Who Is Your First Half MVP?

[PaleHoser]

Jose Abreu. What he's been able to do with little protection behind him in the lineup is remarkable. Brian Goodwin and Leury Garcia have been hitting 4-5 recently, and no knock on them but if I'm pitching they're going to have to beat me rather than Abreu.

Honorable mention to Ethan Katz. The Sox aren't eight games up without their starting pitching, particularly Carlos Rodon and Dylan Cease stepping up.

[longtimefan]

I pick Carlos. He is our 5th pitcher and only got that by beating out Lopez in ST. Rodon has been a exceptional.

[ChiTownTrojan]

Carlos Rodon, followed closely by Lance Lynn. No player is more responsible for the Sox success this season than Rodon.

Unless they changed the rules of this made-up award, Katz isn't eligible for first-half MVP.

[LITTLE NELL]

Tie, Rodon and Abreu. There would be no tie if Jose had been more consistent, he had a couple of dry spells which has hurt some of his numbers.

[Dumpjerry]

Vaughn. Thrown into a completely alien position while making his MLB debut.

[HomeFish]

Katz.

If it has to be a player, than Rodon with Lynn as an honorary mention.

[SaltyPretzel]

Liam Hendriks. Blowing games in the 9th inning has a very deflating effect to any team and he has been really solid.

[Mohoney]

Carlos Rodon is the best left-handed starter in baseball. He should be the 1st-half AL Cy Young choice of most publications of note. There is no other correct answer to this question.

Notice the lack of funky color on that sentence. Teal? Yeah, right.. Deep pink? Even pipe dreams sometimes come true. Nope, just plain ol’ black ink, which probably won’t be the only black ink associated with Rodon this year.

[blurry]

Lance Lynn. He's been the best pitcher on the team followed very closely by Rodon. Also has the best ERA (and ERA+) in the AL as of right now.

[Popa]

Jose Abreu the RBI machine

[ChiTownTrojan]

Lance Lynn. He's been the best pitcher on the team followed very closely by Rodon. Also has the best ERA (and ERA+) in the AL as of right now.

We're splitting hairs here, and I don't want to downplay what Lynn has done, but Rodon's underlying metrics (K/9, BB/9, FIP, xERA, xFIP, SIERA) are all better than Lynn's, indicating that he has actually pitched better despite the slightly higher ERA.

[fungo bat]

I'd pick Carlos Rodon by a slim margin over Lance Lynn. Last year he was a broken pitcher. A first-round draft choice that had not panned out due to several injuries and mechanical difficulties. The Sox took a chance and resigned him during the off season to a one-year make-or-break deal. He has been nothing less than outstanding during the first half. A special note of thanks to Ethan Katz. Without his guidance and encouragement I don't think Rodon would have risen to the top like he has. Good riddance to Don Cooper. He had a fine track record with the Sox as pitching coach, but obviously it was time for him to move on.

[Lipman 1]

Position players: Tim Anderson
Pitchers: Carlos Rodon

[Foulke You]

If I could nominate our entire starting pitching staff as first half MVP, I would. Those 5 guys staying healthy and effective are the main reason the Sox have weathered the injury storm to our position players. If I have to pick one guy, I'd go with Carlos Rodon and his unexpected Cy Young half season.

[Chez]

That there is no clear-cut favorite speaks volumes about this team.