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MLB awards watch: American League MVP race

By William Schneiderhan

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 15: Joey Gallo #13 of the Texas Rangers gets high fives in the dugout after a solo home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Park in Arlington on April 15, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. All players are wearing the number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 15: Joey Gallo #13 of the Texas Rangers gets high fives in the dugout after a solo home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Park in Arlington on April 15, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. All players are wearing the number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – APRIL 17: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels bats in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington on April 17, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – APRIL 17: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels bats in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington on April 17, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

2. Mike Trout, OF Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

.317 BA, 6 HR (T-13th), 14 RBI (T-29th), 1.188 OPS (1st) and 2.1 WAR (1st).

Mike Trout owns stock in every MVP award race article across the country. Even if he’s a bit hampered with injury, he is still the best player in baseball.

This season, Trout lost some at-bats due to a minor groin injury, which is why some of his numbers are a bit lower than usual. He has gone through a bit of a slump while battling the injury too, as he is only hitting .240 over his last seven games, with two homers and eight RBI.

Regardless, Trout‘s overall body of work lands him at No. 2 on this list. Also, while his injury may have slowed him down a little, the pitchers pitching around him have affected his home run and RBI totals. He leads the whole MLB with 24 walks and .522 OBP.

Yes, you read that correctly: Trout has been getting on base in over half of his plate appearances. Most of his numbers, traditional and Sabermetric, are right around where they usually are for the two-time MVP. However, his strikeout percentage has been lower than usual so far this season, which doesn’t bode well for opposing pitchers if he can continue this trend.

In the field, Trout is on pace to have one of his better seasons since 2012 when he had 19 defensive runs saved (DRS). He has five DRS in 2019, after he had eight last season.

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