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MLB power rankings: Ranking the top 10 2022 MVP candidates

By Noah Yingling

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 07: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees watches his fourth inning home run against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium on September 07, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 07: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees watches his fourth inning home run against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium on September 07, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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José Ramírez, Guardians
CLEVELAND, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 02: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Guardians runs out a fly ball for an out during the eighth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Progressive Field on September 02, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Mariners defeated the Guardians 6-1. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

MLB is the only major North American sport that awards two MVP awards (one for each league) and in 2022, it is definitely warranted.

Unlike nearly all major sports, MLB has two MVP awards as there is one for the American League and one for the National League. In 2022, there are some clear favorites in both leagues. In the AL, there are two clear front-runners and in the NL, there is a front-runner with some other players that are fairly close to him.

Here are our power rankings for all of the MVP candidates in MLB for the 2022 season.

All stats are current entering play on Thursday, September 8

2022 AL and NL MVP power rankings

10) Astros outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Álvarez

Yordan Álvarez has been one of the best offensive players in the sport for the best team in the American League: the Houston Astros.

He is hitting .289 with a .393 on-base percentage (third in the AL) and a .581 slugging percentage, which is also third in the AL. His 31 home runs are fourth in the league and his 82 RBI are sixth in the AL. He has an OPS+ of 176, which is second-best. He’s not higher on our list because the NL has some really great candidates, he has missed some time due to injury (18 games total), and he has almost exclusively been a DH.

That’s part of the reason why his fWAR is 4.7, which is seventh among position players in the AL.

9) Guardians third baseman José Ramírez

Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez has been one of the best players in the American League in recent years. He has been a finalist in AL MVP voting for three of the last five seasons and he came in sixth place in voting in one of the other seasons as well. This year is no exception to his excellence.

He is hitting .277 with a .349 OBP and a .527 slugging percentage, the latter of which is sixth in the AL. He has 26 home runs and 108 RBI, which is already a career-high and is second-highest in the AL. He also is leading the league with 39 doubles and he has 14 stolen bases.

His fWAR is 5.3, which is third-highest among position players in the AL.

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