MLB Insider: Picking award winners in April is madness ... madness, I tell you

This endeavor of picking the year-end award winners in April can be a bit of an embarrassment. Doing it in September, with a season’s worth of evidence, is no piece of cake, either.

Doing it on the final day of the season, in the actual vote for an actual award, has become a task that opens a voter to far more scrutiny. Mike Trout vs. Miguel Cabrera created the old school-new school rift, with the new-school crowd painting the old-school electorate with a wide brush.

But what follows is all for good fun. Don’t take it to the bank. Don’t take it to a gambling website or to the real deal in Las Vegas. History suggests the house will clean up.

American League MVP: Carlos Correa, Astros

This is quite a load to put on a second-year player — a 21-year-old — but this guy is so good that an MVP in his first full season is entirely possible.

He is a force in the middle of the Houston lineup, with power and the ability to hit for average. He has a knack for making the spectacular play defensively, and his base running is above average.

Correa gets the nod here over 2014 MVP and obvious front-runner Trout. While Trout is the league’s best player, he could be bitten by playing for a so-so Los Angeles Angels team, while the Astros are expected to contend.

Playing for a winner matters to some voters, enough to cost Trout. It might have cost him last season in finishing second to Josh Donaldson, the third baseman for the AL East champion Toronto Blue Jays. After what Robinson Cano, the Seattle Mariners’ second baseman, did last week to the Texas Rangers, he might have something to say about the MVP race as well.

AL Cy Young: Chris Sale, White Sox

The lanky left-hander looked nasty March 29 in a Cactus League game against the Rangers. He looks nasty every time he takes the mound, piling up strikeouts and keeping the runs to a minimum.

Sale had a disappointing 2015, with a 3.41 ERA, for a lousy White Sox team.

They will be better this season, and so will Sale. The usual suspects, right-hander Felix Hernandez and fellow lefties David Price and 2015 winner Dallas Keuchel, figure to be in the mix, and another lefty, Cole Hamels, could be a contender.

Maybe Marcus Stroman, the young Toronto star, makes a push, and Sonny Gray is likely to have a nice season in the obscurity of Oakland. Cleveland has three solid arms, including 2014 winner Corey Kluber.

Sale, though, will surpass them all.

AL Rookie of the Year: Byung-Ho Park, Twins

Selecting a 29-year-old who is playing his 10th professional season seems to tear away at the spirit of being a rookie, but Park is, technically, a rookie in his first season in the major leagues.

The Korean Baseball Organization is a step down from Nippon Professional Baseball, which is step or two down from Major League Baseball. Fences in Korea aren’t nearly as deep, but I can’t imagine that all of Park’s 105 homers the past two seasons were wall-scrapers.

Park has power. Target Field isn’t the toughest place for right-handed hitters to go deep. It could happen, though Minnesota teammate Byron Buxton, who barely retained his rookie status, is a fine candidate. So are Tampa Bay pitching prospect Blake Snell, once he makes his debut, and Astros first baseman Tyler White.

National League MVP: Bryce Harper, Nationals

Mr. Make Baseball Fun Again could supplant Trout as the game’s best player with another stellar season. Harper’s 2015 en route to his first MVP award was better than Trout’s 2015.

Just about everything that Trout does Harper also does. Trout steals more bases, though Harper’s speed is no joke, but Trout doesn’t have the same strong outfield arm that Harper possesses.

Harper will have competition from Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona’s star first baseman, and 2013 MVP Andrew McCutchen in Pittsburgh. Nolan Arenado, Colorado’s terrific young third baseman, has the tools to be an MVP, but playing half his games at altitude might rub some voters the wrong way.

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers

His quest for a Cy Young three-peat was derailed by former TCU star Jake Arrieta and former Dodgers teammate Zack Greinke. Kershaw finished third in the 2015 voting, even though he was better in some categories than in first-place seasons.

Kershaw struck out 301 batters, the first to clear 300 since 2002, while issuing only 42 walks. He had three shutouts, held opponents to a .194 average and led the league in innings pitched.

His ERA was 2.13 following consecutive seasons at 1.83 and 1.77.

That sustained excellence should make Kershaw the favorite over Arrieta, the Chicago Cubs’ ace, and Greinke, who chased the big money all the way to Arizona.

NL Rookie of the Year: Corey Seager, Dodgers

The game’s top prospect is no longer biding his time for a call-up. Seager has an everyday spot as Los Angeles’ shortstop, and the brother of Rangers killer Kyle Seager is set to be a star.

He batted .337 in 98 at-bats in his first taste of the majors last season. Physically he fits the mold of Correa, at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, but isn’t quite as athletic and eventually could move to third base.

But that’s down the road. Ahead of him in 2016 is a chance to be the game’s top rookie, let alone his league’s top rookie, with a quick left-handed stroke that will produce plus-power in the majors. The stroke plus his approach make for a potentially top-flight hitter.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 5:31 PM with the headline "MLB Insider: Picking award winners in April is madness ... madness, I tell you."