Best bets for MLB Futures at the season's halfway point
We have passed the halfway point of the season. As we wrap up the month of June all 30 MLB teams have played more than 80 games. A lot of teams and players are looking forward to the All-Star Break just over a week from now to get a few days off and time to reset. This week, I am going to take another look at MLB Player Awards and see what the landscape looks like at the halfway point of the season as well as take a closer look at some contenders' last 30 days numbers/performance for the Month of June.
AL MVP
Ohtani -1450 vs. Field +700
Shohei Ohtani keeps putting more distance between him and the rest of the field. There really isn’t much more to say. I will revisit the AL MVP race if/when an injury occurs.
NL MVP
Ronald Acuna -194 vs. Field +148 at FanDuel
Similar to the AL MVP race Acuna continues to put distance between himself and the next closest contenders. Let’s take a look at the contenders and their numbers for the month of June.
Acuna: 35 hits, 23 runs, 8 doubles, 8 home runs, 21 RBI, 13 strikeouts/11 walks, 14 stolen bases, .349./.412/.651
Carroll: 30 hits, 25 runs, 7 doubles, 8 home runs, 22 RBI, 22 strikeouts/6 walks, 8 stolen bases, .291/.348/.631
Freeman: 25 hits, 17 runs, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 17 RBI, 22 strikeouts/10 walks, 4 stolen bases, .266/.358/.436
Arraez: 42 hits, 17 runs, 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 19 RBI, 6 strikeouts/7 walks, 0 stolen bases, .412/.455/.520
The situation with the NL MVP race is similar to the AL MVP race. Ronald Acuna is very far ahead of the rest of the field, and it will take an injury or major slump in the second half for anyone to really make up ground in this race. I’m not going to bet more on Luis Arraez, but I will keep my eye on his performance the next few days going into the All-Star Break. The Marlins currently are tied for the second-best record in the National League trailing only the Diamondbacks and Braves. If it wasn’t for those Braves and Ronald Acuna, Arraez would be a much more serious contender right now. If you want to knock Arraez for his lack of home run-hitting power or that he doesn’t steal bases, that’s fine. Acuna’s lead might be too much for anyone to overcome. Corbin Carroll looks like he avoided a serious injury to his shoulder on Thursday. If the Diamondbacks win the NL West, Carroll should be in the p icture for MVP, likely ahead of Freeman, but still trailing Acuna by a significant margin.
AL Cy Young
Shane McClanahan: 3-0, 2.70 ERA, 23.1 innings pitched, 16 hits, 3 home runs, 7 ER, 18 strikeouts, 8 walks, .190 opponent batting average
Framber Valdez: 2-2, 2.73 ERA, 33 innings pitched, 26 hits, 1 home run, 10 ER, 33 strikeouts, 9 walks, .218 opponent batting average