Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger were officially announced as American League Silver Slugger Award finalists. Award creator and sponsor Louisville Slugger announced the finalists on Thursday morning, with the winners to be revealed on November 17th.
The Silver Slugger Award was created in 1980 to recognize the best hitter at each position in their respective leagues, with the award recently expanded to be given to a utility player as well as one for the best offensive team in each league. Unlike many of the other
year-end honors including MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year, the Silver Slugger is not decided by the BBWAA. Instead, coaches and managers from each team cast votes for the winner and are not allowed to vote for players on their own teams.
This is Ben Rice’s second straight appearance as a finalist for the award, getting nominated in the utility category last year before losing out to Zach McKinstry of the Tigers. Despite splitting reps between first base and DH, Rice earns the nod in the DH category this year. Rice led all Yankees position players with 4.2 fWAR this season, finishing third in MLB in slugging (.534) fifth in wRC+ (149) and seventh in home runs (41). Overall, he slashed .264/.363/.534 while also adding a team-high 105 runs and 97 RBIs in 154 games. Should he win, this would be Rice’s first major award of his career — but given his competition, he’s probably a long shot.
As for Bellinger, this is also his second straight nomination as a finalist for the award, missing out last year to Aaron Judge, Byron Buxton, and Riley Greene. Bellinger has already secured two pieces of hardware this offseason, winning the AL Gold Glove Award and the Fielding Bible Award in left field. Despite missing a month to a hamstring injury, Bellinger still finished third among left fielders with 3.5 fWAR and fifth in wRC+ (115). In 121 games, Bellinger slashed .264/.338/.429 with 17 home runs, 73 runs scored, and 73 RBIs. Should Bellinger be voted winner on November 17th, it would be the third Silver Slugger award of his career, the other two coming in 2019 and 2023.
As for the rest of the AL nominees, Dillon Dingler and Carter Jensen are finalists at catcher. Pete Alonso and Willson Contreras are first base finalists after both finished in the top-six in MLB in wRC+. Kody Clemens and Chase Meidroth are the second base finalists. Finalists at short include AL MVP finalist Bobby Witt Jr., likely AL Rookie of the Year Kevin McGonigle, and Zach Neto. At third base is AL MVP finalist Junior Caminero and Miguel Vargas, the pair finishing tied for 12th in MLB in fWAR.
The outfield finalists joining Bellinger are Mike Trout, Wilyer Abreu, Randy Arozarena, Chase DeLauter, Jac Caglianone, Chandler Simpson, Riley Greene, and Tristan Peters. It’s a tight group and Bellinger might well end up outside the top three. Rice has tough competition at DH with likely AL MVP Yordan Alvarez named as the other finalist. Rounding out the finalists are McGonigle, Sam Antonacci, and Ezequiel Duran at utility, while the Astros, Rays, Twins, and White Sox are your team finalists.
Over on the NL side of the award, Hunter Goodman and Gabriel Moreno are finalists at catcher. NLCS MVP and World Series winner Jake Bauers is joined by Alec Burleson, Rafael Devers, and Matt Olson as first base finalists. NL MVP finalist Brice Turang and Brandon Lowe are finalists at second base. Elly De La Cruz was snubbed as an NL MVP finalist, but is nominated for this award alongside CJ Abrams and Otto Lopez at shortstop. Alex Bregman and Max Muncy are your third base finalists.
In the outfield, presumptive NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong leads the way, accompanied by Jackson Chourio, Corbin Carroll, Seiya Suzuki, Fernando Tatis Jr., James Wood, and Jordan Walker. NL MVP finalist Shohei Ohtani is joined by Kyle Schwarber as DH finalists. Finally, Bauers and Tatis are joined by NL Rookie of the Year finalist Sal Stewart in the utility category while the Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, and Nationals are your team finalists.
Best of luck to Ben and Cody!
