MLB awards watch: Bryce Harper rolls toward MVP
By John Buhler
2017 Most Valuable Players
American League
Mike Trout
CF, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Why did you have to wreck your thumb, dude? Mike Trout has been either an AL MVP or a runner-up since his first full season in the big leagues in 2012. Trout won AL MVP last year. He was on pace to do the same thing for an also-ran Angels team. A busted thumb will keep him out for several weeks.
It’s a shame really, as it’s not particularly close with who is the best player in the American League. Trout is hitting .337/.461/.742 with 16 home runs, 36 runs batted in and 36 runs scored. While Los Angeles is a below-.500 team, Trout’s WAR of 3.5 is jaw-dropping. Get well soon, Mike Trout’s thumb.
National League
Bryce Harper
OF, Washington Nationals
For some of us, we needed Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper to punch San Francisco Giants pitcher Hunter Strickland in the face just so we’d now that Harper is having another MVP caliber season in the nation’s capital. He’s so good, the MLB is only suspending him three games for charging the mound after Strickland randomly drilled him in the hip on Memorial Day.
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Harper is hitting .331/.443/.663 on the year with 15 home runs, 41 runs batted in and 44 runs scored. He has a WAR of 2.6 and Washington is the best team in the NL East. While Trout has probably lost his shot at winning 2017 AL MVP with that thumb injury, Harper should be in good shape to win his second NL MVP if Washington stays the course.