The Stew’s midseason look at MLB awards: MVP candidates
Editor’s note: This week The Stew is examining candidates for MLB’s three major awards. Next up: MVP
There’s a pretty good chance that the combined ages of the AL and NL MVPs this season is 45. Hello, youth movement in MLB. You know the two guys we’re talking about: Mike Trout and Bryce Harper.
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Baseball’s two young superstars won their rookie of the year awards concurrently in 2012 and now, three years later, they’re the frontrunners in their respective leagues for the MVP. It’s only the All-Star break, though, so neither is a lock.
Today we examine the contenders in each league, from Trout and Harper on down to the dark horses. A lot can change in a couple months, but as things stand right now, here’s how the races look:
AMERICAN LEAGUE
The Frontrunner: Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels)
He’s the best player in the game and he’s 23 years old, so the hard fact of the matter is, this award will default to Trout unless someone takes it from him. There was a chance this year, but at the moment, it’s hard to vote against Trout. He’s across-the-board great as usual — .312 with a 1.019 OPS, 26 homers and 55 RBIs. Without Miguel Cabrera around to challenge him (more on that in a sec) Trout could take home his second straight MVP.
In the conversation: Josh Donaldson (Toronto Blue Jays)
Donaldson, the leading vote-getter in All-Star voting, has been quite impressive in his first year with Toronto. He’s hit 21 homers, with a .293 batting average and 60 RBIs. He cooled off some in June and didn’t rebound sharply in July, hitting in the .260s both months. Still, for Donaldson, a lot of his MVP case depends on what happens from here, for both him and the Blue Jays. If he turns it back on and carries his team to the playoffs, there’s a strong case to be made.
The Question Mark: Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers)
Before he went down for six weeks with an injury, Miggy probably would have been the favorite here. The numbers are there: he leads the AL in both batting average and on-base percentage. The homers are down a bit (15, to go along with 54 RBIs), but the question is how he’ll return, when he’ll return and what kind of difference he’ll make for a stuck-in-the-middle Tigers team. Missing six weeks might be too much to overcome.
The Dark Horse: Manny Machado (Baltimore Orioles)
After two seasons that ended prematurely because of injuries, Machado is back and playing better than you probably realize. He’s the fourth best player in the AL right now, according to WAR and, like Donaldson, his fate here could be decided by whether Machado can lead his team out of the bizarro AL East and into the postseason.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
The Frontrunner: Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals)
He’s having a breakout season, playing of a division leader and has been the most productive player in all of MLB this season. This is Harper’s award to lose at this point. There are serious contenders, but Harper might be his own biggest competition. If he can stay healthy (remember, he’s been plagued by injuries in the past) and not slip up in the second half, it won’t be a surprise for the 22-year-old to win this award.
In the conversation: Paul Goldschmidt (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Here’s the best argument in favor of Goldschmidt. Take Harper away from the Nats and they’re still a pretty good team. Take Goldy away from Arizona and, uhhh, things aren’t pretty in the desert. The D-backs are 42-45, but without Goldschmidt, they be far worse off. He’s leading the NL in batting average, is tied for the MLB lead in RBIs, has 107 hits and, believe or not, has even stole 16 bases.
The Question Mark: Giancarlo Stanton (Miami Marlins)
Just like with Cabrera over in the AL, Stanton’s injury has changed the conversation here. He hasn’t played in June 26, but Stanton still leads in the NL in homers and is only three back in RBIs. Yep, that’s how well he was playing before. He’s 4-6 weeks of the season, which isn’t enough to totally kill his chances, but it won’t be easy.
The Dark Horse: Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants)
Quietly, Posey is having another great season for the Giants and given their ability to surprise us all, it’s not too hard to imagine a scenario where the Giants shift into hyper speed in the second half and Posey slides into the MVP conversation. He’s not putting up Harper/Goldschmidt numbers, but they’re still pretty darn good: .314 with 14 homers and 58 RBIs. You know, people have been wrong to count out the Giants before.
PREVIOUSLY: Rookie of the Year candidates | COMING FRIDAY: The Cy Young Candidates
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
