Toronto Blue Jays to finish second and third in MVP vote

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Marcus Semien had impressive years for the Toronto Blue Jays. Unfortunately, it will not matter in the AL MVP vote.

Both Guerrero and Semien were named as finalists for the MVP award. However, they are joined by Shohei Ohtani, who is essentially considered to be a lock to take home the hardware.

Toronto Blue Jays teammates battle to finish second in MVP race

In a normal season, both Guerrero and Semien would have a solid case to win the award. The problem is that Ohtani literally put together a historic season on multiple fronts. He was a transformative figure with the bat and on the mound, showing that he can completely change the game when healthy.

Ohtani’s stellar season takes nothing away from Guerrero and Semien. Guerrero posted an impressive .311/.401/.601 batting line in his 698 plate appearances, leading the majors with 48 homers and 123 runs scored. He ranked fourth in the AL with 6.8 bWAR while finally having that breakout season everyone had been waiting for.

Semien rated even better, finishing third with 7.2 bWAR. He posted a .265/.334/.538 batting line in his 724 plate appearances, hitting 45 homers and 39 doubles while stealing 15 bases. Semien also converted to second base, where he saved 11 runs en route to winning the Gold Glove award.

Those seasons were certainly impressive and deserving of consideration for the MVP award. They just happened to come in the same year when Ohtani fulfilled his potential, becoming the prohibitive favorite to win. This leaves Guerrero and Semien to battle for second place.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Marcus Semien had impressive seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays. However, they are left to battle for second in the MVP vote.