With how this season has gone, Most Valuable Player can really go to any of the candidates that will be mentioned and talked about down below. With less than an eighth of the season left, it’s time to break down how each of these players have had an MVP season.
AL MVP:
Mike Trout, Angles OF
Even though the Angels never seem to capture a playoff spot, it seems as if Mike Trout always knows how to put on a clinic for the Angels fans to keep them entertained and rooting for the Angels. This season the Angels are 64-71. With this record, they are currently in 9th place for the AL Wild Card and are in 4th place in the AL West. Trout has missed 16 games due to a repetitive calf injury and back soreness, but still has managed to put up ridiculous numbers.
Through 126 games, Trout has one of his highest OBP through his 9 year career, standing at .436. With him being one of the toughest guys to pitch to, Trout has also put together a batting average of .293, along with 131 hits, 43 home runs, and 100 RBIs. He has also hit triple digits in runs scored at 104, making him 3rd overall in the league in that category.
What Trout needs to do to win: Trout is already 3rd overall in the runs category behind Red Sox OF Mookie Betts (118) and Red Sox 3rd Baseman Rafael Devers (111). I believe if Trout can get that batting average above .300 and can take the lead in AL RBIs, then he should secure the lead, as he is already expected to hit 50 home runs or more.
Rafael Devers, Red Sox 3B
What a surprise this 22-year-old third baseman has been. At the beginning of the season Rafael Devers was projected all the way down at #30 for position ranking throughout the whole MLB. Now with 26 games remaining, Devers is the best third baseman in the league, ranked overall at #1. Now reading this, you’re probably thinking, the Red Sox are not in playoff contention at all, how did Devers make this list? Rafael has been the main reason for the success the Red Sox have managed to get this season.
Devers has been a machine at the plate this season and has turned into the guy that you don’t want to pitch to in the Red Sox lineup. He is almost leading the league in every category as he leads in hits (174), total bases (314), doubles (48) for other categories he is 3rd overall in the league for RBIs (104) behind NL sluggers Freddie Freeman (107) and Josh Bell (106). Devers has also managed to keep a .326 batting average and is 2nd in runs (111) behind teammate Mookie Betts (118). He was also snubbed from the All- Star game, not getting voted in while leading the AL in batting average, hits and RBIs.
What Devers needs to do to win: Keeping up the pace he is on right now would be the key for him to win. If he keeps hitting the way he is, and keeps being the Red Sox RBI machine, then I believe he can secure the win. The second part for Devers to secure the MVP front runner would be if the Sox can go on a huge winning streak and take the top seed for the Wild Card. With the Red Sox holding at 72-62, they are currently sitting in the 3rd seed in the AL East behind the Yankees (88-47) and the Tampa Bay Rays (77-58).
DJ LeMahieu, Yankees 2B and 3B
If you think Rafael Devers was a surprise candidate above, then what’s going through your mind when you read DJ LeMahieu’s name on this list? Lemahieu has been the answer at the plate for the 1st place New York Yankees who hold a record of 88-47. Before the season started, though, the Yankees projected lineup was ranked 1st among the whole league as it consisted of Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton. Sadly, LeMahieu was not even in this projected starting lineup, but with all of the injuries that have happened to Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, and 1st Base slugger Luke Voit, LeMahieu got his chance to shine -- and he has taken major advantage of it.
LeMahieu is leading in only a couple of the many categories, but that includes one of the most important ones - his.335 batting average leads the league. He is 3rd overall in base hits (167) sitting behind Kansas City Royals All-Star Whit Merrifield (172) and one of the other MVP candidates, Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers (174). The other category LeMahieu has managed to hold onto the lead for is Singles (115). He was not supposed to have a huge year stats wise, but his stats so far in this 2019 season have blown his 2016 batting champion season out of the water, and landed him a unanimous selection for the All-Star game.
What LeMaheiu needs to do to win: With the Yankees 11 games ahead of 2nd place Tampa Bay (77-58), LeMahieu looks to be a serious candidate for MVP. The way he has played this season has made New York the team to beat and have made them already clinch a playoff berth. What needs to happen, though, is for LeMaheiu to keep the lead in each of the categories he is leading, but if he could go pass Devers in hits and drive in around 15-17 more RBIs, LeMahieu could find himself in the end with an MVP in addition to a World Series to add to his resume.
NL MVP:
Cody Bellinger, Dodgers CF
The Dodgers are coming off an amazing run last year with making the World Series, but sadly losing to the Red Sox, 4 games to 2. This really left some of the players in dispute and Bellinger was the main guy that really acted upon taking control and leading them back to the promised land to try and capture that elusive ring. Cody is having an amazing season for the Dodgers. With his bat in the lineup, the Dodgers are sitting 1st in the NL West with a record of 88-48. Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts said “ Even though everyone can say it has been mainly a story of the pitching and everyone hitting, the team stands behind Bellinger, Cody Bellinger is our guy, our clutch hitter, the bat we have needed this whole time.”
Bellinger is leading a few categories throughout the NL, as he is tied for the lead in Total Bases (304), Home Runs (42), and Intentional Walks (17). He is right on the tail for the rest of the categories as he sits in 2nd in OBP behind Brewers slugger Christian Yelich (.425) with a .411 OBP. With Bellinger leading these categories, he trails behind in a couple others: 2nd in Runs Scored (104) behind Ronald Acuna (107), and 7th in RBIs (100) behind Braves First Baseman Freddie Freeman (107). With Bellinger destroying it at the plate with the rest of the Dodgers lineup, this looks like this could go down as Bellinger’s first breakout year and the Dodgers revenge tour.
What Bellinger needs to do to win: With the Dodgers 18 games ahead of the Diamondbacks, Bellinger sits in a comfortable place for the lead for MVP. What needs to happen, though, is for Bellinger to keep his lead in Home Runs while finding a way to land himself in the top 3 for RBIs in competition with Braves 1st Baseman Freddie Freeman (107) and Pirates slugger Josh Bell (106). WIth how things are going, the Dodgers are favorites to make the World Series, which makes Bellinger the top candidate for MVP.
Ronald Acuna, Braves CF
The Braves lived up to the hype this season, securing 1st place in the NL East. Leading the Nationals by 6.5 games, the Braves are sitting at 86-54, closing out the season only 4.5 games behind the Dodgers. The Braves have a solid lineup, but 22 year old Acuna has been a hitting machine all season. Leading the NL in At Bats (548) and Singles (102), he has been robbing teams all season as he also has stole 31 bases, making him the league leader overall.
As Acuna is leading the NL in these three categories, he is trailing behind only by a few slots as he is in 4th in Home Runs (36) behind his teammate Freddie Freeman (37), Reds 3rd Baseman Eugenio Suarez (38), Brewers slugger and MVP candidate Christian Yelich (41), and tied for first Mets rookie sensation Pete Alonso (42) and Dodgers MVP candidate Cody Bellinger (42). Acuna is also in the running for the RBIs leader as he is 6th, trailing the same players already mentioned above. The last category Acuna is leading and starting to run away with is Runs Scored (107), leading Cody Bellinger by three runs (104).
What Acuna needs to do to win: With Acuna leading the stolen bases category by two bases to Trea Turner (29), all that really needs to happen is Acuna needs to raise his Batting Average to above .300, as he is only batting .292 at the moment. Either take the lead in the Home Runs category or fall into 2nd at the least. Acuna needs to also take a spot in the top three in the RBI category and with him coming close to winning these categories, while keeping the lead in the ones he's already leading, Acuna sits either at the top of the MVP list or 2nd depending on what happens with the other two candidates. It would also help Acuna if the Braves managed to make up those 4.5 games and take the lead on the Dodgers as the number one team in the NL.
Christian Yelich, Brewers OF
Now, doesn’t back-to-back MVPs sound great when talking about Brewers slugger Christian Yelich? This could be the case when mentioning the Brewers slugger’s name in a conversation. The Brewers had an average MLB lineup until they traded for Yelich two off-seasons ago, and ever since this trade occurred, Yelich has been the new face of the Brewers organization and for the people of Milwaukee, besides NBA MVP Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Brewers are sitting at 72-68, making them the 3rd seed in the NL Central. They are currently 4 games behind the Chicago Cubs (76-64) and 6.5 games behind 1st place seed St. Louis Cardinals (79-62).
This season Yelich has been killing the stat sheet, as he is currently leading five different categories including Batting Average (.330), On-Base% (.425), Slugging % (.673), and On-Base Plus Slugging (1.097). In other categories Yelich is currently top 5 in most such as tied for 3rd for Stolen Bases (27) behind Nationals short- stop Trea Turner (29) and current MVP candidate Braves CF Ronald Acuna. For the other main categories, Yelich is in 3rd place for Home Runs behind Mets Rookie sensation Pete Alonso (45) and Dodgers slugger and MVP candidate Cody Bellinger (45).
What Yelich needs to do to win: With Yelich already putting the Brewers on his back for the second season in a row, Yelich will have to increase his game just a little more and give the Bewers a boost to either second or first place for the first part of this MVP award. The other part of this award falling back into Yelich’s hands would be him keeping the lead in the five categories he already leads in, but also taking the league in NL Home Runs to beat out Bellinger and Alonso. The biggest part, which could be a make-or-break deal for this award, is catching Acuna in Stolen Bases and stealing the lead from him, making him secure his 7th category total. If Yelich can pull this off, his elite gameplay for these categories could help the Brewers make a deep run into the playoffs -- and land Yelich his 2nd MVP of his career
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