Michael Harris, Spencer Strider, Max Fried among BBWAA Award finalists

The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the top 3 finalists for each of their major awards Monday night on MLB Network. The Atlanta Braves have four finalists in Michael Harris, Spencer Strider, Max Fried and manager Brian Snitker. Harris and Strider are both finalists for the Rookie of the Year Award, Fried is one of three finalists for the Cy Young and Snitker is up for Manager of the Year.

It is no coincidence that the Braves took off the season when they called up Harris from Double A and moved Strider into the rotation. Harris solidified Atlanta’s outfield defense and hit .297/.339/.514 with 19 home runs and a 136 wRC+ and was worth 4.8 fWAR.

Fried was outstanding again posting a 2.48 ERA and a 2.70 FIP in 185 1/3 innings. Miami’s Sandy Alcantara is probably the favorite, but it is good to see Fried get recognized. Atlanta hasn’t had a pitcher finish in the top 3 in Cy Young Award voting since John Smoltz in 2002.

Snitker helped guide the Braves to a fifth straight division title. He won the award back in 2018 and finished third in 2019.

Voting for these awards takes place before the postseason. Both Austin Riley and Max Fried are likely to receive some down ballot support for the MVP and Cy Young. Winners will be announced November 14-17 at 6 p.m. on MLB Network. Strider racked up an impressive season as well becoming the fastest pitcher ever to 200 strikeouts and set a franchise record with a 16 against Rockies. Strider finished with a 2.67 ERA and a 1.83 FIP to go along with a 38.3 strikeout percentage in 131 2/3 innings.

Here is a look at all of the BBWAA finalists.

National League

Rookie of the Year - Michael Harris, Spencer Strider, Brendan Donovan

Manager of the Year - Dave Roberts, Buck Showalter, Brian Snitker

Cy Young Award - Sandy Alcantara, Max Fried, Julio Urias

MVP Award - Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Manny Machado

American League

Rookie of the Year - Steven Kwan, Julio Rodriguez, Alley Rutschman

Manager of the Year - Terry Francona, Brandon Hyde, Scott Servais

Cy Young Award - Dylan Cease, Alek Manoah, Justin Verlander

MVP Award - Yordan Alvarez, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani,