Full MLB Awards Ballot Update: Ohtani Leads as September Begins

Absolutely I can crank up the sarcasm and snark to give this MLB awards piece the same sardonic, biting edge as your NFL QB rankings. Here’s a rewritten version with extra personality and flair while keeping your structure intact:

MLB Awards Watch: Who’s Somehow Still Winning at Baseball

Ah, September. The month when the regular season mercifully winds down, playoff dreams hang by a thread, and rookies try desperately to convince the world they weren’t just drafted by mistake. It’s also the perfect time to pretend we know who deserves the awards, even though every single race is still completely up in the air.

Let’s rip the bandaid off and see who’s currently getting the love on the ballots and who’s going to have to keep screaming at the stat sheets to be noticed.

AL Manager of the Year

1. John Schneider – Toronto Blue Jays
2. AJ Hinch – Detroit Tigers
3. Joe Espada – Houston Astros

Well, well, well who saw Toronto sitting atop the AL East with a legit shot at one of the league’s top seeds? Not me. Schneider deserves credit for defying gravity and common sense. That said, don’t get too cozy: this is a sprint to the finish, and one hot streak or meltdown could blow the whole thing open.

Hinch’s Tigers have quietly been terrifying. If Detroit ends up with the best record in baseball, Schneider’s trophy may as well be on the mantle of a runner-up. And Espada? Bless him for keeping the Astros alive despite injury hell, though “miracle worker” might be the more accurate title.

NL Manager of the Year

1. Pat Murphy – Milwaukee Brewers
2. Rob Thomson – Philadelphia Phillies
3. Clayton McCullough – Miami Marlins

Let’s hand this one out early: Murphy is basically running the Brewers like a cheat code. Lost Williams, lost Adames no problem. Top record in the sport anyway. If you were betting against him, you were betting on misery.

Thomson sneaks in as a runner-up because the Phillies didn’t implode in spectacular fashion kudos, I guess. And McCullough? Miami was supposed to be dumpster-tier, yet here they are, only eight games under .500. Call it luck, call it skill either way, give him the participation trophy he didn’t ask for but deserves anyway.

AL Rookie of the Year

1. Nick Kurtz – Oakland Athletics
2. Noah Cameron – Kansas City Royals
3. Jacob Wilson – Oakland Athletics

Nick Kurtz is somehow a rookie already ruling the league like he owns it. .308/.402/.632 with 27 homers and 70 RBI in 94 games? Sure, let’s just ignore the fact that he could have been MVP if someone had the common sense to start him earlier.

Cameron and Wilson are also killing it. Cameron keeps Kansas City from collapsing entirely, while Wilson was an All-Star and second in batting. Both would win ROY in any normal year but this is the MLB, so expect the vote to be slightly absurd.

NL Rookie of the Year

1. Drake Baldwin – Atlanta Braves
2. Isaac Collins – Milwaukee Brewers
3. Cade Horton – Chicago Cubs

And now, the coin flip nobody asked for. Baldwin gets the nod for being a run-producing machine. Collins? Slightly better by fWAR, but let’s pretend that doesn’t matter. Horton has a sub-3.00 ERA and is keeping the Cubs from full apocalypse mode. This race will come down to which voters are asleep at their desks.

AL Cy Young Award

1. Tarik Skubal – Detroit Tigers
2. Garrett Crochet – Boston Red Sox
3. Hunter Brown – Houston Astros

Skubal. Again. Last year, he won. This year, he’s doing the same thing, only better. Leads the league in ERA, innings, strikeouts, WHIP, FIP, BB/9 basically every meaningful pitching metric. Crochet and Brown? Fantastic pitchers, also unlucky enough to go up against a guy who makes perfect look lazy.

NL Cy Young Award

1. Paul Skenes – Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Cristopher Sanchez – Philadelphia Phillies
3. Freddy Peralta – Milwaukee Brewers

Skenes is back, dominating like it’s his personal highlight reel. Sub-2.00 ERA? 200+ strikeouts? And he’s doing it on a Pirates team that can’t spell “competitiveness.” Sanchez is a fine runner-up, and Peralta, well, he’s quietly leading in wins and ERA behind one of the most mediocre squads in the NL. Cue applause.

AL MVP

1. Aaron Judge – New York Yankees
2. Cal Raleigh – Seattle Mariners
3. Bobby Witt Jr. – Kansas City Royals

Judge is, as expected, probably going to win because of course he is. 196 wRC+ versus Raleigh’s 156-ish? That’s not even close. Raleigh has a legitimate claim, but Judge hitting like a minor god makes the award essentially ceremonial at this point. Witt? He’s playing Gold Glove shortstop, hitting .300+, and stealing bases like it’s casual. Yet, here he is, consolation prize finalist.

NL MVP

1. Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Kyle Schwarber – Philadelphia Phillies
3. Trea Turner – Philadelphia Phillies

Ohtani again. Pitching, hitting, running the bases the guy is doing everything except folding laundry. Schwarber has 49 home runs and 119 RBI, but Ohtani’s 5.8 fWAR somehow makes him the undisputed MVP. Turner? He’s quietly elite in every aspect: batting, baserunning, fielding. Yet voters will probably just shrug and hand it to Ohtani anyway.

September is shaping up to be must-watch TV mostly for the chaos, the surprise hot streaks, and the inevitable debates over who “really” deserves what. Every award, every race, every stat has the potential to turn into a glorious mess which, let’s face it, is why we watch in the first place.

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