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MLB Awards Watch: Greetings from Memorial Day

By Brad Rowland

May 30, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; A member of the U.S. Navy parachute team 'Leap Frogs' takes part in Memorial Day celebrations prior to the game between the New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; A member of the U.S. Navy parachute team 'Leap Frogs' takes part in Memorial Day celebrations prior to the game between the New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 25, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon (left) congratulates Ben Zobrist after scoring during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon (left) congratulates Ben Zobrist after scoring during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports /

NL MVP

  1. Clayton Kershaw, SP Los Angeles Dodgers – I don’t love this, but it’s the right move at the moment. Starting pitchers have to be phenomenal to earn top MVP honors, but Kershaw has a healthy lead over anyone in the NL in both fWAR (4.1) and bWAR (3.7) and he is carrying the Dodgers with his work on the mound. Make no mistake, it would not be difficult to argue against him, but a 1.56 ERA with phenomenal durability and peripheral numbers is a nice recipe for pitcher inclusion here.
  2. Ben Zobrist, 2B/RF Chicago Cubs – Someone from Chicago has to be represented here, and we’ll take Zobrist over the likes of Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant this time around. Zobrist leads the team in wRC+ at 168, and his slash line of .351/.452/.538 is comically impressive after Memorial Day. To be fair, Zobrist has never displayed the ability to keep up this type of level over a full season, but he is a lot of fun to watch right now, and the positional flexibility certainly helps.
  3. Daniel Murphy, 2B Washington Nationals – I don’t believe that Daniel Murphy is more valuable than Bryce Harper. With that said, Murphy leads the NL in wRC+ (179) while hitting nearly .400 and there is nothing “off” about including a player with a .395/.426/.621 slash line in an MVP discussion. Murphy’s .414 BABIP will inevitably cool off and he can’t match Harper’s power, but Washington has benefitted greatly from his early-season barrage and he deserves recognition for it.

Next: AL MVP

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