The Award Boards: Two Runaways, Three Real Fights

Our MVP, Cy Young and Rookie Scores — who leads each race, and by how much.

Late August is when the awards talk stops being idle. By our 0-100 Scores, two names have pulled clear — Yordan Alvarez in the AL and Jacob Misiorowski for the NL Cy Young — while the other four races are genuine scraps. Here's who's actually leading, and by how much.

MVP watch

Our MVP Score (0–100) — each hitter’s OPS, on-base, power, run production and playing time graded against the league average, then blended. Higher is better.

Alvarez owns the AL at 85.2, and it isn't close — his 1.051 OPS is a full tier above the field, with 36 homers and a .322 average to match; Ben Rice (77.5) and Junior Caminero (76.7) are fighting over second. The NL is the tight one: James Wood leads at 78.2 on a .928 OPS for Washington, but Pete Crow-Armstrong is right on him at 77.5, and unlike Wood's cold stretch, Crow-Armstrong is still humming at a .909 clip over his last 30 days.

• Yordan AlvarezHouston Astros · .322 AVG · 36 HR · 91 RBI · 1.051 OPS85.2SCORE›
• Ben RiceNew York Yankees · .251 AVG · 35 HR · 83 RBI · 0.879 OPS77.5SCORE›
• Junior CamineroTampa Bay Rays · .280 AVG · 35 HR · 84 RBI · 0.897 OPS76.7SCORE›

• James WoodWashington Nationals · .265 AVG · 30 HR · 73 RBI · 0.928 OPS78.2SCORE›
• Pete Crow-ArmstrongChicago Cubs · .276 AVG · 33 HR · 83 RBI · 0.924 OPS77.5SCORE›
• Matt OlsonAtlanta Braves · .260 AVG · 37 HR · 78 RBI · 0.875 OPS76.9SCORE›

Cy Young watch

Our Cy Young Score (0–100) — ERA, WHIP, strikeout and walk rates, workload and quality starts, each graded against the league average, then blended. Higher is better.

Misiorowski is the runaway of the whole edition — an 89.3 Score built on a 1.68 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP, better than Chris Sale (80.8) can reach even with his 2.20 ERA. The AL is far friendlier: Cam Schlittler paces it at 80.7 with 193 strikeouts, but Dylan Cease (72.9) and Drew Rasmussen (72.5) are all but tied a step behind.

• Cam SchlittlerNew York Yankees · 2.16 ERA · 0.96 WHIP · 193 K80.7SCORE›
• Dylan CeaseToronto Blue Jays · 2.37 ERA · 1.06 WHIP · 209 K72.9SCORE›
• Drew RasmussenTampa Bay Rays · 2.95 ERA · 0.93 WHIP · 143 K72.5SCORE›

• Jacob MisiorowskiMilwaukee Brewers · 1.68 ERA · 0.76 WHIP · 216 K89.3SCORE›
• Chris SaleAtlanta Braves · 2.20 ERA · 1.03 WHIP · 166 K80.8SCORE›
• Yoshinobu YamamotoLos Angeles Dodgers · 2.61 ERA · 0.90 WHIP · 145 K75.4SCORE›

Rookie of the Year watch

Our Rookie Score (0–100) — the MVP and Cy Young engines applied to first-year players, hitters and pitchers ranked on one scale. Higher is better.

Munetaka Murakami tops the AL rookies at 72.0, his 29 homers doing the heavy lifting even as the average sits at .219, with Cleveland's Parker Messick (70.6) and his 2.50 ERA close behind. In the NL, Sal Stewart leads at 70.9 — a rookie with 100 RBI and 28 homers for Cincinnati, and the clearest of the three rookie front-runners.

• Munetaka MurakamiChicago White Sox · .219 AVG · 29 HR · 58 RBI · 0.860 OPS72.0SCORE rookie›
• Parker MessickCleveland Guardians · 2.50 ERA · 1.01 WHIP · 156 K70.6SCORE rookie›
• Kazuma OkamotoToronto Blue Jays · .228 AVG · 26 HR · 74 RBI · 0.737 OPS66.0SCORE rookie›

• Sal StewartCincinnati Reds · .261 AVG · 28 HR · 100 RBI · 0.806 OPS70.9SCORE rookie›
• Nolan McLeanNew York Mets · 3.21 ERA · 1.14 WHIP · 168 K63.0SCORE rookie›
• TJ RumfieldColorado Rockies · .289 AVG · 13 HR · 60 RBI · 0.821 OPS61.3SCORE rookie›

Stats via the MLB Stats API. Colors, form scores and power rankings are Baseball Lens's own.