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As Major League Baseball enters the dog days of August, I’ve heard a lot of talk about who’s going to win what awards when the season ends. At this point the regular season is headed down the stretch and it makes a little more sense to discuss who might win what than it did back in April and May when they were also doing this. So, let’s see where we are.

It’s clear that no matter what else happens the rest of the season and even though it’s looking like his team will miss the playoffs again Shohei Ohtani will win the American League Most Valuable Player award. To be fair he is having a very good year and actually has a slim chance of winning the triple crown. I have a feeling if he did that, they would make a much bigger deal out of it than when Miguel Cabrera did it and there were media members who still didn’t think he deserved to win MVP.

There’s a lot more intrigue over who might win the National League MVP. It appears as though the three top contenders are Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and teammates Ronld Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves.

Freeman is currently 2nd in the N. L. in batting average. He currently has 23 home runs, 83 RBI’s and has stolen 16 bases. Plus, he is leading the National League in OPS.

Acuna Jr. is right behind Freeman in the N.L. batting race as he sits 3rd. Acuna Jr. currently has 26 home runs, 71 RBI’s and is the major league leader in stolen bases with 54. Acuna is also 2nd in OPS in the N.L.

Olson’s batting average isn’t quite as high as Freeman’s or Acuna Jr’s, but he is leading all of Major League Baseball in home runs with 42 and RBIs with 105. Olson is also 3rd in the National League in OPS.

They are easily the best candidates for the National League MVP award. You do have to wonder if the fact that Acuna Jr. and Olson are teammates if that might hurt their chances. It’s very possible that they could split the vote and Freeman could end up winning the MVP award.

There was a situation like this all the way back in 1988. Darryl Strawberry and Kevin McReynolds of the New York Mets both had great years and ended up splitting 1st place votes for MVP and Kirk Gibson who just happened to be with the Dodgers won the award. Is it possible that another Dodger could win an MVP award under similar circumstances?

Now when you start looking at the Cy Young award in each league there’s not really a pitcher that jumps out at you.

In the National League Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres has the best ERA 2.63 and has held opponents to the lowest batting average against at .196. Justin Steele of the Chicago Cubs, Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves and Tajuan Walker of the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the lead league in wins with 13 each. Steele may be a at the top of that group as he has the 2nd best ERA in the N.L. behind Snell. Strider is currently leading the N.L. in strikeouts with 217. Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks has the best WHIP in the N. L. and has won 12 games so far this season.

There’s a large group of pitchers to choose from in the National League and I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being the closest Cy Young vote ever.

In the American League there are two starting pitchers who might’ve shown more than anyone else. Nathan Eovaldi of the Texas Rangers is leading the league in ERA at 2.69 and is 11-3 this season with 2 complete games. Eovaldi’s issue is he’s only made 19 starts as he is currently inured and it’s unclear when he’ll return. Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees has put together another very good season. Cole is 10-3 and is right behind Eovaldi in the ERA race as Cole’s ERA is 2.75. Zach Eflin of the Tampa Bay Rays is leading the A.L. in wins with 12 and is also leading the league in WHIP at 0.97.

What I’m actually wondering is if the voters will want to make history and give the Cy Young as well as the MVP to Ohtani. On the mound Ohtani has posted a 10-5 record with an ERA of 3.17 and is the league leader in batting average against at .185 and he’s 3rd in strikeouts with 165. Those are solid numbers, but I don’t think he’s been the best pitcher in the American League.

In all honesty the best pitcher in the A.L. has been Baltimore Orioles closer Felix Bautista. He’s appeared in 50 games and is 6-2 with an ERA of 1.66 and has 31 saves. His WHIP is 0.98 and teams are hitting just .153 against him.

Of course, the voters don’t like to give relievers the Cy Young. The last time a relief pitcher won the Cy Young was back in 1983 when Eric Gagne of the Dodgers won the award. So, Bautista has quite a hill to climb to win the Cy Young.

While we have to wait until the votes are counted to find out who won that doesn’t mean you can’t tell me who you think are going to win these awards. Is it someone I have listed here? Or is there someone out there that you think deserves to win one of these awards?

Don’t forget to look me up on Twitter, I’m @Burketime.