SB Nation Reacts: Awards picks

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Each week, we send 30 polls to plugged in fans from each team. Red Sox fans, sign up HERE to join Reacts.

We are still in the early days of the 2022 season, and so we are back with another predictions edition of SB Nation Reacts for this week. Respondents this time around were asked to make their picks for the major awards in both leagues, making predictions for both the MVPs and Cy Youngs. The results are below.

AL MVP

This seems like it’s probably the right choice, as Guerrero is a game-changing hitter and he plays for a Blue Jays team that everyone expects to make a lot of noise this season. That said, I have a hard time picking against Ohtani. I know it’s difficult to win this awards two years in a row, but it’s also difficult to both pitch and hit at a high level, so I don’t see why he couldn’t win twice. I wouldn’t sleep on Wander Franco as a legitimate candidate either, and I’m not just saying that because of everything he did on Friday. Also nice to see Devers getting some love here as well.

NL MVP

I’m actually surprised Soto didn’t get more votes in this one as he is pretty clearly the best and safest player in the National League. The one issue may be that he plays for a Nationals team that probably won’t be in contention. It’s less of a problem for voters than it used to be, but it could still hurt him if someone’s close. If I had to go off board, I’d probably look at either Trea Turner or Matt Olson.

AL Cy Young

This pick seems... Weird. Granted, I’m not sure there’s a clearly better option available, but a 39-year-old coming off a major injury just doesn’t seem like a great pick from where I’m sitting. Before the season I would have said Cole hands down, though his slow start scares me off that a bit. Gun to my head, I probably say Giolito, but honestly I think Nathan Eovaldi has a real shot the more I think about it. No bias in that thought process, I’m sure.

NL Cy Young

As nervous as I am about betting against Scherzer, Buelher certainly does seem like the best pick here. Between the talent and the skill on the team, there’s just so much to like here. Rodón also intrigues me a ton, especially pitching in that park with the Giants. If I had to go off board, I’d probably go with Brandon Woodruff, though the low innings totals scare me off that some.