Next week, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) will announce the winners for their annual awards. Voted on by members of the organization, these are considered the most important awards from
the previous regular season. Tonight, the organization unveiled their top three vote-getters for each of the awards. Two members of the Brewers were included among the finals: rookie third-baseman Caleb Durbin, and manager Pat Murphy.
The first of the two came as a bit of a surprise, as Durbin was named among the finalists for the NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award.
Even though it was a little surprising, Durbin deserves the recognition. He had a strong rookie season, posting a .256/.334/.387 batting line with 11 home runs, 53 RBI, 18 stolen baes, 105 wRC+, and 2.6 fWAR. However, he had competition even within the Brewers. Isaac Collins looked like a potential candidate after being named Rookie of the Month in July, and Jacob Misiorowski took that honor in June. Chad Patrick was also a candidate early thanks to his strong start in the rotation. However, Patrick ended up the odd man out of the rotation and demoted, while Collins and Misiorowski both had slower finishes to the season. Meanwhile, Durbin remained consistent throughout the season. Collins, Misiorowski, and Patrick could grab some votes lower in the poll, and that could also hurt Durbin’s chances to win.
The other finalists for Rookie of the Year are Drake Baldwin of the Braves and Cade Horton of the Cubs. Baldwin appears to be the front runner for the award, posting a .274/.341/.469 batting line with 19 home runs, 80 RBI, 125 wRC+, and 3.1 fWAR, while playing a more demanding position as a catcher. Meanwhile, Horton had a 2.67 ERA and 3.58 FIP with 97 strikeouts in 118 innings, good for a 2.2 fWAR. Horton missed the end of the 2025 season due to a fractured rib.
Meanwhile, in a more expected announcement, Pat Murphy was named one of the finalists for the NL Manager of the Year.
After taking the award last season, it looked like a rebuilding year for the Brewers. Almost every preseason prediction had the Cubs winning the NL Central, while the Brewers would be a team right around .500. Instead, Murphy led the Brewers to their best record in team history, as well as the best record in all of MLB. The 97 wins in 2025 was four more than 2024 and it came in an arguably harder division than 2024. He has a very strong chance to take the award for the second straight year.
The other two finalists are Rob Thomson of the Phillies and Terry Francona of the Reds. Thomson had a challenging division to contend with as well, with the Braves, Mets, and Phillies all teams that could win the NL East. Thomson kept the Phillies going strong, improving their 2024 win total from 95 to 96 as they won the NL East for a second straight season. Meanwhile, Francona pulled together a late season rally for the Reds as they made the postseason for the first time in 10 years. The Reds hovered around .500 for most of the season and were sitting at 75-76 on September 16th. However, an 8-3 push in their last 11 games, combined with a collapse by the Mets, got the Reds into the postseason.
The Rookie of the Year awards will be announced on November 10th, and the Manager of the Year awards the following night. For a full list of important offseason dates, check out our post from earlier today.
