Three Major Award Snubs Raises Questions About Voting Process

While the baseball writers nailed most of the award voting for 2026, there were a trio of snubs that invite scrutiny about how certain players are valued.

Sep 29, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) reacts after the top of the third inning of game one of the Wildcard round of the 2026 MLB Playoffs against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

MLB released its list of finalists for all the major awards for the 2026 season. Among them were each league's Most Valuable Player, Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Reliever of the Year.

Every year, a member of the 30 chapters in the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) votes on each award. Most ballots only go five players, but MVP does go as many as 10. Each vote is given a weight, then are tallied up at the end.

This season, most of the voting has been on point. Each award has a clear hierarchy that follows along nicely with how the season unfolded. But there were three snubs in the award-voting in which the player should have earned more consideration.

Cam Schlittler's Exclusion from AL MVP Raises Questions About Pitcher Viability

Oct 5, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the third inning in game two of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cam Schlittler's 2026 season was going to be a litmus test of how the voters treat the value of the best pitchers in each league. Unsurprisingly, the presumptive American League Cy Young Award winner was not named a finalist. Instead, the finalists were Bobby Witt Jr., Yordan Álvarez, and Junior Caminero.

From a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) standpoint, Schlittler had a case to be a finalist. He led all AL players in bWAR (7.0) and finished third in fWAR (6.2). In both metrics, he finished well ahead of Caminero.

WAR isn't the be-all, end-all metric to measure a player's value to their team and across the league. Especially since it's a context-neutral stat and doesn't account for a player stepping up when his team needs him the most. That's why Win Probability Stats such as Win Probability Added and Situation Wins Saved (WPA/Leverage Index) need to be considered as well.

It's those metrics that push Alvarez over the edge to win the award. But when comparing Schlittler to Caminero on those two metrics, the Yankees starter outperforms the Rays slugger.

Pitchers get an exclusive award for them. But at the same time, it's an award for the most valuable player in each league. Hitters do have an equivalent to the Cy Young Award, known as the Hank Aaron Award.

A full-time pitcher hasn't won an MVP Award since Clayton Kershaw in the 2014 season. Since then, none have come close. Jacob deGrom's amazing 2018 season resulted in a fifth-place finish, the highest by a full-time pitcher since.

Nolan McLean Squeezed Out in Tight NL Rookie of the Year Race

Sep 23, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean (26) walks off the field after pitching the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

McLean had an up-and-down rookie season, with more ups than downs. Considered one of the favorites to win Rookie of the Year before the season started, he was not named a finalist.

Overall, the right-hander had a solid first full season in MLB. In 31 starts, spanning 179.2 innings, he went 9-7 with a 3.16 ERA and a 26.0% strikeout rate. He finished with 3.0/3.5 bWAR/fWAR, a higher total than Sal Stewart.

McLean may have been a victim of trying to place value on Stewart's raw counting numbers. The Reds infielder hit 32 home runs and drove in 112 runs while being named an All-Star. Despite those accolades, he finished with less WAR than McLean.

While McLean misses out on being a Rookie of the Year finalist, the Mets may still get a draft pick. His teammate, Carson Benge, was named a finalist. Should Benge win the award, New York will get a pick at the end of the first round of the 2027 MLB Draft.

There is still a pathway for McLean to get his club a draft pick, since he spent the entire year on the active roster. He'll need to be named a Cy Young Award finalist in either of the next two seasons. Given his raw stuff, that's a very real possibility.

Adrián Morejón Proves that Reliever of the Year is a Closer Award

Sep 26, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Adrian Morejon (50) throws a pitch during the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Reliever of the Year award seems to be strictly a closer award. All six pitchers who were finalists were closers. That squeezed out left-hander Adrián Morejón, who was not named a finalist despite finishing third among National League relievers in fWAR.

That's the case in the Trevor Hoffman Award race for the National League's best reliever. The Padres already have a finalist in Mason Miller, who is well-deserving. But it also begs the question of whether leverage arms that don't get save opportunities in the ninth should get more serious consideration.

There is an assumption that closers are the best relievers in the bullpen, since it makes sense to use your best reliever to get the hardest outs. But at the end of the day, only one reliever is a closer. So if a team has two relievers that are elite, it could presents problems.

The gap between Morejón and Trevor Megill is very small on the fWAR leaderboard. Megill accumulated 2.5 fWAR, doing so in 15 fewer innings than the Padres' left-hander. But you could also argue that Morejón was more indispensable for his club with 76 appearances and 86 innings.