Baltimore Orioles: Predicting Team Awards for the 2020 Season

The Baltimore Orioles became the sweethearts of the 2020 MLB season during their early August win streak.

During that time, it looked like the Baltimore Orioles right-fielder Anthony Santander was on his way to be a potential candidate in the MVP race. Sadly, the 25-year-old might be out for the rest of 2020 with an oblique strain.

At one point, Santander was atop several stats lists. But since his injury, he’s dropped to 10th in doubles, 16th in home runs, and third in extra-base hits. Unfortunately, his chance to even be considered as the AL MVP is gone – as Mike Trout, Nelson Cruz, and Jose Abreu are busy duking it out for the top honors in hits, home runs, and RBI.

Is there a chance that another Orioles player could enter the MVP conversation? There are a few Birds who are near the top of a few stats. Most likely, the MVP will go to a household name like Trout or Cruz, but the Orioles should at least enter into the conversation.

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For example, Jose Iglesias is still leading the AL with a .358 batting average. Hanser Alberto has 51 hits, just a few behind the leader Abreu. And, remember that Alberto recently missed a few games with a sore hamstring. While Alberto hasn’t hit many home runs, 51 hits in 40 games tops Trout’s 46 in the same number of games.

The Orioles won’t win any MVPs this season, unless something even more unexpected than the 20 wins they’ve already earned his season. However, when the team awards MVPs, they will have difficulty deciding between Santander, Alberto, and Iglesias. They will also have to take Ryan Mountcastle into the equation, as the team has had a winning record since he hit his first two home runs on August 30.

It is safe to say that none of the Orioles pitchers will be in the running for the team MVP. There have been too many pitchers and not enough consistency from them. The goes for the starting rotation and the bullpen. However, if Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer can keep up their low ERAs, they could be team rookie of the year candidates or possible MVPs.

The most likely team award should go to Mountcastle. The rookie has proven to be worth the wait, and it looks like he won’t be returning to the alternative site anytime soon.