With only 6 weeks to go in the MLB season there are 5 players who could make a case for the MVP award. They are as follows: Josh Hamilton, Robinson Cano, Carl Crawford, Adrian Beltre and Miguel Cabrera. Some of have a better shot then others but if you want to know which players they are you will have to read to find out.
Carl Crawford: Crawford is already on his way to a career year as his triple slash of .303/.354/.487 suggests. He isn't walking as much as his 7.2 BB% shows but over his career that number has never been very high. His career high is 7.6% which he posted last year. He's striking out in 17.3% of his at-bats which isn't very bad at all. His ISO is at a career high .184 this year which isn't amazing but Crawford isn't a very big power hitter at all. His BABIP is pretty high, .336 to be exact but don't expect that to go down anytime soon. His career BABIP is .330 and you contribute that to is incredible speed. Crawford also has a very solid .373 wOBA. The main reason he should be an MVP candidate is how stellar he is on defense. His UZR so far this year is 22.1, the highest it's been in his career. Throughout his career Crawford has been very steady on defense. He has a WAR of 5.6 which is already a career high for him. If he continues to perform at this place, he should be in contention for the award until the end.
.305/.364/.452 39 66 RBI 14 HR 39 SB 5.6 WAR
Miguel Cabrera: Cabrera is trying to become the first player since Carl Yastrzemski won the triple crown back in 1967. Cabrera has a triple slash line of .340/.433/.649, all career highs. Cabrera is being much more patient this year as his BB% is 14%. His K% is also fairly low, 17.1% to be exact. His ISO this year is insane, it currently sits at .309. You just don't see that nowadays. He has a .348 BABIP which is the exact same as last year. Don't expect it to go down much as he has a .346 ISO over his career. Cabs wOBA this year is also crazy, it sits at .447 which is even higher then last years MVP Joe Mauer. Cabrera's WAR is 5.4 which is very solid. While Cabrera makes a strong case for MVP he won't win it unless Detroit can do what Minnesota did last year.
.340/.433/.649 100 RBI 31 HR 5.4 WAR
Josh Hamilton: Hamilton is just having a MONSTER year this year to say the least. He is batting .365 with a .405 OBP as well as a .618 SLG. He doesn't walk much, only 7.2% of the time but he doesn't strikeout all that often either, only 19.1% of the time. While his ISO isn't as high as Cabrera he is still mashing. His ISO is .265. His BABIP is at .391 which is insane, that could go down somewhat but it shouldn't take a huge dive at all. He also has a very respectable .439 wOBA so far on the year. Hamilton's D is also respectable so far this year, he's posting a 5.8 UZR. Nobody will catch Hamilton in terms of WAR this year, he's already at a 6.6. Hamilton should win this award, if he doesn't it's a damn shame. Texas should be bringing home the CY Young and MVP this year.
.315/.372/.540 81 RBI 26 HR 6.6 WAR
Adrian Beltre: Beltre has been having an outstanding season this year after a very poor season last year. He is having one of his better years in a Red Sox uniform posting a .327 average, .367 OBP and a .567 SLG. His ISO is at .240 which is at it's highest since his monster 2004 year when it was at .294. His BABIP is somewhat high as it sits at .342, his career BABIP is .294 so a decrease in his BABIP wouldn't be surprising at all. His wOBA is at his highest since his 2004 when it was .424. This year it's at .399. His WAR sitis at 5.4 which is the second time he's been above 5. The other time? You guessed it, 2004 when it was 10.1. Despite all his errors his UZR has been a decent 9.2 While I don't expect Beltre since I don't think Boston won't make the playoffs crazier things have happened.
.327/.367/.567 84 RBI 23 HR 5.7 WAR
Robinson Cano: Since his hot first half it seems like Cano has cooled off a bit, specifically in August. Still, Cano is a top candidate to win the MVP. His average sits at .325 while his OBP and SLG are at .387 and .566 respectively. Cano hasn't been one to strikeout much as his 11.8 K% shows. He also doesn't walk a ton, only 8.5% this year. His ISO is at the highest it's ever been at in his career, .241, The next closest would be .199 which he posted last year. His BABIP is at .326, last year it was .324 so don't expect it change too much. Cano has gone past the .400 in terms of wOBA for the first time in his career. As of today it sits at .402. His UZR is 3.2 but being at 2B I would assume he doesn't have a ton of tough plays versus someone who plays OF. His WAR is at 5.8 which is at the highest point in his career. Cano should be an MVP candidate while in his prime, this year could be the year but with Hamilton so hot I doubt it.
.325/.387/.566 78 RBI 24 HR 5.8 WAR
Who I think should win:
1. Josh Hamilton
2. Miguel Cabrera
3. Robinson Cano
4. Carl Crawford
5. Adrian Beltre
Who I think will win:
1. Josh Hamilton
2. Robinson Cano
3. Carl Crawford
4. Miguel Cabrera
5. Adrian Beltre
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