Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Yoan Moncada, Cody Bellinger, the list goes on forever. But we saw that he was the best pitcher in the 2nd half of the 2019 season. He can definitely do it, especially in 2021. He can definitely make the adjustment back to the 162 game season. He has so much potential and great stuff, that will make him a great ace for many pitching staffs. And he is my pick to win the 2021 NL Cy Young Award.
Honourable Mentions: Jacob Degrom, Walker Beuhler, Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer
2021 National League MVP
Freddie Freeman
Freddie Freeman is so good. I love watching Freddie Freeman play. The way he can hit ine drives out of the stadium to left-center field, the picks and digs he makes at 1st base, makes him a legitimate threat.
I’m calling a reapeat, he won the 2020 MVP, and he’s going to win the 2021 MVP. He’s gonna be around for a little while, and I imagine he will be with the Braves his whole career. He loves the Braves, the Braves love him. He’s going to contribute very highly for a while, and when he gets old, maybe they will use him as a DH.
He is the next Albert Pujols, and if he keeps it up, there is a chance he ends up better than Albert Pujols, and the best 1st baseman of all time. Freddie Freeman has my pick.
Honourable Mentions: Ronald Acuna Jr, Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis Jr, Juan Soto
2021 American League MVP
Mike Trout
Getting sick of this name? I sure am not. The Millville Meteor is seeking his 4th MVP, and I think he´s gonna get it.
Mike Trout is easily the greatest player of all time. Crazy power, amazing speed, incredible athleticism, and terrific defense. He is the closest thing to perfect we have ever seen.
Better than Barry Bonds, better than Babe Ruth, better than everyone. He has produced every year he has been in the league at an extremely high level, and he wil continue to produce for the rest of his career.
It is most likely that he stays in Los Angeles, as he signed an absolute monster deal, the biggest contract of all time, being 11 years for $426 million dollars. That is an absurd amount of money. But when you are Mike Trout, you can get that kind of money.
You also have to remember, he is only 29. Fun fact: do you know that me and Mike Trout actually share a birthday? August 7th. Anyways, Mike has a chance for 20 more years in the show, and he will produce for all 10 of those years, if not more. It is the same answer as always for AL MVP, and it continues in ´21. The answer is Mike Trout.
Honourable Mentions: Jose Abreu, George Springer, Randy Arozerena
There you have it, my 2021 award winners. I know that there is a chance that none of them win the award. There is also a chance that I look like a genius because all of them win an award. We will not know until next year.
