2021 MLB Season Predictions: American League Award Winners

Next up in our season predictions series is our best guesses for the award winners in the American League. Let us know what you think below.

Who will win AL MVP?

Scott: Mike Trout, again.

Eric: They should rename it the Mike Trout Award. We are witnessing one the best players to ever play the game. Too bad MLB doesn’t know how to market him and he is too reserved/bland to market himself.

Daniel: The answer has to be Mike Trout.

Ivan: Y’all remember Mike Carp? He’s only 34 and finished his career with exactly 1,000 MLB PAs. Basically, not him. The other fish dude.

Kris: It is impossible for me to pick anyone but Mike Trout.

Brent: Ivan’s pick of the “fish dude”, which I have to assume is Blue Jays starter Robbie Ray, is tempting, but I’ll go with Matt Chapman. (I was actually talking about Hank Conger making his triumphant return to MLB, thanks.)

Shawn: Remember when Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds finished one and two in the MVP race in 2000 but it was Kent who won it despite Bonds having the better season? I feel a similar situation could play out this year with Anthony Rendon winning the MVP as Mike Trout finishes second.

Dillon: Picking Mike Trout to win MVP is like picking Alabama to win the National Championship: it’s not a guarantee, but you can’t really pick against them.

Wayne: Trout.

Demetrius: Michael Nelson Trout.

Gaurav: Lol, Mike Trout.

Matt: Contract year Carlos Correa edges out Jose Abreu. I wanted to pick Trout but the Angels success will keep him down in the three spot.

Who will win the AL Cy Young Award?

Scott: I’ll be boring and take Gerrit Cole.

Eric: I’ll go out on a limb and say Lucas Giolito. Up and coming team and he was nails last year. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Cole or Bieber get it, though.

Daniel: I’ll be fairly uninteresting and say Shane Bieber goes back to back.

Ivan: I’ll go with Giolito as well. Cy Young voting still seems to be somewhat opaque and scattershot, and Giolito’s management is less incentivized to/cognizant of denying him innings, so he may have a slight edge over Cole and Bieber in that regard.

Kris: I think Gerrit Cole is the trendy pick but I am going to go with Shane Bieber again.

Brent: It’s an Ohio sweep! Bieber edges out Cole again.

Shawn: I think there will be good competition from Gerrit Cole and others, but while not as dominant, Shane Bieber emerges as the winner and the Al’s version of deGrom.

Dillon: If their workloads permit, I think Cole and Bieber will each eclipse 300 strikeouts. Between the two, I’ll say Cole takes home the hardware.

Wayne: I like Eric’s pick of Giolito… but not as much as I like Gerrit Cole winning his first Cy Young.

Demetrius: If the Yankees have a huge year, Gerrit Cole will be a big reason why it happens and that’ll push him towards winning the Cy Young.

Gaurav: Give me back-to-back insane years from Shane Bieber.

Matt: Gerrit Cole over Shane Bieber and surprise Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Who will win AL Rookie of the Year?

Scott: Jarred Kelenic

Eric: Randy Arozarena is the smart bet, but I will go with Wander Franco. I think he gets called up and I think he immediately becomes one of the better hitters in the American League.

Daniel: Jarred Kelenic comes up and makes the Mets very sad they traded him in the package for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz.

Ivan: It’s kinda weird that Arozarena is still rookie-eligible, but here we are, and let’s go with that.

Kris: Jarred Kelenic will be promoted to the majors quickly and will outclass the rest of the rookie competition in the AL.

Brent: Ryan Mountcastle

Shawn: It seems Casey Mize will be in the Tigers rotation, and I feel he has just as much if not more upside than any other rookie arm in the AL. I will go with Mize as a nice surprise for the Tigers this season.

Dillon: The Orioles are going to be pretty bad again, but Adley Rutschman will debut and lock down the catching job. He wins this award with an all-around outstanding showing at the plate and behind it.

Wayne: I like Rutschman or Franco here. Tough to call now, but I’d give the edge to Rutschman, especially with the ability to become a star at a position not filled with many exciting players.

Demetrius: If and when Wander Franco shows up, he’s the man for this award.

Gaurav: Depending on when he makes his debut I want to say Wander Franco. But if he comes up later in the season it’s hard to go against Adley Rutschman who will be THE GUY on the Orioles.

Matt: Jarred Kelenic over Randy Arozarena with Bobby Witt Jr coming into the race if he comes up early enough.

Who will win AL Manager of the Year?

Scott: Charlie Montoyo as the Blue Jays surprise as AL East champions.

Eric: Kevin Cash….although if the White Sox win convincingly, La Russa probably gets it because that would be better content for the national media guys.

Daniel: Kevin Cash is the best manager in baseball, and he wins it bringing the Rays to the playoffs without Charlie Morton and Blake Snell.

Ivan: Scott Servais, just because we’re going to go through this whole roundtable series without mentioning the Mariners once, and I just wanted to mention that the Mariners still exist. But yeah also Kevin Cash because yeah.

Kris: Joe Maddon guides the Angels back to the postseason and takes home this trophy as well.

Brent: The BBWAA drops all pretenses and awards this to Don Mattingly as well, slightly edging out Terry Francona.

Shawn: Staying consistent with my previous predictions and due to how he handles his pitching staff like Counsell, give me Joe Maddon as the Al Manager of the year.

Dillon: I picked the Angels to win the AL West and Joe Maddon is a media darling unlike any manager in recent memory. It’s a match made in heaven.

Wayne: I’ll agree with Shawn and Dillon and give the nod to Maddon for getting Trout to the playoffs.

Demetrius: Oh no, I just realized that if I’m predicting a great season for the White Sox then that means Tony La Russa is going to win this award.

Gaurav: Kevin Cash after he takes another rag tag bunch of guys, with a lot of talent, and competes with the Yankees blow for blow before barely losing out on the division.

Matt: Charlie Montoyo as the Jays will exceed expectations.