J.D. Martinez
Can you believe it took so long for J.D. Martinez to sign this past winter? Seriously, the free agent market was weird.
Safe to say now, Martinez has absolutely earned his payday with what could be the greatest season of his career.
Aside from his .327 average, he leads the AL in RBI (90) and total bases (254), while his 32 home runs are tied for first. With his incredible production, he’s matched that of his teammate, Mookie Betts.
That’s no small feat, and it’s a testament to Martinez’s impressive body of work over his career. He’s on pace to eclipse his 45 home runs and 104 RBI’s from last season by a lot.
Considering both players work this season, it’s difficult to pinpoint who exactly has been the more valuable player. Statistically speaking, Betts’ 6.9 WAR is way ahead of Martinez’s 4.7 mark. But, 32 home runs and 90 RBI’s by August is truly impressive.
In actual voting, Betts’ higher average and overall game will place him ahead of Martinez. But, you can count on the marquee addition getting a lot of first-place votes.