Philadelphia Phillies first half awards: MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, top minor-leaguers
With the All-Star break marking the unofficial halfway point of the season, it’s time to hand out some awards for the top Phillies this season.
The Phillies head into the All-Star Break after completing 87 grueling games in the first half of the season. As the winners of 28/29 games, they are by far the worst team in baseball this season. Safe to say it has been rough to be a fan of this team this year.
Even with the team falling apart at the hinges this season, some players have performed fairly well despite the losses. With that in mind, a few are worth receiving first-half awards from the prestigious baseball institution of That Ball’s Outta Here, including some for the minors as well.
Most Valuable Player-Aaron Altherr
This is the award I mulled over the most as no one was the bona fide standout player in the first half of the season. My co-expert George Stockburger said he would’ve given this award to Galvis, citing that his value as a leader and his defensive play would warrant the award. I was partial to Aaron Altherr, and with a majority of our Twitter followers selecting Altherr, I feel confident giving him this award.
Altherr started out the year as the team’s fourth outfielder, but with the early injury to Howie Kendrick and the poor play of Michael Saunders, Altherr saw more and more time in the outfield. Even when Kendrick came back, Altherr remained in the lineup with Saunders seeing less time before his eventual release.
Altherr started the year on a torrid pace with a .299/.388/.549 line and eight home runs in the first two months of the season. He cooled off in June with a .766 OPS but is starting to heat up again this month with an .804 OPS as of Sunday.
After Sunday’s action, Altherr has a .284/.356/.530 line to cap off the first half. His home run Sunday puts his total for the year at 14 and one behind Tommy Joseph for the team lead. Altherr has also driven in 44 runs, racked up 35 extra-base hits, and stolen five bases.
Besides Pat Neshek, he had the best case to be the team’s All-Star this year. However, with a stacked core of outfielders in the National League, Altherr was on the outside looking in.
Honorable Mentions: Galvis, Kendrick, Joseph
Cy Young-Aaron Nola
It’s fulfilling to watch Aaron Nola be dominant again. After the uncertainty that was his elbow strain that cost him the last two months of the season and the back injury just a few weeks into the season, Nola finally looks like the dominant pitcher we know he can be.
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After an electric performance in his last start before the break Saturday, Nola finished the first half with a 3.59 ERA, 3.40 fielding-independent pitching, 24.6% strikeout rate, 7.6% walk rate, and 1.18 WHIP. He leads the team in both Fangraphs’ and Baseball Reference’s version of wins above replacement.
Nola has been especially good in the last month. Since June 6, Nola has given up more than just two runs in just two of his seven starts.
In that time, he has averaged a game score v2 of 66. For reference, an average score is 50 and anything in the 60-70 range is considered a “good” start. He has recorded a strikeout per inning in each of his last six starts and eight or more strikeouts in his last four starts.
If Nola’s last couple starts are any indication, we could be in for a great second half from Nola this season.
Honorable Mention: Pat Neshek
Rookie of the Year-Andrew Knapp
The Phillies didn’t have any rookies in their Opening Day lineup, but one has slowly taken over the reins as a starter this year. That player is Andrew Knapp, who is starting to see more consistent time behind the plate as Cameron Rupp is struggling to hit consistently this season.
Knapp has played in 39 games this season as of Sunday and is performing about league-average at the plate this season. He has a .250/.355/.383 slash line with three home runs and 11 runs batted in.
Knapp has started to hit the ball better as of late as he is inserted in the starting lineup more often. Since June 25, Knapp has started nine of the team’s 14 games. In that time, he has a .794 OPS and 121 wRC+. As Knapp gets more consistent at-bats in the second half, he could prove to be a valuable bat in the lineup.
Honorable Mention: Nick Pivetta