Top 10 AL MVP Candidates Includes 3 Boston Red Sox

The 2011 AL MVP race is one of the best races for MVP in a long time in the AL. There are many great players in the AL that it's hard to choose one candidate to be the 2011 AL MVP winner.

The best players in the Major Leagues for 2011 play in the AL East and there are multiple AL MVP candidates from the "Beasts of the East"—Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

There is no surprise that these two teams have MVP-type players, but no one expected them to have multiple bats that could qualify for MVP. These bats are due to meet in the the 2011 MLB Playoffs. This is only if both clubs remain healthy for the remainder of the season.

Let's get started...

Honorable Mentions

1. Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton won the AL MVP Award last season (2010) and he was supposed to be in the running this year, but he got injured. Hamilton is batting .301 with 17 home runs and 71 RBI. Hamilton is still a great Major League baseball player, but there are many players who have performed better than him in 2011.

2. Evan Longoria

Evan Longoria would have put up MVP numbers this season, but only if he remained healthy. He is hitting only .236 with 22 homers and 74 RBI so far in 2011. The batting average and lack of RBI is what cost him in the MVP race.

3. Robinson Cano

Robinson Cano looked like an MVP-candidate earlier in 2011, but he is not on my list anymore. He has a .302 average with 21 home runs and 88 RBI. However, there are other Yankees who mean more to their team then he does. And that is what MVP means to me.

10. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

Dustin Pedroia is the unsung hero for the Boston Red Sox in 2011 and definitely deserves some MVP votes. He is batting .307 with 16 homers and 69 RBI in a very strong Sox offense. He is the heart of the juggernaut that is the Red Sox

He won the AL MVP back in 2009 where he had similar numbers with a .326 average, 17 home runs and 83 RBI. He is due to get some MVP votes in 2011.

9. Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox

Paul Konerko is having another great year in 2011 hitting .314, clubbing 28 homers and driving in 86 runs. If he has a great September, then he will move up this list and could even steal the AL MVP Award in 2011.

Paul Konerko (a.k.a Paulie) is one of the best White Sox hitters this past decade and even played with one the best hitters of all time in Jim Thome from 2006-2009, whom he learned from to hit for more power. 

8. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

Miguel Cabrera is probably one of the best right-handed hitters of our generation. He is always in the running for MVP and is putting up great numbers again in 2011. He is fifth in the AL with a .319 batting average. He is tied for 10th in home runs with 23 and is tied for eighth in RBI with 81.

Cabrera leads the Detroit Tigers in all these categories, but is he the only Tiger that made this list?

7. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees

Mark Teixeira is one of the greatest bats and gloves to play for the New York Yankees this decade and with 35 homers and only three errors in 2011, he makes a great AL MVP candidate.

His batting average is only .247, but he will be a great slugger at first base for years to come for the Yankees. His 96 RBI is third in the AL and the votes that would go to him will most likely go to another Yankee player on this list.

6. Michael Young, Texas Rangers

Michael Young is one of those batters who will do anything for his team and has showed his hitting prowess in 2011 by leading a deep Texas Rangers lineup with 86 RBI.

Young has played 13 games at second base, 26 games at first base, 61 games at DH and is now filling in for the injured Adrian Beltre with 29 games at third base. He plays all over for the Rangers and still bats .337—if that doesn't get him some MVP votes, then I don't know what will!

5. Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays

Jose Bautista once again leads the majors and the AL MVP-candidates with 37 home runs in 2011. He is on pace to knock 46 out of the park, but I expect him to have another 50 homer campaign. Fifty is a great number in the majors nowadays for homers and it seems as if Bautista knows how to reach this number as he hit 54 in 2010.

Bautista is also in the Top 10 in other hitting categories in the AL. He is tied for eighth in batting average at .314 and is seventh in RBI with 82.

4. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

I know, I know, pitchers are for the Cy Young, but Justin Verlander is one of the most important pieces for the Detroit Tigers in 2011. He leads the majors with his 19 wins, 212 strikeouts, 209.2 innings pitched and a 0.88 WHIP. He is second in the AL with four complete games and a 2.28 ERA.

Without Verlander, who knows what place the Tigers would be in the AL Central race, but with him they are six games better than the Cleveland Indians and six and a half games better than the Chicago White Sox.

3. Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox

Adrian Gonzalez's power has slumped of late, but he has three homers in his past two games and still leads the AL in both batting average (.347) and RBI (99). He has also scored 87 runs and hit 21 home runs.

If A-Gon hits like he did in May-July, then expect him to win the AL MVP race.

2. Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees

The "Grandyman" has had an impeccable season at the plate and is one of the breakout players in this 2011 season. He has 35 homers and 98 RBI (good for second in the AL in both categories). He is also eighth in stolen bases with 24.

His .276 batting average and three errors are what will cost him as he is just shy of...

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox

Believe me, if there is anyone that deserves MVP it is Jacoby. After being injured for most of the 2010 season, Jacoby is playing like the player he was advertised to be in 2011. He is stealing bases and slugging homers like no one's business.

Jacoby is entering Thursday's game with 23 home runs, 81 RBI, a .315 batting average and 35 stolen bases. All of these stats are in the Top 10 in the AL. The RBI and home run totals are career highs for Jacoby. He also has no errors in 121 games and makes fantastic plays that saves runs.