MLB Awards Watch: Kris Bryant carries the NL MVP flag

player. 63. <p>At the time of this post, Michael Fulmer ranks first in the AL in bWAR (4.3) among pitchers. Yes, you read that correctly. He ranks first (!) <em>overall</em>, and not just among rookies. That is how dominant Fulmer has been for a long stretch of time, and the young hurler also sets the pace with a 2.43 ERA over 18 starts and 111 innings pitched. For reference, Fulmer would solidly trail the likes of Corey Seager in an “MLB Rookie of the Year” race, but that doesn’t matter here, and he is the AL benchmark right now.</p>. SP. Detroit Tigers. Michael Fulmer. 1

Minnesota Twins. Max Kepler. 3. player. 2. <p>At 23 years old, Kepler got a very late start to his 2016 AL ROY campaign, but he is making the most of it. The talented outfielder leads AL rookies with 15 home runs and Kepler has needed only 262 plate appearance to amass that number. His defense hasn’t graded well to this point, but Kepler isn’t embarrassing in that regard, and with an OPS north of .850, average defense would be just fine.</p>. OF