Orioles 2026 midseason awards: Team MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and more

The second half of the Baltimore Orioles' season begins today, and the Orioles have a sizeable group of players that they are hoping will play a lot better in the second half of the season than the first. As disappointing as the team's record/performance has been this year, there are also several players who deserve recognition for what they did in the first half of the season to prevent a total meltdown.

The Orioles made a big investment in Pete Alonso and so far he's been worth every penny

MVO: Pete Alonso

There were a few players who could make a claim to the Most Valuable Orioles title. Adley Rutschman, being the Orioles' lone All-Star, would suggest that he's deserving, and Blaze Alexander's breakout certainly made the competition for Most Valuable Oriole most interesting. However, Pete Alonso's combination of playing every single game, being one of the best defensive first basemen in the league, while also being the Orioles' best hitter, makes him the clear choice to be the MVO.

Team Cy Young: Brandon Young

Brandon Young, being the Orioles' best starting pitcher, might be the single most surprising aspect of the Orioles 2026 season. Stats like xERA and FIP might point you towards Kyle Bradish or Shane Baz (which is encouraging considering the Orioles need those two to step up in the second half), but this award is given out based on what actually happened, and what actually happened was Brandon Young was great. His 3.42 ERA is the best of the rotation, and the Orioles are 12-3 when he starts. Two of the losses were outings where he went six innings, three ER, and five innings, two ER, so the Orioles could have easily won those games if their offense had bothered to show up.

ROY: Samuel Basallo

Picking the Orioles Rookie of the Year is about as easy as it gets; it's Samuel Basallo through and through. Outside of a mysterious and awkward half-benching, Basallo's rookie year is going exactly the way Orioles fans would want it. He is producing at the plate and visibly improving as a catcher. He's already a good player, and it's plain to see there's a lot more in the tank that he'll be able to summon as he matures and develops.

Gold Glove: Adley Rutschman

This was a toss-up between Rutschman, Cowser, and Alonso, but the importance of the catching position and Rutschman's standing as maybe the best defensive catcher in baseball this year put him over the edge to be the winner of the team Gold Glove. Up until this season, Rutschman's defense had been steadily declining since his debut, so seeing him bounce back behind the plate was a welcome sign for Orioles fans.

Relief Pitcher of the Year: Yennier Cano

This one looked like it was going to be a Rico Garcia runaway, but Garcia's June slump allowed Cano to sneak in and steal the award away. After a down 2025 season, Cano looks like his old self again, pitching to a 2.32 ERA and inducing ground balls at an elite rate.

Coach of the Year: Miguel Cairo

There's only one manager, so to make the Manager of the Year Award more interesting, it's been opened up to the entire coaching staff. With that being the case, the obvious choice for this award is Miguel Cairo, who is responsible for the Orioles infield. Cairo was given the task of piecing together an incredibly injured infield. Both the Orioles' projected second and third basemen began the season on the IL, and Cairo had to help Coby Mayo move back to third and help Jeremiah Jackson move to second. Considering the defensive talent he's working with, the Orioles' infield is basically a miracle. Not to mention Alonso having the best defensive season of his career. The highlight of Cairo's season would have to be the game in which Leody Taveras was forced into action at third base, and Cairo spent the whole game teaching him the position on the fly.

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