MLB: April Awards

I already handed out the AL Pitcher of the Month award to Danny Haren of the A's, but I figured I should quickly toss out a few more.

NL Pitcher of the Month - Tim Hudson. Huddy has bounced back from a tough 2006 with a 1.40 ERA, a sub-1.00 WHIP, and a 3-0 record through six starts. He gets the nod over John Maine, Rich Hill, Matt Cain, and Jake Peavy because he threw more innings and made more quality starts. Tough call though, especially over the 4-0 (1.35 ERA) Maine.

NL Offensive Player of the Month - Jose Reyes. I dished out some love for Barry Bonds yesterday and yes, he's been sick. But Reyes is out of his mind. He's hitting .356 with 17 steals, 16 extra base hits, 18 RBI, 25 runs, and a 16/11 walk/K ratio. Throw in his .435 OBP and he's a leadoff hitter without peer right now. Look at it this way: he's on pace for 114 stolen bases and 121 RBI (not to mention 108 extra base hits and 169 runs scored). Yeah, that's never come close to happening before (not that it will, but still ...). (Apologies to Barry Bonds and Miguel Cabrera.)

AL Offensive Player of the Month - Alex Rodriguez. Who else? He leads the majors in slugging, home runs, RBI, and runs scored, and is second in OPS (behind Bonds). It doesn't matter that the Yankees blow, A-Rod just had the best month of his career. (Apologies to B.J. Upton and Vlad Guerrero.)