MLB: American League’s Top Five First-Half MVP’s
The All-Star break is here and that means lots of chatter about who will take home the first-half Awards. We take a look at the top five first-half MVP’s in the American League.
The American League may not be full of tight races, but is full of good teams. 11 out of the 15 teams will enter the All-Star break with a record of at least .500, compared to the National League’s eight.
In the East, the Red Sox and Blue Jays are just two games behind the first place Orioles. In the Central, Cleveland has a 6.5 game lead, but Detroit and Kansas City are never two teams to count out. And in the West, the Texas Rangers hold a 5.5 game lead on Houston, but Texas went skidding into the Break while Houston posted a 6-4 record.
Any one player could help their team rise in the standings or stay in a race…a player I would like to call an MVP. It seems recently that the term MVP has become convoluted and forgotten. It stands for the MOST Valuable Player; which can mean most valuable to a team, a lineup, a rotation, or a win. Players who boast great stats and highlight reels, but play on losing teams clearly aren’t that valuable.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the first-half American League MVP’s.
Next: Just Missed the Cut
Just Missed the Cut:
Although these guys had stellar first-half performances, they just weren’t good enough to crack the top-five. But not to worry…we still have another half of the season for them to slip in there.
The White Sox have 45 wins this year,
owns 14 of those. He’s accounted for nearly one-third of his team’s wins. Thus making him a candidate for MVP. Sale has pitched 125 innings in his 18 starts. However, Sale just misses the cut due to being a pitcher.
Next: #5 Ian Desmond
#5 Ian Desmond
From unwanted to AL All-Star, Ian Desmond has proven to be a major pickup for the Texas Rangers. The team’s best hitter is boasting a .322/.375/.524 slash line. He has 15 home runs, 55 RBI’s, and has even swiped 15 bags on the year.
Desmond is as valuable as they come for the Rangers. He welcomed a position change to the outfield, something most players would need time to adjust to, like the 2015 Hanley Ramirez. Desmond has put up a .971 fielding percentage while committing just six errors. Not only did he switch to the outfield, but he is even playing two positions. He’s played 62 games in center, arguably the toughest outfield positon, and 29 in left.
On top of that, Desmond leads the league in Win Probability Added (WPA). This stat measures how important each play the player made was to the outcome of the game. Desmond has a WPA of 4.07, a full .58 points higher than the second best on that list.
Desmond has been a constant in the lineup as well. The AL’s best team has played 90 games; Desmond has started in 87 of those. There’s a reason that Texas is in first place in the West, and Ian Desmond has a lot to do with that. He only got a one-year deal out of Texas, but could potentially have a new center-piece trophy in his living room by the end of the year.
Next: #4 Xander Bogaerts
For a long time, the Boston Red Sox struggled to find a productive shortstop. After the departure of Nomar Garciaparra in 2004, the Red Sox used eight different Opening Day shortstops through 2013, until the X-Man took over the position in 2014. After three straight years of being the Opening Day starter, Bogaerts is proving why he will be there for the foreseeable future.
For a majority of the first-half, Bogaerts lead the AL with hits, but now ranks second behind Jose Altuve who has just two more hits on the season. He is enjoying a newfound power surge with 10 home runs (he hit seven all last year) and 59 RBI’s.
He’s been a constant force in the lineup for the Red Sox. He has the fifth best Offensive WAR in the AL and the best on the team with a 3.6. He leads all AL shortstops in batting average, doubles, RBI’s, runs, hits, OBP, and OPS.
The Red Sox sit second in the AL East, and have been one of the MLB’s best teams through the first-half. Most of that has to do with the new reliance of the youth movement, which Bogaerts is heading up. And now just three seasons after he took over the reins at short in Boston, he’ll be the starting shortstop for the AL on Tuesday in the All-Star game.
Next: #3 Manny Machado
Manny Machado has been a star in the MLB for a couple of years now, but now he finally has the team to back him up. His Baltimore Orioles currently sit in first place in the East, and have dominated the division with a 22-13 record.
Machado has been hitting above .300 since April 10 and leads his team in batting average, hits, doubles, OBP, and OPS. Machado has turned into one of the game’s best hitters, and is now reaping the benefits with a lineup that includes Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo.
He’s also been extremely flexible for the Orioles. For the past four years Machado has been the O’s go-to third baseman, but with an injury to J.J. Hardy he took over at short. Since the switch, Machado ranks in the top three in Defensive War at both third and short.
Machado is fueling the first place birds, and will even get a chance to help fuel the AL All-Stars as he’ll start at third base on Tuesday night.
Next: #2 Jose Altuve
#2 Jose Altuve
The 5’6 Venezuelan second baseman is flat out fun to watch. The face of the newly built Houston Astros is turning heads this year. He leads the MLB with in hits (119) and batting average (.341). He even has a ridiculous 41 to 37 walk to strikeout ratio. He’s also stolen 23 bases, good for second best in the AL and fourth best in the majors.
The last time a second baseman won an MVP was in 2008 when Dustin Pedroia took home the honors. Pedroia’s stats before the All-Star game looked like this: .314 BA, .357 OBP, 28 doubles, nine home runs, 47 RBI’s, and just a 9/35 walk to strikeout ratio. Altuve leads Pedroia in every offensive category besides hits and doubles.
Altuve has seen huge improvement in all part of his game, most notably in walks in base running. He’s clearly improving the play around him and acting as a veteran major leaguer on a young roster that has serious World Series potential.
Look for Altuve to come have serious consideration for the MVP trophy come the end of September.
Next: #1.....
The 2015 AL MVP will not be denied. Donaldson is following up his impressive 2015 campaign with an even better year in 2016.
Donaldson has improved his numbers in batting average, OBP, SLG percentage, home runs, RBI’s, walks, and triples from last years break to this year’s. He is literally crushing the stats that handed him the MVP trophy over Mike Trout from a season ago.
Donaldson is the best hitter on his team in a lineup that includes tons of power and pop from guys like Edwin Encarnacion. He is second in the MLB in WAR with a 5.35 rating, and is in contention for a triple crown.
Donaldson is carrying the Blue Jays more than he has in the past. Both Jose Bautista and Troy Tulowitzki are having major off-years at the plate, causing Donaldson to come through more often. He has 52.7 Runs above Replacement and 3.4 offensive wins above average, good for second best in the league.
Next: Right Time to Trade Puig?
The Blue Jays started off slow, but have turned things around. Now sitting in second in the East, Donaldson proves to be even more important to his team in the second-half…the perfect opportunity for him to seal the deal, and take home his second straight AL MVP trophy.