MLB reveals finalists for major awards

There was little to no surprise as MLB announced the top three vote-getters for the major end-of-season awards. Candidates for MVP, Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year were unveiled following voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Winners of the awards will be announced in the week of Nov. 10, with the Rookie of the Year on Monday, Manager of the Year on Tuesday, Cy Young Award on Wednesday and MVP on Thursday.

Reminder that all voting was done after the regular season and before the postseason began. Awards contenders are listed alphabetically.

AL MVP

In what is surely to be the most hotly debated award, the AL MVP race is between New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez. Judge has won this award two of the last three years and was a unanimous pick last season, but faces stiff competition from Raleigh, who had a 60-homer season.

AL Cy Young Award

A rather young group in terms of experience, the AL Cy Young Award will go to Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown, Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet or Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal. Skubal won this unanimously last year and is the favorite to repeat after improving all of his primary numbers. Crochet could make it close with his MLB-leading 255 strikeouts to go along with 18 wins. None of these three has more than 137 career appearances.

AL Rookie of the Year

The AL Rookie of the Year will be a runaway. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony and Athletics teammates Nick Kurtz, a first baseman, and Jacob Wilson, a shortstop, are the final three, but Kurtz hit 36 homers, including a four-homer game.

AL Manager of the Year

There are feel-good stories all around with John Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays, Dan Wilson of the Mariners and Stephen Vogt of the Guardians as the contenders for the AL Manager of the Year. Vogt won last year, but this figures to be between Wilson, in his first full season, and Schneider after both led their teams to surprising division titles. Remember, the postseason doesn't count.

NL MVP

This award might be in a certain someone's possession for a few more years. Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani, Philadelphia Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber and New York Mets right fielder are the top three for NL MVP, but Ohtani has won two straight MVPs (in different leagues) and three in the last four years, all unanimously. Schwarber may pull a couple of first-place votes away from Ohtani, who hit 55 homers and had a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts.

NL Cy Young Award

The NL Cy Young Award seems pretty cut and dry, with the field including Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes and Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Skenes, last year's NL Rookie of the Year, is a heavy favorite after posting a 1.97 ERA in 32 starts.

NL Rookie of the Year

The battle for NL Rookie of the Year could be a very tight one between Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin, Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin and Chicago Cubs right-hander Cade Horton. Horton and Baldwin would seem to have a leg up on Durbin.

NL Manager of the Year

The NL Manager of the Year is, in all likelihood, a repeat performance. Terry Francona of the Cincinnati Reds, Pat Murphy of the Brewers and Rob Thomson of the Phillies are the top three, but Murphy guided the Brewers to MLB's best record at 97-65 after winning this award last year.