Is Carlos Quentin an Early Favorite for MVP?

I know it's not even August, but it's about time to start the always-hot debate as to whom should win the American League MVP.

There are a lot of decent candidates, although not many of the familiar names of years past. The likes of Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, and Vladamir Guerrero are not having sub-par years by most standards, but MVP-worthy? Hardly.

So it's time to make an early case for one of the most unlikely MVP candidates entering the season—Carlos Quentin of the Chicago White Sox.

How unknown was Quentin entering the season? Well, even after the success he's had thus far, his name isn't even available as a "tag" in Bleacher Report's "photo uploading" system.

But in all seriousness, Quentin played so horribly in Spring Training that he was likely to be cut from the White Sox' roster before opening day. An injury late in Spring Training to presumptive starting outfielder Jerry Owens is the only reason he opened the season on the 25-man roster. (Owens, by the way, hasn't seen the field at the major-league level this season).

So exactly how has Quentin transformed from roster castoff to MVP candidate? Two years ago, the obvious answer would have been "steroids." However, the kind of success Quentin has had is nothing new to him.

He was a star hitter at Stanford and a former first-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2003. Quentin, as well as the Diamondbacks, always knew he could hit, but injuries have plagued him throughout his career, making it easy for Arizona to ship him to Chicago for minor-league first baseman Chris Carter.

But Quentin's healthy now, and his value to the White Sox could not be understated. Of his league-leading 26 home runs, 14 of them have given the White Sox the lead. The only player in the majors with more is Adrian Gonzalez, with 16 for the last-place San Diego Padres.

Additionally, five of those go-ahead shots were in the seventh inning or later, tying him with Prince Fielder and Aramis Ramirez for most in that category (thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau for those stats).

Quentin's value has skyrocketed with the early hitting failures of White Sox sluggers Paul Konerko and Jim Thome. With the two struggling to find their swing, it is likely the White Sox offense would be in the same position they were a year ago without Quentin, as well as great offensive seasons by Jermaine Dye and rookie Alexei Ramirez.

Comparing Quentin to other possible MVP candidates, Quentin stacks up nicely. The most obvious candidate would be Texas Rangers slugger and feel-good story Josh Hamilton. People marveled over Hamilton's swing during the Home Run Derby and his RBI numbers are near-record breaking.

However, if you stack up Hamilton with Quentin it's darn close. Take a look:

Quentin:

.279 BA, 26 HR, 76 RBI, .930 OPS, 46 BB, 59 K.

Hamilton:

.305 BA, 22 HR, 98 RBI, .904 OPS, 39 BB, 71 K.

Hamilton has an obvious lead in the batting average and RBI categories. However, Quentin has a higher OPS, and a much better strikeout to walk ratio then Hamilton.

Couple these stats with the fact that Quentin's team is in first place and Hamilton's is fighting to stay in the playoff race. As well as the fact that Hamilton's hitting in a lineup with three other All-Stars (Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, and Milton Bradley), and it's hard to give Hamilton the edge, as feel-good as his story may be.

The other, more obvious, candidate would be Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau. Morneau has been incredibly valuable to the surprise Twins and is a former MVP winner already. Here are his stats to stack up to Quentin:

Morneau: .317 BA, 15 HR, 73 RBI, .898 OPS, 45 BB, 58 K.

Another close call with Quentin, as the only obvious advantage Morneau has to Quentin is batting average, and the only obvious lead Quentin has is home runs.

Again, it has to come down to the stats combined with overall value to the team's success. It's hard to say the Rangers would be any worse without Hamilton, as the team has always been a successful offensive club.

And his numbers are too close to those of Quentin and Morneau to give him the edge due to his team not being as good, so that leaves Morneau and Quentin.

The numbers, as previously stated, are too close to give either one the edge. Both have also carried otherwise sluggish offensive teams and turned them into contenders.

There's still over two months to decide the MVP race, and it's likely that a candidate from Boston, New York, Tampa Bay, or Detroit may emerge as well, and Guerrero is starting to heat up for the best-in-baseball Angels. But one thing's for sure—the unlikeliest of candidates has sure made a case for himself to win the award.