David Huzzard: Which Nationals will bring home postseason awards?

Awards season is as much about stories as it is about the performance on the field. With the season drawing to a close, there is a lot of talk about the postseason awards and three Nats names come up consistently in Dusty Baker, Daniel Murphy, and Max Scherzer. Baker has a good chance at winning National League Manager of the Year. He took over a Nationals team that disappointed last season and was much healthier in 2016. How much credit his increased use of the bench deserves for that is up for debate, but he was at the helm of one of the most improved teams.

Manager of the Year is the hardest to predict in some seasons because it is all subjective. The Dodgers were also a much improved team and have a new manager. Those are the managers that tend to win the award and not truly the best manager in the game. The Cy Young and MVP awards are slightly different and are somewhat based on performance on the field.

Kris Bryant is going to win the NL MVP award. He hasn't been head and shoulders better than everyone like Bryce Harper was in 2015, but he's been great and plays for the best team in the National League. The MVP award is decided by many factors and it is hardly ever who the best player in the league was. It can go to the best player on the best team, the best offensive player, or be decided by a subjective measurement like who meant the most to their team. Murphy by OPS, WOBA, and wRC+ was the best offensive player in the NL and his offense has carried the Nationals, but that isn't enough to beat the All-American, handsome, possibly curse-breaking Bryant.

That leaves the Nationals' best chance at a postseason award in the hands of Scherzer and those are some capable hands. However you look at Scherzer he has had an impressive season. He wasn't able to throw a no-hitter this year (still could) but he did have a 20-strikeout game and leads the NL in strikeouts. His 2.82 ERA doesn't lead the NL, but it is impressive and put that together with his 217 1/3 innings over the NL ERA leader's 179 innings and that is significant. I've always been a big believer in starting pitchers going deep into games and Scherzer does that while shutting down the other team.

If you're into wins, Scherzer at 18-7 and possibly on his way to 20 wins gives a good look in that category as well and with Stephen Strasburg hurt Scherzer is the unquestioned ace of the Nationals. Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks are going to take votes away from each other, while if a voter is voting for a Nats pitcher they are voting for Scherzer. There is no sure thing until the envelope is opened in November but of the Nationals deserving of postseason awards, Scherzer has the best chance.

Had Trea Turner been called up sooner he'd deserve a mention as well for NL Rookie of the Year, but Corey Seager has been good for the entire season. Turner is an incredible, game-changing talent but he didn't get called up soon enough and will likely finish second along with Murphy and Baker while Scherzer gets to take home the Cy Young. There could be a couple surprises in there but if I were to bet on a National getting a postseason award my money would be on the man with dichromatic eyes.

David Huzzard blogs about the Nationals at Citizens of Natstown. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidHuzzard. His views appear here as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our pages. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our regular roster of writers.