There’s a lot of great baseball players that deserve consideration but the MVP race for both leagues is really heating up.
No matter who ends up taking home the award on both leagues, we’re really being traded to some great baseball and some out of this word individual performances. The American League is the hardest field to handicap and it seems like every night there’s a new front runner. This whole piece could stay just in the AL and it still wouldn’t fit in everyone that deserves some attention.
Seeing as how the National League will not be heavily featured, some players till deserve a quick mention so they aren’t overlooked. I might be the first time, but Freddie Freeman has fallen off the list. It’s not by much and he’s definitively still in the running. He’s also fallen off ever so slightly and other players are a little more deserving right now. One of them could be Nolan Arenado, but he will also not get a full nod as of today. That distinction is going to an N.L. West player, however. That player will be at number two on the list, not because he’s more valuable than anyone behind him. The first and second slides are reserved for the MVP winners if the season ended today.
5. Alex Bregman, Third Base/Shortstop for the Houston Astros
103 GP, .280 average, .386 OBP, .255 ISO, .394 wOBA, 22 HR, 70 RBI, 4.8 WAR
The Houston Astros have the best rotation in baseball but it would be interesting to see how they would stack up if Bregman wasn’t in the middle of a full-fledged breakout year. He may not get some of the attention he deserves because some will just look at the names on the roster and walk away. However, there’s two issues with that train of thought. The first is Mookie Betts and Jose Ramirez are going to get votes. They play with some pretty talented hitters and pitchers as well. The second is Bregman has been far and away the most well-rounded offensive player for the Astros all year long.
Jose Altuve has seen a sharp dip in many of his stats, including home runs, stolen bases, ISO, OPS and even batting average. He really hasn’t been the consistent force he was just a year ago. Carlos Correa has been limited has been limited to 73 total games. George Springer is in the same boat as Altuve, seeing a decrease in his statistics across the board. Bregman has been the consistent presence at the top of this lineup and he can play third, shortstop and second base. He even chips in a few stolen bases with eight on the season. Of all the American League candidates, he’s one of the only players that walks more than he strikes out. That’s a rare skill in these days and it’s hard to find a weakness in his game. The 24 year old is quickly turning into one of the premier players in all of baseball.