Top Rookie
So Huynh
We had no expectations for Huynh this season. So little were our expectations that we signed a catcher in free agency. But struggles by that signing and struggles by the other rookie we hoped could take the spot led us to giving Huynh a shot. And he ran with it. In just 74 games, Huynh hit .259/.373/.518 with 15 homeruns and 46 runs batted in. That equated to a surprising 1.8 WAR this season and has Portland thinking they may have a serviceable backstop for the next few years.
Top Reliever
Juan Martinez
The injury to Lorenzo de' Medici left the door open for someone to take control of this award and Martinez did just that. He appeared in 63 games, logging 81.1 innings. During that span, he posted a 2.77 ERA and 1.17 WHIP while still managing to strike out more than a batter per inning with 90 on the season. In the end, his 1.9 WAR was tops out of the bullpen, narrowly edging out de' Medici in the end.
Top Starter
Steve Warren
This was a close battle between Warren and Sparks. Sparks' 18-3 record was tough to ignore. But so was Warren's 15-6 mark and the fact he led the rotation in ERA (3.38), Strikeouts (136), WHIP (1.26) and WAR (4.7). It didn't factor into the decision, but definitely worth noting that Warren also went 6-0 in 7 post-season starts this season while posting a 3.02 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. His lone non-decision game in the game 7 win over Nashville to clinch the Doubleday Series. A game the Lumberjacks won in extra innings.
Top Hitter
Ernest McBride
You didn't expect anyone else, did you? Well, we probably should mention Angel Zalapa and Jiao-long Ma and the fact they posted 5.5 and 5.2 WARs respectively. But those didn't match up to McBride's 6.9 WAR on the season. And of course McBride also led the team in pretty much every offensive category known to man. .322 batting average, 56 homeruns, 155 RBI, 203 hits, 131 runs scored, 1.064 OPS. Yes, they all led the team in 2051. Hell, McBride even led the team in TRIPLES with, get this, 11 on the season! He was tied for freaking 3rd in TRIPLES in the Frick League this season. He carried that hot play over to the post-season, hitting 10 homeruns and leading the team with 28 RBI. He did struggle in the Brewster Series though, going 4 for 30 against New Orleans. Nonetheless, it'll be interesting to see how Portland can replace the guy who has carried this offense the last 3 seasons now that Ernest has become a free agent.