David Lennon's MLB end-of-season awards

As another COVID-tinged regular season draws to a close, we look forward to the MLB playoffs with a mixture of excitement and dread.

The first emotion is obvious. October is baseball’s premier month, and we should have a great tournament, with the World Series potentially stretching until Nov. 3 (if a Game 7 is necessary).

Heading into the season’s final weekend, the National League was almost set, with the red-hot Cardinals facing either the Dodgers or Giants in the wild-card game. San Francisco entered Saturday night with 106 victories to Los Angeles' 104 and a magic number of one.

As for the other bracket, the Brewers’ clinching euphoria was tempered some by Devin Williams air-bending his pitching hand into a brick wall, knocking the ace reliever out of the playoffs before they even began. The Brewers will face Atlanta, a team that reminded us that retooling at the trade deadline works.

In the American League, we get two ageless managers squaring off in the Division Series: the Astros’ Dusty Baker and the White Sox’ Tony La Russa. On the wild-card side, that will be sorted out on the final day of the regular season Sunday, with tiebreaker possibilities galore — and the relentlessly successful Rays waiting for the survivor.

Beyond the playoffs, however, MLB is facing an uncertain winter, as the current CBA is set to expire on Dec. 1. With so much labor hostility percolating since the pandemic shut down the sport, some fear a work stoppage is a very real possibility as the two sides argue over their fair shares of an $11 billion industry.

But we’re not there yet. And in the meantime, with the playoffs on the near horizon, here’s a look at how we’d pick this year’s MLB awards. For the sake of accountability, I’ve also included my preseason and midseason selections. The lone exception: NL Manager of the Year, because I’m voting for that award (it’s a rotating system each season between BBWAA members).

The picks (all stats entering Saturday):

AMERICAN LEAGUE

MVP

Shohei Ohtani, Angels. This really can’t go any other way. Kudos to the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for an epic regular season — 46 homers, 120 RBIs and a crazy slash line of .313/.402/.596 for a contending team. In most seasons, he would have cruised to the trophy, but not when he’s competing with a modern-day Babe Ruth. Ohtani finally put together the truly historic campaign everyone imagined, hitting 45 homers and going 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 23 starts for the Angels. Is there anything more valuable than being a team’s best hitter and pitcher? The answer is no, and in this case, it doesn’t matter that the 75-win Angels finished in fourth place. Imagine where they’d be without Ohtani. That’s the very definition of the award.

Midseason pick: Shohei Ohtani.

Preseason pick: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland.

CY YOUNG AWARD

Robbie Ray, Blue Jays. Undecided voters got something to chew on when the Yankees swatted around Ray on Thursday night at Rogers Centre in a game in which the Blue Jays desperately needed their ace to keep them in wild-card contention. Ray mostly did, until the sixth inning, when he essentially flushed the game by teeing up three homers in the span of four hitters. It was especially noteworthy after one of his Cy Young competitors, Gerrit Cole, imploded the previous night. But Ray still gets the nod, leading the AL with a 2.84 ERA, 193 1/3 innings and a 1.05 WHIP. In a relatively weak field, Ray just checks too many boxes, and Cole squandered his chance over the final month with a 5.13 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP and a .278 OBA.

Midseason pick: Lance Lynn, White Sox.

Preseason pick: Gerrit Cole, Yankees.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Randy Arozarena, Rays. How unfair that Tampa Bay not only has the Rookie of the Year in Arozarena — already the breakout star of last year’s playoffs — but also has a 20-year-old shortstop in Wander Franco whose lone demerit for consideration is the fact that he played in only 67 games. Arozarena picked up where he left off last October, hitting .273 with 20 homers, 91 runs scored and an .813 OPS in 138 games. As for Franco, he reached base in 43 consecutive games, tying the record for 20-and-younger players set by Hall of Famer Frank Robinson in 1956 with the Reds. Franco has hit .286 with seven homers, 51 runs scored and an .818 OPS. Right behind him is the Rangers' Adolis Garcia (31 homers, 146 games).

Midseason pick: Adolis Garcia, Rangers

Preseason pick: Randy Arozarena, Rays

MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Dusty Baker, Astros. Baker really wasn’t on my radar at midseason, with Alex Cora’s triumphant return to the surprising Red Sox hogging all the consideration for this trophy. But Boston’s late-season slide, which turned into more of a free-fall by the end of September, highlighted some cracks in that operation and steered the discussion back to the overlooked Baker, a three-time winner of this award in the National League. The Astros’ hiring of the universally liked Baker was the perfect choice for a franchise universally hated for its cheating scandal, and he held the Astros together for two straight playoff appearances amid that dark cloud. It was an unprecedented challenge that the 72-year-old Baker aced.

Midseason pick: Alex Cora, Red Sox.

Preseason pick: Charlie Montoyo, Blue Jays.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

MVP

Juan Soto, Nationals. Soto was the last man standing in D.C. as GM Mike Rizzo held a fire sale at the trade deadline, dealing away eight players only 21 months after winning the World Series. But with the Nationals surrendering, Soto was just the opposite. He has hit .318 with 29 homers, 110 runs scored, 94 RBIs and a 1.010 OPS, second only to the Phillies’ Bryce Harper, who should be the runner-up in this debate. Not surprisingly, based on the tattered remains of his team, Soto led the majors with a 21.9% walk rate — the next closest was Joey Gallo at 18.2 — forcing him to capitalize on the very limited pitches he did see.

Midseason pick: Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres.

Preseason pick: Francisco Lindor, Mets

CY YOUNG AWARD

Corbin Burnes, Brewers. It’s a shame that Jacob deGrom had to sit this one out because of a string of injuries that ultimately ended his season after a July 7 start against — as fate would have it — Corbin Burnes. In that Citi Field showdown, deGrom outpitched Burnes, even though his ERA actually rose from 0.95 to 1.08 (still well below Burnes’ 2.36 at the time). After their paths diverged, however, Burnes got busy working on his first Cy Young Award (he finished sixth last season) and aced just about every category. He leads the majors in ERA (2.29), K/9 ratio (12.55), WHIP (0.93) and HR/9 (0.33). Sure, his 27 starts and 165 innings are a little light, but they’re enough to get him by when paired with such dominance.

Midseason pick: Jacob deGrom, Mets.

Preseason pick: Yu Darvish, Padres.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Jonathan India, Reds. As close as the AL race is, India’s performance makes this one a runaway for the Reds’ second baseman. India, 24, handily leads all MLB rookies with a 4.0 WAR — the next-closest rookie is the Rangers’ Adolis Garcia with 2.9 — and is one of only nine rookies in the past 30 years to reach 20 homers, 30 doubles and 90 runs, according to USA Today (Pete Alonso did it when he won the award in 2019). Through Thursday, India also had appeared in 148 games for the Reds, the most of this year’s rookie class. His primary competition is my midseason pick, Marlins pitcher Trevor Rogers, whose 2.64 ERA over 25 starts is tops among all MLB rookies. His 10.62 K/9 ratio is second.

Midseason pick: Trevor Rogers, Marlins.

Preseason pick: Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.