American League Award Winners if the Season Ended Today

Other than the postseason itself, the most interesting baseball debate that occurs each October is the one that concerns the winners of the annual awards. The most coveted awards are the MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year.  This post will include my current winners of each award and their closest competition. Look for the National League winners to follow on Thursday.

American League

MVP: Curtis Granderson, CF, Yankees- Granderson has been the best offensive player in the Big Apple this season. He has already set career highs in home runs and RBIs and recently became just the 3rd player in AL history to record 30 homers, 20 steals and 10 triples in one season. All this offense has been necessary thanks to some inconsistent pitching from anyone not named C.C. Sabathia, a down year from A-Rod who looks older by the day and Teixeira's modest sub .250 average.
Other Candidates: Jacoby Ellsbury, Jose Bautista, Adrian Gonzalez

Cy Young: Justin Verlander, SP, Tigers- Verlander has already tied his career high in wins and his ERA is over a run lower than his previous career best. He has won his last 7 starts and gotten hot at the right time for a Tigers team that is locked in a tight AL Central with the Indians and White Sox. To put the icing on the cake, Verlander has an outside shot to win 25 games which hasn't been done since Bob Welch won 25 in 1990.
Other Candidates: Jered Weaver, C.C. Sabathia, C.J. Wilson

Rookie of the Year: Mark Trumbo, 1B, Angels- The AL leader in home runs and RBIs among rookies has helped keep the Angels offense afloat while much bigger names such as Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells have endured a season-long struggle. Only downside is I'm sure Trumbo would have loved to see Mike Napoli stick around instead of deciding to have a career year for division rival Texas. Nonetheless, it appears as if Trumbo will run away with the award, no matter how the Angels end up finishing the season.
Other Candidates: Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, Jeremy Hellickson

Comeback Player of the Year: Jacoby Ellsbury, CF, Red Sox- After appearing in just 18 games in 2010, Ellsbury has returned with a bang. He is hitting .312 with a career-high 22 homers and a career-high 79 RBIs to go along with 34 stolen bases. Those numbers also make him a prime MVP Candidate, especially given that he is the leadoff hitter for arguably the best lineup in baseball. You will get to see more and more of #2 as his Red Sox are nearly a lock for the postseason.
Other Candidates: Bartolo Colon, Josh Beckett, J.J. Hardy

Manager of the Year: Manny Acta, Indians- Back in March if you had told someone that the Indians would contend in the AL Central well into August, that person would have likely admitted you to the nearly mental institution. Instead, despite injuries to Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo, not to mention Choo's DUI arrest, the Tribe remain a team to watch as we enter the final month of the season. Asdrubal Cabrera has produced more than anyone ever expected and big contributions from rookies Josh Tomlin, Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall have Acta in line to win this race in a landslide and be the recipient of a possible extension.

Other Candidates: Mike Scioscia, Joe Maddon