00:00Now the National League MVP has taken quite the turn here, and it seems like we're back and forth
00:04every day. In fact, when the series began and the Cubs played the Dodgers, Otani was the favorite,
00:09then Pete Carroll Armstrong was the favorite, and then Otani became the favorite again. I mean,
00:14I've maintained the same thing. I don't care how this award ends, Tom. I find no world where
00:18Otani pitching and hitting is not the MVP of Major League Baseball. It's crazy to me.
00:23That doesn't take anything away from what PCA is doing, and I know that certainly war is going to
00:28tell a big story in this one, and Pete Carroll Armstrong may win, but boy, this is going to be
00:35close. In the end, I'm going to just lean on Otani winning for this one. What do you think?
00:39Yeah, I would say the same, and I think PCA deserves a ton of credit. I think he should
00:44rightfully be in the conversation, and a lot of people are going to try and paint their own argument,
00:50say, oh, what Otani does pitching and hitting is unbelievable, even though he doesn't have the
00:54highest volume of innings. What PCA does defensively in war is absolutely unbelievable,
01:00and he deserves to be in the conversation, and what it comes down to with Otani at the plate
01:04versus PCA at the plate, you are going to find the argument that you want to make and make it
01:09for
01:09that specific player, whether you're back him. I think Otani wins it when it's all said and done,
01:14but I do think this is the closest that we have seen over the past few years.
01:18American League Cy Young appears still to be a two-player race. Cam Schlittler over on the
01:24Calci market has certainly taken over most of the investments here at 68%,
01:29and then we have Dylan Cease less than that, and also Sonny Gray is still in the mix. I mean,
01:35Gray has had a fantastic year, but I just don't think that he moves up or down. I feel like
01:39this
01:39is a static number at this point. Is there a chance that the buy-in on Cease moves up before
01:45the end of
01:46the year? Because it does feel like Cam Schlittler's getting close to locking this up.
01:50Yeah, I think if there's any spot to look, you think that Cease gets a little bit closer. He
01:54puts up some good performances to end the season. Therefore, his number increases, but he doesn't
01:59actually end up winning it. I think Cam Schlittler will win it, but maybe if you get into Cease and
02:03then get out once his number and his percentage changes just a little bit.
02:08The National League is really close. It looked like Sal Stewart was going to run away with the
02:13rookie of the year, and then all of a sudden, boy, J.J. Weatherholt came on so strong.
02:19Esmeralyn Valdez, also from Pittsburgh, was in this conversation a couple of weeks ago,
02:22but he has fallen back quite a bit. So it appears to be two guys. It appears to be Weatherholt,
02:27and I do think that he's going to end up winning it at this point, although he's not the overwhelming
02:32favorite. I suppose, Tom, if Sal Stewart was to get super-duper hot here at the end of the year,
02:38maybe that could be the investment point, but beyond that, I don't see anyone else beyond those
02:44two. I would also say Joe Mack on Miami is another name as a catcher. Had he played in the
02:49month of
02:49April, I think he'd be more serious in this race. I think Sal Stewart should win it. I think it's
02:56clear to me. When you have a player who's top 15 in the league in home runs and is tied
03:01for the league
03:02lead, not the NL lead, not the NL rookie lead, the MLB lead in RBIs, I think Sal Stewart is
03:08going to
03:09be the end of winner of rookie of the year. And I know Ward tells a different story when you're
03:13looking at J.J. Weatherholt, and this is not to take anything away from J.J. Weatherholt. He's had
03:17a great year, really, and the Cardinals have found a franchise player that they're going to build
03:22around for years to come. But what Sal Stewart is doing, and everyone's going to say, oh, look at his
03:27home roads, look at his home, oh, he plays in a small, you know, little league park. Of course,
03:30his numbers are the same on the road as they are at home. They're within a few RBIs and home
03:36runs
03:37on the road. He deserves to be the NL rookie of the year. Major League Baseball's home runs leader,
03:44home runs leader. At this point, it's fair to say we got a wide open race. I don't know why
03:49this
03:49market is what it is here, and it'll call me crazy, but Junior Caminero to me seems like a pretty
03:55good
03:55buy-in at the spot that he is in right now. I know Schwarber is going to be the most
03:59ticketed player at
04:00this point, but I don't know. I mean, call me nuts here. I think Schwarber's got a shot,
04:05but I also think that Caminero could catch him, and Jordan is there as well.
04:09Right. This is, frankly, to see Schwarber that far ahead, when Schwarber is 37, and he's been
04:16basically ice cold since the home run derby. He's sitting at 37, Jordan is 36, Olsen is 35,
04:23and Caminero is 35. We're looking at a one or two differential. I don't think Schwarber should be
04:28that high. So the answer to me would be, if you like Caminero, buy into Caminero now or look to
04:33sell Schwarber that he's not going to lead the league when it comes to home runs, because your
04:38Don going on a stretch where he has three or four in a week is very, very likely, considering how
04:43cold Schwarber has been since the All-Star break.
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