The MVP award is up this week. For last week’s Rookie of the Year review, click here. For the Cy Young review the week before, click here. Next week we’ll return to the Cy Young race. All stats are as of August 16th. The number in brackets represents a player’s ranking on the last review.
Both leagues have seen a major shakeup in MVP contenders. In AL, the surging Seattle Mariners have seen two players force themselves into the conversation. In the NL, however, season-ending injuries to Troy Tulowitzki and Paul Goldschmidt, and a bruised rib for Andrew McCutchen, have opened the door for Giancarlo Stanton to stake his claim.
AL
1. (1.) Mike Trout, CF, LAA: .292/.380/.566, 27 HR, 86 RBI, 81 R, 12 SB
Barely 23 years old, Mike Trout has clearly established himself as the best player in baseball. He is currently in the top five in the AL in OBP, slugging, home runs, runs scored, RBI, doubles and walks. His strikeout rate, however, is way up as he currently has 131 whiffs in 116 games, second in the American League after striking out 136 times over 157 games last season. Also of concern is his stolen base rate, as he has just 12 steals (albeit without having been caught) after swiping 49 and 33 in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Regardless, Trout’s power numbers are way up, which more than makes up the difference.
2. (-) Felix Hernandez, SP, SEA: 13-3, 1.95 ERA, 194 K, 180.1 IP, 0.86 WHIP
It takes an extraordinary season for a pitcher to win the MVP award, but that is exactly the sort of season King Felix is having. The last such pitcher was Justin Verlander in 2011. By comparison, Hernandez has a lower ERA, H/9 (a league-leading 6.1), BB/9, HR/9 and K/9 than Verlander did. Further, Hernandez has now gone an outrageous 16 straight starts of at least seven innings and no more than two runs allowed. Each start he makes from here on out will only push him closer to Trout for the MVP award.
3. (-) Robinson Cano, 2B, SEA: .330/.398/.476, 11 HR, 67 RBI, 61 R
It is a testament to Cano’s greatness that the line above represents a “down year” for the second baseman, and yet he is still one of the best players in the American League, posting the second best BA and highest OBP of his career. His power numbers are way down, as he is on a 16 home run pace after averaging 28 a season between 2009 and 2013, but his 150 OPS+ (which factors in league performance and ballpark adjustments, among other things) is actually the highest of his career. It isn’t quite the season we were expecting in his first year in Seattle, but it is a fantastic one nonetheless.
4. (2.) Michael Brantley, LF, CLE: .322/.380/.512, 17 HR, 78 RBI, 77 R, 13 SB
The month of May saw Michael Brantley, a solid if unspectacular player in his fourth season as a regular for the Indians, hit .345/.405/.564. Such months, even for a 27-year-old former top prospect, can often be meaningless, mere blips on the radar as even the worst hitter can have a hot streak. Alas, a hot streak in May turned into an equally good June, which ran into an excellent July and now Brantley, 117 games into a spectacular season, is clearly one of the best players in the American League.
5. (5.) Jose Abreu, 1B, CWS: .304/.361/.600, 31 HR, 89 RBI, 63 R
Amid a modest power outage in August (zero homers and a .319 slugging percentage), Abreu has nonetheless hit .333 with a .438 OBP since his last home run on July 29th. He no longer seems likely to break Mark McGwire’s rookie home run record of 49, set in 1987, but he is having a fantastic season all the same. He has the Rookie of the Year award all but in the bag, though he has a ways to go if he hopes to win the MVP.
Off the list –
3. Jose Altuve
5. Victor Martinez
NL
1. (4.) Giancarlo Stanton, RF, MIA: .293/.397/.562, 31 HR, 84 RBI, 76 R, 76 BB
The injuries to Troy Tulowitzki, Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew McCutchen, as well as eight home runs in the last three weeks, have brought Stanton up from a solid contender to the clear favorite in the NL MVP race. Stanton himself is no stranger to the injury bug as, through 122 games this season, already has the second most at-bats in his five year career. As such, he is very near his career highs in hits, runs, doubles, homers and RBI. He has also gone 10-for-11 on the base paths and has great plate discipline as he is leading the league in walks; though that number is aided by 20 intentional free passes.
2. (2.) Andrew McCutchen, CF, PIT: .311/.411/.536, 17 HR, 67 RBI, 64 R, 17 SB
The bad news is that McCutchen hasn’t played since August 3rd. The good news is that he is eligible to return in a few days and, while that may be unlikely, the injury does not appear to be serious and the Pirates expect him back very soon. On the season, McCutchen has been every bit as good, perhaps even a little better, than he was last year when he won the NL MVP award. His walk rate and power numbers have both improved and he has gone a stellar 17-for-18 in steals after having been caught at least 10 times in each of the previous four seasons.
3. (5.) Jonathan Lucroy, C, MIL: .304/.372/.485, 12 HR, 53 RBI, 58 R, 39 2B
Nobody expected the Brewers, who have sat atop the NL Central all season, to be a playoff contender. With about six weeks left in the season, however, they have one of the most complete teams in the majors, anchored by a dynamic offense. Lucroy is a fixture of that offense. The above line, combined with spectacular defense and a reputation for masterful pitch framing, a concept that is of increasing prominence in gauging a catcher’s defensive value, make Lucroy one of the most underrated players in the majors.
4. (-) Yasiel Puig, RF, LAD: .315/.398/.523, 13 HR, 59 RBI, 67 R
Puig has played approximately the same amount as he did last season, and the numbers are almost identical. Last year, he hit .319/.391/.534 and this year he is at .315/.398/.523. He has had a modest decrease in strikeouts (97 to 92) and major jump in walks (36 to 52). He has fewer homers (19 to 13), but his 32 doubles and 9 triples most certainly compensate. The only area in which Puig hasn’t shown modest improvement is as a baserunner, as he is a terrible 7-for-14 in stolen bases and is prone to mental lapses. If his improved plate discipline can translate onto the bases and into right field, where his cannon arm and acrobatic dives end disastrously as often as they help, he will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.
5. (-) Clayton Kershaw, SP, LAD: 14-2, 1.78 ERA, 163 K, 136.1 IP, 0.86 WHIP
The only thing keeping Kershaw this low on the list is having missed the entire month of April with a back injury. It boggles the mind to think that a player who has lead the league in ERA and WHIP each of the last three years, as well as strikeouts in two of three and won two Cy Young awards (with another second place finish) during that span has been not just better, but significantly so. His 1.3 BB/9 and 10.8 K/9 are easily career highs, and his 8.58 K/BB ratio is almost double his next best mark.
Off the list –
1. Troy Tulowitzki
3. Paul Goldschmidt
For more on sports injuries, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
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photo credit: Keith Allison via photopin cc
