Shane Bieber joined Minnesota Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda and Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu as finalists for the AL Cy Young Award. Bieber is the heavy favorite after the 25-year-old right-hander went 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 77⅓ innings, leading the majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts.
“My confidence continues to grow just from coming into the season or into the league in 2018,” Bieber said on MLB Network. “Learning my stuff, figuring it out, continuing to sharpen the breaking stuff and trying to add velocity as much as I can from year to year has been the big thing for me.”
Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, Indians infielder Jose Ramirez and New York Yankees leadoff man DJ LeMahieu are the top three finishers in voting for the AL MVP award.
LeMahieu, who hit a big league-best .364, and Bauer are free agents after starring during the pandemic-shortened season.
The top finishers in voting for AL Manager of the Year are Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash, Toronto’s Charlie Montoyo and Rick Renteria, who was let go by the White Sox after the team made the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Miami’s Don Mattingly, San Diego’s Jayce Tingler and the Cubs’ David Ross are the finalists for NL Manager of the Year. Tingler and Ross just completed their first seasons as big league skippers.
New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom is going for his third consecutive National League Cy Young Award, and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts could become the second player to win the MVP award in each league. DeGrom, Trevor Bauer and Yu Darvish are the top finishers for the NL Cy Young Award in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Manny Machado are the finalists for NL MVP.
The finalists for AL Rookie of the Year are Houston Astros right-hander Cristian Javier and center fielders Kyle Lewis of the Seattle Mariners and Luis Robert of the White Sox. Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm, Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth and Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams are the top finishers for the NL rookie award.