Who's the Best? Top Ten National League MVP Contenders
On this day, May 23, we are a little over a quarter of the way through the Major League Baseball season. There's no doubt that we have seen surprise after surprise - the Indians' success in the American League Central, Josh Hamilton's injury, and Boston's early woes. That would focus on the American League, however, and this is the National League's countdown.
Surprisingly, you won't be seeing Albert Pujols on this countdown, so for all the Cardinal fans out there - I'm not responsible for his bad start. New faces will appear on this list, which refers back to the statement about this season being full of surprises. If I'd made this list three weeks into the season, this list would have been comprised of about eight Colorado Rockies, but alas, we've come a long way since then.
10: Brandon Phillips
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An outside shot, but a shot nonetheless. Phillips is batting .317 on the year with five home runs and 27 RBI. Over the last several seasons, Phillips has had respectable numbers, but his notable strength was his defense, as his two Gold Gloves will show. He's certainly on pace for a third.
But if he wants to become the MVP, Phillips will need to get his numbers up, despite how impressive they already are.
He's a cornerstone for the Cincinnati Reds' lineup, batting in the cleanup spot over the past several weeks. If he can finish the year with that average and hit 30+ home runs and 100+ RBI, his MVP discussion will become much more serious.
9: Matt Kemp
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Two weeks ago, Kemp would have headlined this list. But over his last ten games, Kemp is batting a chilly .229. Despite a bad couple weeks, he's still batting .316 with ten home runs and 32 RBI. His on-base percentage is .399, a large step above his career numbers.
The Dodgers' struggles have overshadowed Kemp's stellar season so far, as well as Andre Ethier's recent hitting streak. It appears that Kemp is coming back down to Earth - not to his .249 average in 2010, but had I made this list weekly, he would have fallen in each of the last two.
8: Starlin Castro
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His batting average is .323, and so far, he's been one of the only bright points on a struggling Cubs team. However, if you look at his numbers, you're going to scratch your head and wonder why in the world he's on this list.
Castro's got a hot bat and a great glove. He has drawn comparisons to the great Ozzie Smith, minus the flipping. If he can hit for some power and have ducks on the pond when he comes to the plate, Castro can climb this list.
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7: Roy Halladay
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I'm not big on giving MVP awards to pitchers, but there's no doubt he has to be on this list.
To this point, Halladay is 6-3 with an ERA at 2.21. He's always been a Cy Young candidate, but six wins through a quarter of the season? He's on pace to win 24 games, and would be the first Phillies' pitcher to do so since 1982 - oh wait... Halladay won 21 games last season. The difference this year will be this: he'll have less losses, and an ERA closer to 2.00.
6: Placido Polanco
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He's always been at least a decent player, despite his seemingly constant movement around the league. He has started this year off impressively, batting .335 and has 25 RBI. Polanco's on-base percentage is sort of subpar, however, at least for someone with such a great batting average.
He's never been a big home run hitter, which makes him a bit of an oversight. If the year ended today, he'd be tied with Joey Votto for third in batting average, and .335 would be his new career high. If Polanco can reach even 20 home runs and keep up his batting average, he is a real contender.
5: Gaby Sanchez
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There's no doubt that Sanchez can move up this list - he's batting .316, which has shocked everyone, especially Marlins' fans. Hanley Ramirez has been the poster boy for the Marlins for years now, and he's been starting especially slow. Sanchez has picked up the slack with an on-base percentage of .396.
What worries me about Sanchez is that in every offensive category, his numbers are well above his average. Will he come back down to Earth? He has 28 career home runs right now, and is on pace for 28 this season. At the rate Sanchez is going, he'll be the main push for a Marlins playoff run and a potential MVP candidate.
4: Ryan Braun
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Braun should probably be higher than this, but his .299 average brings him down. He leads the National League with twelve homers and 37 RBI. Those numbers give him two-thirds of the Triple Crown, but he's so far below the batting average leader, it's hard to get him higher on the list.
Like Kemp, Braun is overshadowed by a less than impressive start in Milwaukee. They're only 3.5 games behind the Cardinals and a game over .500, but Brewer fans expected more. Still, we all know Braun is one of the best in the game. If that average goes up, his MVP argument becomes... well, a lock.
3: Joey Votto
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Last year's National League MVP starts the top three. He's tied for third in the NL with a .335 batting average, with an incredible .458 on-base percentage. Like Braun, Votto could be the top contender on this list, but certain numbers work against him. He has impressive numbers when it comes to batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.
His RBI number sits at 28, which isn't bad, but it's not a top ten stat. Votto's home run numbers aren't measuring up either, with only six. It seems a little picky to keep someone from the MVP discussion for a lack of home runs, but we simply have to. It is a key stat in the discussion for the NL's best player, and if Votto can't hit with more power like he did last year, he'll be knocked off his perch.
2: Matt Holliday
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There is no questioning why he is this high on the list. A .349 average and a slugging percentage over .500 aren't numbers that will be ignored. Adding on to those league-leading numbers, Holliday has 31 RBI. There are only two things keeping Holliday from being the top dog: he has only six home runs... and then he has a teammate...
1: Lance Berkman
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It is Berkman's 13th big league season, and everyone thought they he was well on his way out. The five-time All-Star is seeking his first ever MVP award, and at the pace he's going at, he won't fail.
He's batting .338 - second only to teammate Holliday - with eleven home runs and 35 RBI. His on-base percentage of .451 is second to Joey Votto and his astounding .662 slugging percentage is best in the bigs. With Berkman being in the top five in every statistical category, he currently ranks as the NL's most likely MVP.
Albert who?
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