Rookie of the Year awards

Everyone know what time it is? It's time for awards! Yay!!!!!!!!!

I'll give my picks for each award, generally on the morning they are going to be announced. Today, the rookie of the year awards are announced for each league, generally around 2 PM.

In the American League, the top contenders are Dustin Pedroia, Brian Bannister, and Dice-K. Matsuzaka's poor finish probably eliminated him from contention. Still, 15 wins and 200 strikeouts definetly isnt a bad year. He just didnt set the world on fire like everyone thought he would.

Bannister was acquired from the Mets in the offseason in a move that turned out to be better than expected. Bannister finished 12-9, with a decent WHIP(1.21) and ERA(3.87), though he failed to make 30 starts. He was terrific in the summer months, going 11-4 from June through August, with a 2.88 ERA. He's not a strikeout pitcher, and he was helped greatly by limiting the homer(1 homer allowed for every 11 innings pitched).

And then there is little Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia slumped terribly early on, hitting .182 in April. But he came alive in May, and never looked back. He finished the year hitting .317, good for 10th in the AL, and actually walked more than he struck out, a rare feat these days. Though not a power hitter, Pedroia managed 39 doubles, and was superb in the field, committing just 6 errors in 137 games at second base.

In the end, I think it's going to be Pedroia. Bannisters poor finish(ERA over 7 in September), combined with Pedroia's visibility should give it to him. He's a throwback kind of player, the kind people like to root for.

In the National League, there is no race. Early on, in late April and early May, it looked like all Hunter Pence. Then the Brewers wisely called up Ryan Braun, and he effectively ended that race. Surprisingly, Braun didnt slow down all that much, though he had nowhere to go but down after that first half(1.054 OPS in the first half, versus .976 in the second half). Despite appearing in only 113 games, he finished 5th in the NL in homers, and would have led the senior circuit in slugging had he qualified. He even managed to steal 15 bases. While there has been some Trot Tulowitzki support, I cant imagine that Braun wont win it. I dont think it will be a shutout, it will be pretty close to one.