Cincinnati Reds Awards Watch

In a season where the Cincinnati Reds finished 10 games below .500, falling entirely far too short of where they expected to be, post-season awards may not be much of a consolation prize.

Then again, if you’re one of the men involved, winning one wouldn’t be all that bad.

There are some awards where players have an extremely high chance of winning (a la Billy Hamilton and the Rookie of the Year award) and there are some with virtually no chance (Johnny Cueto and the Cy Young), but let’s treat them all one in the same.

Johnny Cueto – NL Cy Young

Had it not been for Clayton Kershaw having one of the greatest seasons in the history of baseball, Cueto would have to be the odds on favorite to bring home the Cy Young award.

As statistical reinforcement, Kershaw would lead all of baseball in the following categories: wins (21), winning percentage (.875), ERA (1.77), complete games (6), ERA+ (197), FIP (1.81), WHIP (0.86) and K/9 IP (10.8). But hey, at least the Reds delivered him one of his three losses on the season back on May 28 in Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, Cueto is the odd man out. While he led the league in innings pitched (243.2), strikeouts (242), batters faced (961) and hits per 9 (6.2), it will be a competition between he and Adam Wainwright for the silver medal spot on the Cy Young podium.

Todd Frazier – 3B Silver Slugger & Gold Glove

Arguably the Reds most valuable player during the 2014 season, Frazier will be in the running for being both the best offensive and defensive player at his position.

In order to win the Gold Glove, Frazier more than likely would have had to spend the entire season over at the hot corner. Due to Joey Votto’s persistent injuries, Frazier split his time at the corners during this past year.

For whatever reason, as long as a player plays the majority of his games at a certain position, he can be considered for the Silver Slugger. So although many of his offensive numbers came while playing first base, Frazier will be at the top of the class for the award.

My guess would be that Anthony Rendon of the Washington Nationals would take home the Gold Glove due to Nolan Arenado’s extended injury, while Frazier gets the plaque for being the best offensive player. A year of batting .273 with 29 home runs and 20 steals certainly merits some token of appreciation.

Billy Hamilton – NL Rookie of the Year & Gold Glove

For the front five months of the season, the National League’s Rookie of the Year award was virtually Billy Hamilton’s to lose. That is, until he seemingly went and lost it in September.

A .123 batting average in the season’s final month sank the ship of the centerfielder and allowed New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom to make a late season push for the award. Pundits have the vote being extremely close, but from what it sounds like, Hamilton’s slow finish to the year may ultimately cost him.

As far as the Gold Glove is concerned, any Reds fan that tuned in for a tenth of the games this season can tell you how excellent Hamilton is with the glove. By nature, the Gold Glove is a flashy award. No one in the baseball industry has yet to be able to agree upon a defensive metric that allows voters to use anything but the naked eye. In which case, Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Carlos Gomez of the Milwaukee Brewers, or Juan Lagares of the New York Mets, seem like the logical candidates ahead of Hamilton.

Devin Mesoraco – C Silver Slugger

Having been placed on the disabled list twice in the first month of the season, it will be astounding to think that with not even 400 at-bats in his first year as the full-time catcher of the Reds, Devin Mesoraco should run away with the Silver Slugger award. Some may choose to side with San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey due to his high batting average, but the power Mesoraco displayed in what was virtually half a season was incredible.

In just 61 more at-bats than he had in 2013, Mesoraco clobbered 16 more home runs and drove in an extra 38 runs. The scary part will come when Mesoraco is finally able to get 600 at-bats in a season. That kind of production will remind Reds fans of a certain catcher who was behind the plate during the 1970s.

Brandon Phillips – 2B Gold Glove

Always a candidate for the Platinum Glove award, which is handed out to the league’s best overall defender, Phillips should be a virtual lock for the Gold Glove just for taking the field.

In 2013, Phillips won the award with a dWAR rating of 0.4, which is merely average. This year, St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong outranks him, but Phillips is at 0.9, despite having missed 41 games with a thumb injury.

Regardless of how much time he has missed, it would be a true upset if Phillips somehow did not win the award.

Zack Cozart – SS Gold Glove

Stuck in the same boat as teammate Johnny Cueto for the Cy Young Award, Cozart is positionally blocked from taking home a Gold Glove. Andrelton Simmons of the Atlanta Braves is a once-in-a-generation talent up the middle, making it an impossibility to crack through the spotlight.

Criticized for much of the season for his inability to contribute much offensively, Cozart was sensational with the glove all year long. After many years of ineptitude up the middle, Cozart has defensively solidified a position that has been lacking ever since Barry Larkin’s departure.

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Those are your candidates for the post-season awards, which will be announced in the coming weeks. All, some, or none may win awards, but at this point, it is out of their control.