Handing out my midseason awards

1. Lance Berkman, Houston 2. Chipper Jones, Atlanta 3. Chase Utley, Philadelphia 4. Hanley Ramirez, Florida 5. Albert Pujols, St. Louis 6. Dan Uggla, Florida 7. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego 8. Pat Burrell, Philadelphia 9. David Wright, New York 10. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco

Bottom line: Houston doesn't qualify as a legitimate contender, so Berkman's spot on the top of the list speaks to the elite quality of his season. He has a shot at becoming the first switch hitter with 400 total bases, and the first hitter to do so since steroid testing. Utley, though, remains the most likely to win the award, especially if he winds up breaking the home-run record for second basemen (43), and does so for a division champion.

1. Carlos Quentin, Chicago 2. Josh Hamilton, Texas 3. J.D. Drew, Boston 4. Grady Sizemore, Cleveland 5. Alex Rodriguez, New York 6. Ian Kinsler, Texas 7. Milton Bradley, Texas 8. Mariano Rivera, New York 9. Jermaine Dye, Chicago 10. Brian Roberts, Baltimore

Bottom line: Don't be surprised if A-Rod winds up winning again, but he will have to pick up his awful numbers with runners in scoring position (.243, with more strikeouts than hits, including .207 with two outs). Quentin has been a beast for the Sox with runners in scoring position (.368, including .348 with two outs). The three Rangers candidates all have the Ballpark in Arlington effect working against them; Hamilton (+92), Kinsler (+97) and Bradley (+96) all have hit for much higher averages at home than on the road.

1. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco 2. Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati 3. Dan Haren, Arizona

Bottom line: A very close race to call between the strikeout leader (Lincecum) and the ERA leader (Volquez). How amazing is Lincecum? Since his debut on May 6, 2007, he has won 73 percent of his decisions (16-6) while all other Giants pitchers have won 39 percent (75-118).

1. Cliff Lee, Cleveland 2. Justin Duchscherer, Oakland 3. Mariano Rivera, New York

Bottom line: Lee (11-1, 2.34) is second in ERA, third in WHIP and first in strikeout-to-walk ratio. Duchscherer has a sub-2 ERA in AL, something only Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens and Ron Guidry have done in the DH-era over a full season. But look out for Rivera if they stumble, because he's having an Eckersley-kind of season, with more saves than baserunners allowed.

1. Geovany Soto, Chicago 2. Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta 3. Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago

Bottom line: Jurrjens is having a strong season, but it's too hard to overlook a catcher who leads all rookies in OPS -- for a first-place team.