Inside of one month until the end of the Major League Baseball regular season, it's the final chance for award hopefuls to pad the resume as much as possible. Obviously the first goal for most is to make the postseason and beyond, but the focus of this is individual -- with about 25 games remaining, who are the favorites to take home the major awards in each league? We'll guess who, as of September 8, should win MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year honors in each league.
Most Valuable Player
AL - Shohei Ohtani: No matter that the Angels are 69-70 and out of the playoff race... there's no other option. The two-way sensation is doing things that we've literally never seen before. He'd be All-Star worthy if he led the majors with 43 home runs. He'd be All-Star worthy if he pitched to a 2.97 ERA across 20 starts, with 135 strikeouts in 112 innings. The fact that he's doing both at the same time? This is an open and shut case.
Runner-ups: Marcus Semien (TOR), Vlad Guerrero, Jr (TOR)
NL - Fernando Tatis, Jr: This would also be a clear-cut choice had the 22-year-old not missed about a month total due to multiple shoulder injuries. Still, even with a few stints on the injured list the shortstop gets the nod in a very tight race. He leads the majors in Offensive bWAR and slugging (.604) and leads the National League in homers (37), despite playing 15-20 fewer games than others in contention.
What could keep him from winning his first MVP is Bryce Harper. The 2015 MVP has been on a tear in the second half of the year, hitting .329 with an OPS of 1.148 as the Phillies have stormed back into the postseason hunt. Though it's an individual award, if Harper can lift Philly from middle of the pack in a bad NL East to either a division title or the second wild-card spot, it might be his for the taking.
Runner-ups: Bryce Harper (PHI), Max Muncy (LAD), Trea Turner (LAD)
Cy Young
AL - Gerrit Cole: Another tight race, the Yankees' ace overcame his mid-season blip to ultimately lead the majors in strikeouts (tied with Zack Wheeler) and strikeouts-per-nine, while leading the AL in WHIP. Depending on your WAR platform of choice he's either first or second along with Robbie Ray of Toronto. If the hamstring injury that forced him out of Tuesday's game forces him to miss any time, it could tilt the race against him. Ultimately, though, it's Cole's to lose.
Runner-ups: Robbie Ray (TOR), Lance Lynn (CWS)
NL - Zack Wheeler: In June this was a runaway, with the Mets' Jacob deGrom putting up a season for the ages. Alas, he hasn't pitched since July 7, so he's out of the running despite an impossible 1.08 ERA and 0.554 WHIP. Enter a former Met in Wheeler, who in Philadelphia has fully transformed into the dominant force New York was waiting for him to become. He leads the majors in innings pitched, is tied for strikeouts, has a 2.91 ERA and has two complete game shutouts this year. He peaked in May and June, but has still been very good since the All-Star break.
The door, though, is very much open for the Dodgers' Walker Buehler or the Brewers' Corbin Burnes. Really, all three have similar numbers and any of the three have a legitimate argument to be the front-runner - Buehler has the best ERA of the bunch, Wheeler the most strikeouts, and Burnes the best peripherals (adjusted ERA and FIP).
Runner-ups: Walker Buehler (LAD), Corbin Burnes (MIL)
Rookie of the Year
AL - Randy Arozarena: Off of last year's record-setting postseason performance, Arozarena is still technically a rookie in 2021 and while he hasn't been quite as good as last October (it would be impossible) he's the favorite, especially as first-half frontrunners like Adolis Garcia in Texas have faded. Batting .276 with 19 home runs, the outfielder has pulled away in the second half, when he's hit .329 with a 1.016 OPS, which puts him among the best hitters in the majors since the halfway mark. He's actually been outperformed by the consensus top prospect in baseball in his teammate Wander Franco, but given the shortstop's late call-up, longevity will give Arozarena the award.
Runner-ups: Wander Franco (TB), Luis Garcia (HOU), Adolis Garcia (TEX)
NL - Jonathan India: The Cincinnati second baseman has put up nearly identical numbers as Arozarena in the American League: entering Wednesday he's hitting .271 with 19 home runs and an .843 OPS. As some others have fallen out of the race because of missed time or mere regression, barring a massive slump it will be India's name to be called.
Runner-ups: Ian Anderson (ATL), Trevor Rogers (MIA)