Who is your (almost) Midseason AL MVP?

[MarshallCutler6]

Ill let you know my opinion a little later... If you put other please specify who.

[ChiSox22]

Davis or Miggy is a tough one...tigers 2 1/2 in front and o's are tied. So Davis I guess for now

[VWBUS1978]

it's tough to vote anything but Miggy.

[Birdland4]

hmm...I am very bias towards Davis being an Orioles fan. It is a very tight race - but since MLB The Show always picks MVP based on HR total, I say CRUSH DAVIS!!!

[tazzy13]

Cabrera without a doubt. Davis is having a career year; but Miggy is just too much.

[JustinVerlander07]

Miggy, but not by a lot.

[Birdland4]

Just curious, OP, what warrants Mauer to be the 3rd selection? MVP is way beyond batting average. Mauer is up there in AVG but he also has 26 RBI which is less than half of the other two. I would say Ortiz is a fair 3rd candidate. Just curious what theory was used for Mauer.

[JustinVerlander07]

Originally Posted by Birdland4

Just curious, OP, what warrants Mauer to be the 3rd selection? MVP is way beyond batting average. Mauer is up there in AVG but he also has 26 RBI which is less than half of the other two. I would say Ortiz is a fair 3rd candidate. Just curious what theory was used for Mauer.

RBI total should have zero effect on who is the MVP.

[bankdawg]

most valuable player

where would detroit be without cabrera. they probably still fend off those mighty indians.

where would orioles be without davis. WAYYY further back than 3.5 games.

my vote goes to Davis

[deltapi1049]

I thought it wasnt allowed to make a thread like this without Puig as an option. I heard he is in the running for 2013 NFL MVP as well.

[Birdland4]

Originally Posted by JustinVerlander07

RBI total should have zero effect on who is the MVP.

I disagree. I dont think it should be heavily weighed but my point was that there are a lot more categories than simply BA that should be weighed into the MVP discussion. And that is the only thing Mauer has that puts him near the top.

[clarkzac]

Originally Posted by Birdland4

I disagree. I dont think it should be heavily weighed but my point was that there are a lot more categories than simply BA that should be weighed into the MVP discussion. And that is the only thing Mauer has that puts him near the top.

What about OBP? Position? Defense? WAR? There are too many other factors in regards to RBIs that a player cannot control. A player is only able to get an RBI if he either a) hits a homerun and scores himself or b) players get on ahead of him.

[premium1981]

Gotta be Cabrera with Davis as a fairly close 2nd. Mauer isn't even close IMO.

[premium1981]

Originally Posted by bankdawg

most valuable player

where would detroit be without cabrera. they probably still fend off those mighty indians.

where would orioles be without davis. WAYYY further back than 3.5 games.

my vote goes to Davis

That is what it is called, but lets be real here. That has never been what the award is for. If so, the best players would never win. Technically a defensive catcher who knows how to call pitches could win. Or a clutch pinch hitter who has single-handedly won multiple games for a team. The most valuable part has to be thrown out the window, because that is not what this award is meant to be. Pick the best player and leave it at that.

[JustinVerlander07]

Originally Posted by Birdland4

I disagree. I dont think it should be heavily weighed but my point was that there are a lot more categories than simply BA that should be weighed into the MVP discussion. And that is the only thing Mauer has that puts him near the top.

If there was nobody on base for Davis, he'd have less than 30 RBI.

[jstasyk1121]

Originally Posted by bankdawg

most valuable player

where would detroit be without cabrera. they probably still fend off those mighty indians.

where would orioles be without davis. WAYYY further back than 3.5 games.

my vote goes to Davis

are you joking? your saying Miggys value so far is less than 2gms?? since you are saying they would still be in 1st without him?? wow...that is insane...

[jstasyk1121]

Originally Posted by JustinVerlander07

If there was nobody on base for Davis, he'd have less than 30 RBI.

lol...what?? and miggy would have 22rbi if no one was on base...and mauer would have what? 5rbi?? that is such a random thing to say...they would only have as many rbi as they have hr...what does that have to do with anything? mauer is a singles hitter basically...and hits higher in order...so yes less chances for rbi...but its not like if he hit 4th he would have 60...he isnt a power hitter and never has been except for one flukey year where he had like 28hr...he is basically a slow ichiro...will hit his .320-.340...with pretty much nothing behind it....OH and the Twins suck...he wouldnt be in my top 15 of MVP choices right now...honestly how can he even be mentioned...

[clarkzac]

Originally Posted by jstasyk1121

lol...what?? and miggy would have 22rbi if no one was on base...and mauer would have what? 5rbi?? that is such a random thing to say...they would only have as many rbi as they have hr...what does that have to do with anything? mauer is a singles hitter basically...and hits higher in order...so yes less chances for rbi...but its not like if he hit 4th he would have 60...he isnt a power hitter and never has been except for one flukey year where he had like 28hr...he is basically a slow ichiro...will hit his .320-.340...with pretty much nothing behind it....OH and the Twins suck...he wouldnt be in my top 15 of MVP choices right now...honestly how can he even be mentioned...

Miguel Cabrera, Chris Davis neck-and-neck in tight race for AL MVP - MLB - Cliff Corcoran - SI.com

Does Mauer have a chance of winning? No, but he does deserve to be ranked in the top 5 right now

[JohnAndrew]

Cabrera has a slight lead over Davis, but Manny Machado should be in the discussion of players in the next tier, IMO.

[Dbott1234]

Originally Posted by JustinVerlander07

If there was nobody on base for Davis, he'd have less than 30 RBI.

Well he has knocked himself in almost 30 times?!?

[cardinalscards4]

Trout.

.. ..

[JohnAndrew]

Originally Posted by JustinVerlander07

If there was nobody on base for Davis, he'd have less than 30 RBI.

Huh?

Cabrera's Slash Line
.368/.458/.655

Davis' Slash Line
.333/.408/.712

Can we agree on this: that a hit for extra bases is more likely to score a run than a hit for a single base? In that case, we could use Isolated Power (SLG - BA = ISO) to surmise which guy might be better at driving in runs during any given runners-on-base situation.

Cabrera: .655 - .368 = .287
Davis: .712 - .333 = .379

To put it in perspective, an ISO of greater than .250 is considered excellent (per ISO | FanGraphs Sabermetrics Library). If Cabrera has excellent ISO in 2013...well, I don't know what you would say about Davis, then.

That said, I don't expect Davis to slug .700 the rest of the way. That's only happened 35 times in the history of the game, and not since Bonds in 2004.

Cabrera is a prolific hitter and one of the toughest outs in the game, but in 2013, I think that Davis has proven he can go toe-to-toe with -- if not exceed -- Cabrera's ability to drive runners in.

[cardinalscards4]

I'd say the Top 4 are some mix of

Cabrera
Machado
Davis
Trout

Trout is coming strong though heating up

[JohnAndrew]

Originally Posted by cardinalscards4

Trout.

.. ..

Trout is having a fine offensive campaign, but the crutch that I and many others used to support his 2012 MVP run -- his defense -- does not bear the same weight this year. In fact, Trout is playing below-average defense.

[Ziveus101]

Max Scherzer. He's striking out everybody and winning all of the games.