Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
April 01, 2007
MVP Age

When I think about who might win the NL MVP, the candidates come easily. Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard are at the peak of their production and already great hitters, and you can easily throw out half a dozen other likely candidates. But in thinking about the AL candidates, I found myself naming older players (Manny Ramirez, A-Rod, Vald Guerrero) or young ones (Mauer, Morneau). I wasn't coming up with names in the prime years of production, so I looked to see who was playing this year with a seasonal age between 25 and 28 (born from 7/1/1978 to 6/30/1982). So here's some names at an age where you might see an MVP season:

  • Hank Blalock. Disappointing is the word for Blalock so far. Maybe if Ron Washington works some magic, he'll return to the form of his early career. I don't hold much of a chance of him winning the MVP, but now's the time for him to break out.
  • Carl Crawford. Carl does things sports writers like. He hits for a high average, runs well, and has some power. If he can get his homer total over 30, he'll pull in some votes.
  • Jhonny Peralta. He'll need to return to his 2005 numbers, but any time a shortstop posts a great offensive season, he should be an MVP candidate. How much his defense holds him back only the voters know.
  • Alex Rios. His power took a big step forward in 2006, and he'll need to take another to have a shot at the award. And avoid freak illnesses.
  • Nick Swisher. His on base average and slugging percentage are fine, but he needs to make them great to win the award from first base. His low batting average makes him less appealing to voters.
  • Mark Teahen. Like Rios, Teahen needs to keep improving his power numbers. A poor offense around him will hurt his RBI totals, which voters love.
  • Mark Teixeira. His 2005 number put him seventh on the MVP ballot. If he can crack 40 homers or more, he'll move up from that spot.
  • Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis' seasonal age is 28 this year and he's never shown a lot of power. He's a long shot.

If you think I missed some age appropriate AL player, let me know.


Posted by David Pinto at 05:08 PM | Awards • | Predictions | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Victor Martinez, perhaps? Vernon Wells, Justin Morneau, too.

It is odd that so many of the best players in the AL seem to be under 25 or over 30. Part of this is because of the DH position where you have guys like Ortiz, Hafner and Giambi.

Posted by: Kelly Shoppach says Hi. at April 1, 2007 06:08 PM

perhaps Grady Sizemore... He's in Alex Rios' boat.

Posted by: Andrew at April 1, 2007 06:24 PM

Before he broke his leg, I might have suggested Juan Rivera. But then...he broke his leg...

Posted by: the other josh at April 1, 2007 06:57 PM

Vernon Wells seems as good a pick as any if he stays healthy. Having Thomas hitting in the lineup with him won't hurt either.

Posted by: Jabes at April 1, 2007 07:32 PM

Andrew: Sizemore is a good MVP candidate, but I think the reason he's not on this list is he is 24 until August.

Posted by: TK at April 1, 2007 07:45 PM

I say Teahen has the best shot out of the group, guy is nasty. But others, Willy Mo Pena in Boston, and Michael Cuddyer in Minn.

Posted by: daley at April 1, 2007 08:04 PM

Chase Utley. Hitting third in a great lineup. They'll pitch to him because they won't want to pitch to Howard, and he could hit .300/35/120 .

Posted by: Mike at April 1, 2007 08:06 PM

Agreed - Sizemore should be in the list. Although Peter Gammons, Buster Olney, and Rob Neyer each picked Sizemore as their AL MVP on ESPN.com...

Posted by: Mark at April 1, 2007 08:09 PM
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