End Of July Baseball AwardsNational League MVP: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies. I realize that with Albert Pujols chasing a triple crown, Utley's unlikely to get the nod, but a second baseman with 23 homers and 70 RBI at the end of July is pretty compelling. And his performance the last three years shows this is no fluke.
National League Cy Young: Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants. I never heard of him before this either, but he's 10 games above .500, and leading the league in ERA.
Team to Beat: Still the Dodgers, although the Phillies are closing fast.
AL MVP: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins. A fine player who already has a MVP trophy on his mantle.
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers. Slightly better ERA and many more strikeouts than Josh Beckett. I still like Zack Greinke a lot, but he's not getting any support from the Royals, and that's not likely to change.
Team to Beat: The Yankees have the best record in the league and they've been on fire lately.