Tim Kelly’s 2019 IBWAA MLB awards ballot

Each season, the IBWAA (Internet Baseball Writer’s Association of America) casts their own award ballots. As a voting member, my ballot was due by 11 p.m. ET Sunday, as the regular season concluded. Here is my full ballot:

National League MVP

• Had Christian Yelich not fractured his kneecap on Sept. 10, he almost certainly would have received my vote. Even as is, he was runner-up, and I can’t fault anyone that voted for him. But Cody Bellinger slashed .305/.406/.629 with 47 home runs, 115 RBIs and a 7.7 fWAR. Heck, Bellinger broke into the league as a first baseman, but posted 22 defensive runs saved in the outfield in 2019. To me, that solidified his case. Frankly, I think there are legitimate MVP cases to be made for Anthony Rendon and Ketel Marte as well. This was a difficult year to attempt to win this award in the National League.

Full Voting

1. Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
3. Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals
4. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies
6. Pete Alonso, New York Mets
7. J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies
8. Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
9. Pete Alonso, New York Mets
10. Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies
11. Josh Donaldson, Atlanta Braves

American League MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

• Injuries limited Trout to just 134 games in 2019, but he still post an 8.6 fWAR, the highest mark of any player (position player or pitcher) in baseball. Trout slashed .291/.438/.645 with 45 home runs, 104 RBIs and a league-leading 18.3 percent walk percentage. If he does ultimately win the award, it will be the third time that he was voted American League MVP. 2017 was the only season in Trout’s career – excluding 2011, when he played 40 games at age 19 – that Trout hasn’t finished in the top two in American League MVP voting. That said, he was limited to 114 games in 2017, and still managed to finish fourth in American League MVP voting.

Full Voting

1. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
2. Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
3. Marcus Semien, Oakland Athletics
4. Gerrit Cole, Houston Astros
5. Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox
6. Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
7. George Springer, Houston Astros
8. Matt Chapman, Oakland Athletics
9. DJ LeMahieu, New York Yankees
10. Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox

National League Cy Young Award: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

• If not for a back injury that cost him five starts (give or take), Max Scherzer likely would have received my vote. He may still ultimately win his third National League Cy Young Award and fourth Cy Young Award overall. But, for the second consecutive year, my vote went to New York Mets RHP Jacob deGrom. deGrom ultimately pitched over 30 more innings than Scherzer in 2019, while posting a 2.43 ERA, 2.67 FIP and 7.0 fWAR. He’s had one of the best two-year stretches of any pitcher in recent history.

Full Voting

1. Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
2. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals
3. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
4. Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals
5. Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers

American League Cy Young Award: Gerrit Cole, Houston Astros 

• There was a point where this award felt like a toss-up between Cole and Justin Verlander, who, incredibly, has only won one American League Cy Young Award. But Cole had a historically dominant second-half, going 11-0 with a 1.79 ERA after the All-Star Break. Expected to be the top available free-agent this offseason, Cole struck out 10 or more batters in each of his final nine starts, a new MLB record.

Full Voting

1. Gerrit Cole, Houston Astros
2. Justin Verlander, Houston Astros
3. Charlie Morton, Tampa Bay Rays
4. Lance Lynn, Texas Rangers
5. Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians

National League Rookie of the Year: Pete Alonso 

Had Fernando Tatis Jr. stayed healthy, this may have turned into one of the greatest National League Rookie of the Year Award races ever. Instead, Tatis Jr. was limited to just 84 games and Alonso, 24, slugged a rookie-record 53 home runs, while driving in 120 runs and posting a .583 slugging percentage.

Full Voting

1. Pete Alonso, New York Mets
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
3. Mike Soroka, Atlanta Braves

American League Rookie of the Year: Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros 

The rich got even richer in 2019, as Alvarez slashed .260/.358/.655 with 27 home runs, 78 RBIs, 58 walks a 3.8 fWAR in just 87 games.

Full Voting

1. Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
2. Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays
3. John Means, Baltimore Orioles

The Rest

• The most difficult award to pick was American League Manager of the Year – I chose New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, but it feels like a toss-up between him and Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli…The Brewers 20-7 record in September – despite losing Christian Yelich – was enough to sway me to vote for Craig Counsell as National League manager of the Year…My picks for reliever of the year were Liam Hendricks of the Oakland Athletics in the American League and Kirby Yates of the San Diego Padres in the National League.

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