2018 AL MVP race

[Troll Daddy]

This year should be interesting as always 

Trout

Gregorius 

Betts

Judge

Cabrera

Altuve 

Correa

Machado

? Sleepers

 

[Troll Daddy]

I’m thinking Gregorius is in the lead with Trout not far behind. 

[Dick B Back]

I agree with the first 3 in no particular order. 

[Troll Daddy]

1 minute ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

http://www.espn.com/mlb/war/leaders/_/type/seasonal/year/2018

I don’t see WAR being a factor at all ... the great players will all post high on WAR. 

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

Every year there are 2 or 3 players challenging for the MVP title. Every year it's a different player and Trout except for the first 2 years it was Trout and Cabrera. Trout has been in the conversation every year since his rookie season.

[tdawg87]

29 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

I don’t see WAR being a factor at all ... the great players will all post high on WAR. 

But do you see why it would be useful then? 

[zenmaster]

The MVP award is a joke. They don't like to give it to the same player too often so each year a new name gets picked (for the most part). Then once a nice time frame has passed, they might go back around to giving it to someone who already won 1.

[Angel Oracle]

It is an even numbered season.   Just sayin.

[Troll Daddy]

41 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

But do you see why it would be useful then? 

Useful as a quick reference guide only

[Angel Oracle]

Gregorius 

Betts

Trout

Machado

Judge

[Troll Daddy]

Can Ohtani sneak into this race as a two way player 

[Taylor]

Gregorius won't still be in the conversation by the end of the season.

[stormngt]

8 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

I’m thinking Gregorius is in the lead with Trout not far behind. 

I am kind of curious why you feel this way.  Does he have a better WAR than Trout? Does the Yankees have a better record?

[IEAngelsfan]

Isn't it a little early to be talking about the MVP?

[Angel Oracle]

25 minutes ago, stormngt said:

I am kind of curious why you feel this way.  Does he have a better WAR than Trout? Does the Yankees have a better record?

Gregorius has put up stupid numbers in March/April for a SS, and isn't bad in the field either.

[HeavenlyHalos]

2 hours ago, Taylor said:

Gregorius won't still be in the conversation by the end of the season.

Agreed... He's playing out of his mind right now, meaning he is likely due for some major regression given his career numbers.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gregodi01.shtml

[AngelsLakersFan]

#narrative 

[JustATroutFan]

All of these guys outside of Trout MAY fall off big time soon.

I can't trust any of these guys who have played way above their career numbers, outside of Judge.  Miggy won't win MVP unless he has an out of this world season with the bat. Tigers are not going anywhere and Miggy doesn't play good defense or steal bases.

[Second Base]

You have to consider staying power, and how competitive a team is...

1. Machado won't get it because he'll play for a losing team for most of the season before getting traded. If it's an NL team, he definitely won't be in it.

2. Didi doesn't have staying power. He's just got right now.

3. Judge, I kind of feel like pitchers began making adjustments to him last year. His second half was a significant drop off and I can see that happening again.

4. I think Cabrera's time as an MVP has passed, though I still think he's a productive bat. Sort of like when we signed Pujols. He wasn't an MVP anymore but was still a good bat at the time.

I see this one coming down to the Angels, Sox and Astros.

Trout is the front runner, meaning if he's healthy he'll win, pretty much a guarantee.

Then there's Altuve, Correa and Betts. All three are great, just not once in a lifetime great at age 26 like Trout is.

Then the dark horses, Shohei Ohtani and Andrelton Simmons. If Ohtani keeps hitting and settles into a groove on the mound, he very well could be a 6-7 win player. And Andrelton is clearly the best defensive player in baseball, but right now he's looking like he's reaching his offensive ceiling. Hitting for more power than ever, hitting for average and getting on base. He might be a 7 win player as well.

[Troll Daddy]

11 minutes ago, JustATroutFan said:

All of these guys outside of Trout MAY fall off big time soon.

I can't trust any of these guys who have played way above their career numbers, outside of Judge.  Miggy won't win MVP unless he has an out of this world season with the bat. Tigers are not going anywhere and Miggy doesn't play good defense or steal bases.

Machado is my pick to make it interesting  ... his name alone will carry value into the voting . 

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Troll Daddy said:

Machado is my pick to make it interesting  ... his name alone will carry value into the voting . 

I just kind of feel like guys that play on losing teams face an uphill battle. I mean Trout didn't win it a few different times despite deserving it simply because the Angels weren't a playoff team. 

And that's far and away the best player in the game. Machado is good, but he's no Trout, so I don't think he can convince voters to look past that.

Plus, if he's traded to an NL team, it won't matter what his numbers are. Like with JD Martinez last year. Played well enough to be in the conversation in both leagues. Didn't get it.

[Sherlock31]

1 hour ago, Troll Daddy said:

Machado is my pick to make it interesting  ... his name alone will carry value into the voting . 

No he won't, unless he gets traded to a winning team.

[Troll Daddy]

56 minutes ago, Sherlock31 said:

No he won't, unless he gets traded to a winning team.

I didn’t say he was going to win but switching to his natural position is a plus for him. There’s a lot of competition this season.