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he would really have to go into a slump not to win it. Abreu has fallen off. Michael Brantley is the only guy having a season close to trout but his team isn't contending
Oh yeah, and that Alex Gordon guy is pretty darn good.
Yes he is. But he has no chance IMO. His defense won't factor in with voters who never/seldom see him play.
Seattle needs to make the playoffs if Felix wants to win MVP. Simple as that... ask Paul Goldschmidt.
I'd still give it to Mike Trout, plus I believe the pitchers have their own version of the MVP with the Cy Young award. I was just stating that it warrants consideration because I believe the season Felix is having so far is far superior to the one that Verlander had when he won the MVP.
Seattle needs to make the playoffs if Felix wants to win MVP. Simple as that... ask Paul Goldschmidt.
I'd argue that Goldschmidt being a 1B while McCutchen being a CF played a bigger factor in the voting than who made the playoffs.
Oh, I agree. He almost certainly won't. A shame too, he's become a very underrated player. Not quite the hitter people were expecting, but he's still become a pretty awesome player.
I know the media has already gone and declared Trout the MVP, but why can't Donaldson win it? I know his batting average is way too low for an MVP in most cases.
But why not? Especially if he catches fire and the A's win the division and lock up the best record.
Donaldson certainly should be in the conversation. His BA is very underwhelming, but he does have a .340 OBP and .461 SLG% despite playing in the one of the toughest ballparks to hit in. A 127 OPS+ is still quite good, especially for a 3B. And Donaldson is arguably the best defensive 3B in baseball right now. After a poor June/early July, Donaldson's been batting .299/.403/.496 since the ASB. He's showing good plate discipline again, posting a 21:28 BB:K ratio. And his BABIP is only sitting around .270 (I think it was around .250 a month or two ago?), so improvement is certainly possible.
Not sure how much weight you put into WAR, but BB-Ref does have Donaldson at 1st in the AL at 6.6. Trout's 2nd at 6.3. Fangraphs' WAR has him pegged at 5.0, tied for 4th with Seager in the AL. Cano (5.2), Gordon (5.9) and Trout (6.1) are ahead.
Unless Trout falls off a cliff though, I'd be shocked if he didn't win. There seems to be a pretty good consensus that he's the best player in the game right now and his offensive stats are vastly superior to Donaldson's. Only player in the AL with a higher OPS+ than Trout right now is Abreu, and he's a below average defensive 1B.