Seven weeks remain in the 2016 Major League Baseball season, so while we’ve seen the majority of the season played, there’s still a lot of baseball to go. It’s a fun point to discuss how the individual awards races might shape up, so let’s do that.

Before we dive in, let’s point out that these aren’t our predictions or even necessarily how we would vote. It’s a snapshot of where things stand, and we’re making subjective judgments on how the vote could turn out based on recent historical voting tendencies.

As for the chronically ill-defined Manager of the Year award, it goes to the manager whose team positively defies expectations to the greatest extent, overcomes various obstacles en route to contention, or improves significantly relative to the prior season. With those general principles in mind, let’s power rank the NL Manager of the Year hopefuls with seven weeks left in the season.

1. Dusty Baker, Nationals

Dusty Baker has the Nationals competing for a title in his first season. USATSI

Last season, the Nats had lofty expectations and were the heavy World Series favorites coming into the season. In the end, though, Matt Williams displayed ham-fisted leadership and the team stumbled to 83 wins. Along the way, the team endured quite a bit of clubhouse (and dugout) strife. At times, Williams seemed to identify just the right button to push with regard to an individual player … and then smash the keyboard with both fists.

Baker, needless to say, has developed a defter touch over the years. As for the on-field results, the Nationals right now have a hefty 8 1/2-game lead in the NL East and are on pace for 96 wins, or a 13-game improvement over 2015. Baker, meantime, is trying to win the NL Manager Year Award for the fourth time. Right now, he’s in line to do just that.

2. Don Mattingly, Marlins

In his first season in Miami, Mattingly has the Marlins in the mix for an NL wild-card berth and on pace for a 13-game improvement over 2015. If the Marlins wind up in playoff position despite the likely season-ending injury to Giancarlo Stanton, then Mattingly will likely win the award for the first time in his career (he was runner-up in 2013 with the Dodgers).

These two managers may meet in the Wild Card Game. USATSI

3. Dave Roberts, Dodgers

Roberts of course replaced Mattingly as manager of the Dodgers, so how about that for symmetry of a kind? In Roberts’ case, it’s not about leading his team to year-over-year improvement — right now, L.A. is on pace for 91 wins versus 92 wins in 2015. Rather, it’s about the undue share of injuries that they’ve had to overcome under Roberts.

Per ManGamesLost.com, the Dodgers at the individual-player level this season have lost more than 1,300 games to the disabled list. Second are the Athletics with 1,249. At various points, Roberts’ club has had a full major-league rotation on the DL, and core outfielder Andre Ethier has yet to register a single plate appearance in 2016. Ace of all aces, Clayton Kershaw hasn’t made a start since June 26 because of back problems and likely won’t be back before September. Still and yet, Roberts has his patchwork roster in first place in the NL West.

4. Joe Maddon, Cubs

Will Joe Maddon win the award for the second straight season? USATSI

Maddon’s club won 97 games a season ago and made it to the NLCS, and they did so with a young-ish, generally pre-peak roster. Over the winter, the Cubs were one of the most active clubs when it comes to acquiring talent on the market, and they of course fortified the bullpen leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline. Maddon’s also coming off a 2015 campaign in which he won the NL Manager of the Year Award, and only one manager — Bobby Cox in 2004-05 — has ever won back-to-back awards. So those things are working against Maddon. The prevailing reality, though, is that Maddon, despite playing in the still tough NL Central, has the Cubs on pace for a whopping 103 wins. That alone puts him in the mix.

Also in the mix: Bruce Bochy, Giants; Pete Mackanin, Phillies; Walt Weiss, Rockies