Miami Marlins: Handing out Awards for the 2021 Season
The 2021 Miami Marlins season has now officially come to an end. Why not hand-out some awards based on performances from this season?
Handing out awards for the 2021 Miami Marlins season.
Here are picks for which Marlins would win team-awards for this season including MVP’s, Minor League Players of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year.
MVP: Sandy Alcantara
The 2021 team-leader with a 4.1 WAR, Alcantara turned in a career-season posting a 3.19 ERA with 201 strikeouts across 205.2 innings pitched. Making a career-high 33 starts, the 26-year-old right-hander was a constant throughout in the Marlins starting rotation making Alcantara an easy-pick for the Marlins 2021 MVP.
Offensive MVP: Jesus Aguilar
One of the closer awards to choose from, it’s hard to look-past what Aguilar did this season across 131 games. Despite missing most of the month of September with an injury, Aguilar finished with a by-far team-leading 93 RBI’s while slashing .261/.329/.459 with 22 home runs, which tied for the Marlins most in 2021 with Adam Duvall.
Pitching MVP: Trevor Rogers
Now yes, Alcantara likely wins the Pitching MVP if he wins MVP, but the 2021 season of Rogers was a special one for the left-hander and should not go unnoticed here. A likely finalist for the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year, Rogers made his first All-Star appearance this season posting a 2.64 ERA across 25 starts with 46 walks and 157 strikeouts.
Newcomer of the Year: Anthony Bender
Signed in the offseason, Bender was outstanding in multiple relief roles posting a 2.79 ERA during his rookie campaign. Likely a key-part of the Marlins bullpen going forward, Bender could be a potential candidate to fill the closer role next season.
Hitting Prospect of the Year: Peyton Burdick
Selected as the Marlins Minor League Player of the Year, Burdick spent a majority of the 2021 season playing in Double-A with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Appearing in 106 games with Pensacola, the Marlins No. 14 prospect slashed .231/.376/.472 with 23 home runs, 52 RBI’s, and nine stolen bases.
Pitching Prospect of the Year: Eury Perez
While the 2021 seasons of Max Meyer and Jake Eder in-particular should not go unnoticed, it’s hard to look-past what Perez did this season. In what was his first professional season, the 18-year-old posted a combined 1.96 ERA in 20 starts between Low-A Jupiter and High-A Beloit with 26 walks and 108 strikeouts to be selected as the Marlins Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
In what could be considered a disappointing season for the Miami Marlins at the big-league level, what these six players did this season is a big takeaway as we enter the offseason.