Tony DeMarco

When the Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds announced a three-player deal last Dec. 21st, it raised a few eyebrows, but the word ‘blockbuster’ wasn’t exactly being thrown around.

But that deal could have the most impact in terms of postseason awards than any in memory. Edinson Volquez arguably was the best pitcher in the National League in the first half, and you can make a strong case for Josh Hamilton as the American League Most Valuable Player in the absence of a dominant performer on a likely playoff team.

Throw in minor-league pitcher Johnny Herrera, who went to the Reds along with Volquez, and you have a deal that has turned into an exchange of emerging stars, even though nobody knew it at the time. A look at the award winners after the first half:

AL MVP: Josh Hamilton, Texas. His comeback story keeps getting better, and now we’re talking about one of the best players in the game — not just one who beat the odds and chemical addiction that almost ruined his career before it got started.

Hitting cleanup in the game’s highest-scoring offense, Hamilton is the majors’ runaway leader in RBI. And his hitting instructor — highly respected Rudy Jaramillo — says Hamilton has more raw power than two of Jaramillo’s former pupils, Sammy Sosa and Juan Gonzalez.

NL MVP: Chase Utley, Philadelphia. That 0-for-24 slump he recently endured didn’t do enough damage to his candidacy, especially with no overwhelming numbers from anybody on other first-place teams.

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Those type numbers belong to Chipper Jones, who flirted with a .400 batting average, and Lance Berkman, whose exploits can’t come close to getting the Astros into the NL Central race. Hanley Ramirez, Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun have the best chances of knocking Utley from the top spot, depending on their teams’ second halves.

AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee, Cleveland. And you thought the Indians’ left-hander with the best chance for this award was last year’s winner, CC Sabathia. But he’ll be in Milwaukee for the rest of this season as a rent-a-player, while Lee has bounced back from an injury-filled down year with a dominant first half.

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But if Lee can’t sustain his numbers as the Tribe goes through a retooling period in the second half, this could be one of those rare years when a reliever — namely, Frankie Rodriguez, who’s heading for the single-season save record for the first-place Angels — wins the honor.

NL Cy Young: Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati: Brandon Webb leads the league in victories. Aaron Cook leads in innings pitched. Tim Lincecum leads in strikeouts and winning percentage. Ben Sheets leads in complete games.

But when it comes to dominant outings and impressive performances — not to mention the league’s best ERA and opponents’ batting average — the choice is Volquez. With mid-90s heat and a killer changeup, Volquez allowed two earned runs or less in his first 12 starts. And who says Great American Ballpark is a bandbox? Actually, everybody says that. But it isn’t when Volquez is on the mound, as his home ERA is 2.17.

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