Earlier this week, I profiled some of the top pre-season MVP candidates in the National League. This week I will take a look at how some of the pre-season MVP candidates from the American League have started off the season. The easiest way to look at the AL MVP candidates might be by team, since it seems that every high profile player eventually plays for the Angels, Tigers, or Yankees. Any other year you could include the Red Sox on this list, but after a big overhaul at the trade deadline last year, most of their high profile players are currently playing for the Dodgers.
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have a trio of MVP candidates, including the two biggest free agent signings of the last two years in Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, and the second-year superstar outfielder Mike Trout. Pujols had a tough start last year in his first year with the Angels, but eventually hit his way out of his early slump and finished the year with a .285 batting average, 30 homeruns, and 105 RBI. Those stats sound pretty good, for everyone except Pujols that is, as those numbers are all below his career averages. He made a point to emphasize the importance of getting off to a better start this year, and while the start of his season this year is going better than last year, his .266/2/11 line is still significantly less than we are to expect of Pujols. Pujols may just getting to the point where he won’t be that perennial MVP candidate anymore.
Hamilton is experiencing the same trouble in his first year with the Angels as Pujols did in his first season with the club. Hamilton has spent much of the early season batting below .200, but a four-game hitting streak has him currently at .226 and going up for now. Like Pujols, the power hitting Hamilton also only has two homeruns on the young season. Hamilton had a hot start last season in Texas, but for about a full calendar year now, Hamilton has been struggling, and the cause seems to be swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. Angels manager Mike Scioscia has already experimented moving Hamilton around in the lineup in a move to get him out of his early season slump. If Hamilton is going to be an MVP candidate by the end of the season, he is going to have to be more patient at the plate, and hope this recent hitting streak is here to stay.
Trout finished second in the MVP voting last year, but like his Angel teammates, he has not quite continued the success from last year early in this season. The reason Trout had so much MVP attention last season was his ability to hit well for both average and power, and steal a base once he got to first. So far in this season, he hasn’t done any of those things all that well. He has started the season with a .270 batting average, two homeruns, and three stolen bases in only four attempts. Scioscia has also moved Trout to second in the lineup, rather than leading off the batting order as he did in his near MVP season. Of the three Angels, Trout seems the most likely to rebound to MVP form by the end of this season. He is too fast for his stolen base total to stay so low, and his strong, compact swing at the plate coupled with his ability to adjust to pitchers late in games should lead to frequent hit streaks which will bring his hitting stats back up.
Detroit Tigers
Like the Angels, the Tigers also have a trio of MVP candidates in Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and Justin Verlander. These three superstars led the Tigers to an American League Championship last year, and are the main reasons the Tigers were favored to win their division more than any other team in baseball this season. The three Tigers superstars are off to a much hotter start than their Angels counterparts, despite their pedestrian 10-10 record to start the season.
The reigning MVP Cabrera is hitting .361 to start the season, and has already accumulated 20 RBI in 20 games. His homerun total is a little low with only two so far, but he is hitting the ball so well there should be no doubt the power numbers will come. Cabrera should have no problem staying in contention for a second straight MVP trophy this season. Fielder is also hitting like his usual self early in the season with five homeruns and 21 RBI so far, along with a solid .311 batting average. The best part about Fielder is that unlike a lot of his fellow left-handed power hitters, Fielder seems to have no problem hitting against left-handed pitchers, as three of his five homeruns are against southpaws, and he is currently hitting over .400 against lefties this year.
Surprisingly, Verlander might be the only Tiger MVP candidate who is having trouble living up to his usual expectations. Verlander has been one of the few pitchers in baseball history who seems to get stronger as the game goes on. Over the past few seasons, he has been known for throwing his last few pitches over 100 MPH, even harder than his first pitches of the game. His numbers look fine so far, with a 2-2 record and a 1.95 ERA, but where his numbers are lacking this year, lie in the velocity of his fastball.
Verlander has had trouble hitting 95 MPH on the radar gun so far, and if this is a permanent situation, rather than a case of getting his arm in mid-season form, he is going to have to learn to be a completely different pitcher. Pitchers who throw hard enough to beat hitters in the strike zone can have trouble adjusting to painting the edges of the strike zone to get hitters out when they start losing their fastball, and unfortunately every pitcher starts losing their fastball sooner or later. If Verlander’s lower velocity is here to stay, he may have trouble making a case for MVP by the end of the season.
New YorkYankees
Obviously in other seasons, I would normally have a lot more to say about the Yankees, but half of their team is on the disabled list, which leaves Robinson Cano as the sole MVP candidate from the Yankees. Cano is mashing the ball as usual, hitting .322 with seven homeruns and 17 RBI already in the young season. Cano seems to be the rock on the Yankees with most of their other superstars approaching the twilight of their career. Not only is Cano one of the top hitters in baseball, but he also is doing this as a second basemen, traditionally a position for light hitting contact hitters, which allows the Yankees to have more power in their lineup from top to bottom. For my money, Cano is the best player in baseball, and it’s not close, and Cano should have no problem contending for the MVP trophy this season.
Of all the preseason MVP candidates, Cabrera, Fielder, and Cano are off to the hottest starts, and I would put them on the short list of guys who could possibly win the trophy this year. Many of the other players in the American League like Torii Hunter, Chris Davis, and Mike Napoli who are off to hot starts, are guys who haven’t been able to put up MVP stats for an entire season. Time will tell if these guys can challenge the big name preseason MVP candidates all season long.