Nominees for Manager of the Year and Cy Young were revealed

CNBC

If Judge wins the MVP Award, it will be the second of his career and his second in the last three years.
His 10.4 fWAR set a Royals record, eclipsing George Brett’s 9.1 mark from his 1980 MVP season.
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POSITIVE

In 136 games this season, Marte set career highs in home runs (36), RBIs (95), and OPS+ (155), following his role in leading the D-backs to an unexpected World Series run in 2023. He was chosen as a Gold Glove Award and MVP finalist for the first time in his career, and he was named an All-Star for the second time.

Marte was limited by hand, back, and ankle injuries, but he was still able to produce incredible numbers when he was in the lineup, especially from June 2–August. 2, when he helped Arizona move from five games below .500 to eight games over with a 1.105 OPS and 16 home runs in 48 games. Learn more by clicking here.

Ohtani, who won AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 with the Angels, is attempting to become the first player to win both league MVP awards in consecutive years and only the second player to do so (with Cincinnati in 1961 and Baltimore in 1966). In addition, he would be the first MVP to be a full-time designated hitter. Click here to read more.

In 2022, Judge broke the record with 62 home runs, setting a new AL record. However, he managed to surpass that season this year. Judge had one more total base (392 to 391), a higher OPS (1.159 to 1.111), and a higher OPS+ (223 to 210) than he did in his 2022 AL MVP season, despite hitting “only” 58 home runs this time around. The highest OPS for a complete season in 20 years was 1.159 (Barry Bonds, 1.422 in 2004). Judge will have won two MVP awards in the last three years and two in his career if he does. Go to the next page to learn more.

Witt had an even better 2024 season at the age of 24 after coming within one steal of a 30-homer/50-steal campaign in 2023. He led the Majors in batting .332 in addition to a .977 OPS, 32 homers, and 31 steals for the unexpected Royals, who made it to the postseason for the first time in nine years. By surpassing George Brett’s 9.1 fWAR from his 1980 MVP season, his 10.4 fWAR set a Royals record. See more by clicking here.

With 18 wins and a 2.38 ERA, Sale led the Majors in his comeback season at age 35. In addition, he only walked 39 in 177 2/3 innings pitched for Atlanta, leading the NL with 225 strikeouts to win the Senior Circuit pitching Triple Crown. After placing in the top five on six ballots, he led MLB with a 2.09 FIP and 174 ERA+, putting him in a strong position to win his first Cy Young Award. See more by clicking here.

Being one of the most anticipated pitching prospects in recent memory, Skenes was able to not only meet but surpass expectations. After making his MLB debut on May 11, the flamethrowing right-hander, who created his own signature pitch, a “splinker,” went 11-3 with a 1.09 ERA over 23 starts. Despite pitching just 133 innings, he became the first rookie pitcher to start the All-Star Game in 29 years and set a Pirates rookie record with 170 strikeouts. See more by clicking here.

Wheeler, a consistent contender for the Cy Young Award, had his best season to date in 2024, leading the NL with a 0.96 WHIP and recording a career-best 2.57 ERA. His finish at 200 earned him his second All-Star selection, and he reached the 200-inning milestone for the second time. Wheeler, who placed second in the 2021 NL balloting, is vying for his first Cy Young Award. Go to the next page to learn more.

Given the much lower number of innings pitched, relief pitchers rarely make it to the finals for the Cy Young Award; Francisco Rodriguez was the last to be named a finalist in 2008 with the Angels. Instead, they must be completely dominant and overwhelming in order to be considered for the ultimate pitching honor. However, Clase’s performance this past season, when he saved an AL-high 47 games for Cleveland and his ERA was a pitiful 0.61, unquestionably satisfies that requirement. See more by clicking here.

Lugo had his best season as a full-time starter at age 34, pitching 206 2/3 innings for Kansas City to a career-high 3.00 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. He was a major contributor to the Royals’ unexpected postseason run. In terms of qualified pitchers, Statcast shows that the spin savant had a fastball run value in the 94th percentile and a breaking ball run value in the 99th percentile. Go to the next page to learn more.

Skubal had the breakthrough season that many anticipated, leading the league in wins (18), ERA (2.39), and strikeouts (228), which also led MLB, and earning the AL Triple Crown for pitching. The Tigers’ first postseason appearance in a decade was largely due to him. The 27-year-old’s secondary repertoire, which includes a changeup, slider, and knuckle-curve, along with his fastball, which frequently reaches speeds of over 100 mph, allowed him to walk just 4 out of 6 batters he faced and strike out 30 percent of them. Go to the next page to learn more.

Before he even made his Major League debut, Chourio, a highly regarded prospect, signed an eight-year, $82 million contract extension with the Brewers—a record for a player who had never played in a Major League game. Despite having a rough start to the season, he improved in June. His OPS was .575, but he hit .305/ after that on June 1. 360 degrees. 528 in 97 games, including 16 home runs, to help Milwaukee win the NL Central. Before turning 21, he became the first player to put up a 20-homer/20-steal season. See more by clicking here.

After Spring Training, Merrill was added to the Padres roster and proved he was a big leaguer right away. He was named an All-Star and led MLB rookies in hits (162), RBIs (90), home runs (24, tied with Colton Cowser), and batting average (). 292) as well as OPS. 826). As the youngest player (21 years old) to hit five game-tying or game-winning home runs in the ninth inning or later in a single season, Merrill was also incredibly clutch. He accomplished all of this while playing center field, a position he had never held as a professional. Go to the next page to learn more.

Skenes, who was selected first overall by the Pirates out of LSU less than a year ago, made his Major League Baseball debut on May 11 and quickly demonstrated why his arrival on The Show had been so eagerly awaited. Skenes finished just four strikeouts behind Shota Imanaga (174) for the rookie strikeout lead, and he led MLB rookies with a 1.96 ERA (minimum 100 innings pitched). Since earned runs were formally recognized in 1913, the 22-year-old became the first rookie pitcher to record at least 170 strikeouts and an ERA below 2.000. The only rookies in the previous 35 seasons with double-digit wins, at least 150 strikeouts, and an ERA below -2.50 are Skenes and José Fernández, the late Marlins star. Go to the next page to learn more.

While Cowser had a rough first taste of the Major Leagues in 2023 (dot433 OPS in 26 games with Baltimore), he came out of the gate hot at the plate in 2024 (dot303/). 372/. Six home runs and a 632 slash line during the season’s first month. He led AL rookies with a 123 OPS+ and finished with 24 home runs, tying Merrill for the most by a rookie this season, helping the Orioles make it to the postseason for the second straight year. Click here to read more.

Gil made his big league debut in May, pitching to an amazing 0.70 ERA over six starts (38 2/3 innings) and striking out 44 while walking 12, despite having a few cups of coffee in the majors in 2021 and 2022. That month, he shot up into the early AL Rookie of the Year conversation, with opponents hitting just .109 against him. Even though his performance fluctuated after that, he ended up finishing with a 3.50 ERA and a 26.8 percent strikeout rate in 29 starts for New York. Learn more by clicking here.

Wells, another rookie, was behind the plate in 13 of Gil’s 29 starts. Wells took a while to start working on the dish, but between June 5 and the end of August, he hit .294/. 385. 533 in 59 games, hitting 11 home runs. Behind the plate, he had four blocks above average and finished third among qualified catchers in framing runs (12). Go to the next page to learn more.

With a run that started in June and continued all the way to the NL Championship Series, Mendoza guided the Mets to a Wild Card berth in his first season as manager. New York started the season with a 0–5 record, and by June 2, the Mets were 11 games below the.500 mark. After that, though, Mendoza led the Mets to a 65-38 record, which allowed them to enter the postseason in September. 30. With 41 comeback victories, New York had an MLB-best 28-16 record in one-run games. Click here to read more.

Murphy appeared so at ease in the helm in Milwaukee that it was hard to believe he was in his first season as a full-time big league manager. Despite losing a revitalized Christian Yelich to another back injury in mid-July and losing ace Corbin Burnes to the Orioles in the preseason, he had the Brewers playing clean, meticulous baseball as they easily won their third NL Central title in four years. Murphy would be the first Manager of the Year to win the award in Brewers history if he does. See more by clicking here.

Shildt was brought in to turn things around after the Padres finished 82-80 and missed the 2023 playoffs. He succeeded admirably, leading San Diego to 93 victories and a Wild Card berth. The Padres continued to improve in the final stretch, going 34-18 in August and September to solidify their position atop the Wild Card standings and even cut the Dodgers’ lead in the NL West to two games for a brief period of time. Shildt was the Cardinals’ 2019 Manager of the Year winner. Click here to read more.

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