Padres: Wil Myers and Jake Cronenworth up for much-deserved awards

Wil Myers and Jake Cronenworth are the Padres’ representatives for Comeback Player of the Year and NL Rookie of the Year, respectively.

If you recall, in our year-end team awards, Wil Myers and Jake Cronenworth were our Comeback Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year for the Padres, respectively. And it appears that is also the case for the MLBPA.

Myers, 29, had an outstanding season in San Diego, leading the team with a .959 OPS and smacking two grand slams. He’s been with the team since 2015, signing a six-year contract extension after the 2016 season. He earned his first All-Star select that year, but the last two years have not been kind to the former Royals’ farmhand.

It was widely known that he and former Padres’ manager Andy Green didn’t always see eye-to-eye. Under Jayce Tingler, Myers flourished to 15 HR and 40 RBI in 55 games. He’s up against Daniel Bard and Adam Duvall.

Bard, 35, was outstanding for the Red Sox earlier in his career, but injuries derailed his time in MLB. He bounced back with the Rockies this season, posting a 3.65 ERA with 6 saves while fanning 27 in 24.2 innings. Duvall, 32, was drafted in the 11th round by the SF Giants. He spent a number of years in the Reds’ organization.

He hit a combined .195 in 2018 and .267 last year. But in the shortened season, Duvall hit 16 HR with 33 RBI in 57 games while batting .237. Of the three, Myers likely has the best chance to win.

As for Cronenworth, he made the most of his playing time when Eric Hosmer went on the injured list. He became an everyday player, leading the league with 15 doubles. The 26-year-old was part of the Tommy Pham trade this offseason, finally getting his chance in Major League Baseball. In all, he posted a .285/.354/.477 line with 4 HR and 20 RBI in 54 games.

He’s up against some stiff competition in Milwaukee’s Devin Williams and Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm. The former was excellent in the Brewers’ bullpen, posting an absurd 0.33 ERA in 22 appearances. Bohm was the third overall pick in 2018, and he posted a .338/.400/.481 line with 11 doubles, 4 HR, and 23 RBI in 44 games.