MLB Awards: 3 Finalists for AL MVP

Lorenzo Cain

• Team: Kansas City Royals
• Position: CF
• Key Stats: .307/.361/.477, 16 HRs, 72 RBIs, 28 SBs

Lorenzo Cain, the 29-year-old who turns 30 in April, was a late bloomer, and didn’t officially become the Royals everyday starting center fielder until the middle of 2013. Cain officially burst onto the scene last season where he put together a breakout year, and was the driving force behind the Royals’ best overall fielding percentage in the AL. He extended his coming out party well into October when he was named the ALCS MVP against the Orioles and helped push KC through the Wild Card Game, Divisional Series and Championship Series with a perfect 8-0 record.

In 2015, he made his first All-Star team, and was officially calculated to be worth 7.2 WAR this season. Since become the starter, Cain has never had a dWAR below 2.3 – 2.7 in ’13, 2.8 in ’14 and 2.3 this year – and contributed such a rangy presence that it’s questionable how he hasn’t won a Gold Glove, yet. He entered this season at No. 9 on MLB.com’s top 10 center fielder list. It’s safe to say that Cain’s 2015 performance, both in the regular season and postseason, has vaulted him much higher on that list than he initially was.

Regardless of where Cain goes from here, the last two seasons he has arguably been one of the 10 most important players in baseball. He’s easily been KC’s most valuable player, especially on a balanced team where there is no clear cut first choice definition of “valuable player.” Hell, this iteration of the 2013-15 Kansas City Royals may not have a future Hall of Fame player on the roster. He surely isn’t a Hall of Famer, but he’s one of the AL’s most valuable players. The question is: was he the most valuable?