The National League has multiple players who are in consideration for the MVP Award this season, that have been strong candidates in years past. There is also some players you never thought would be in the MVP race. The race should be interesting to see how it shapes up to be the rest of the season, but this is how I feel the race looks as of today:
1st - Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto is having the best first half of any player in the National League, and he is in the conversation for the MVP Award again this year. He is batting .345 with 14 homeruns, 47 RBI's, and an on-base percentage of .464. Joey Votto ranks first in walks with 60, first in slugging percentage (.619), first in OPS (1.082), and fifth in batting average. He has proved that he is one of the best first basemen in all of baseball, and that he is a legitimate MVP candidate. As long as the Reds continue to stay in the playoff race and Joey Votto continues to be on fire, he will be leading the N.L. MVP race.
2nd - David Wright - New York Mets: David Wright finally looks like he is back to being one of the best third basemen in the league after last season when he was injured and missed 60 games. He and R.A. Dickey are the two reasons why the Mets are above .500 and competitive this season. Through 80 games this season, Wright is batting .350 with 11 homeruns, 59 RBI's, and an on-base percentage of .439. David Wright currently ranks fourth in batting average, third in RBI's, fifth in runs (55), fourth in walks (48), and fourth in OPS (1.014). As long as the Mets remain in the playoff race, David Wright should remain above other players in the MVP race who are on team that are struggling this season. If David Wright can remain healthy, he will be a serious MVP candidate.
3rd - Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers: Ryan Braun could easily be ranked higher because he is on pace to have an even better season then he did last year, when he won the MVP Award. If it wasn't for all of the offseason drama and being falsely accused for using a banned substance, he would be a top the MVP list. Braun is batting .304, with 24 homeruns, 60 RBI's, and an on-base percentage of .386. He is ranked first in homeruns, second in RBI's, ninth in runs (53), third in slugging percentage (.602), and sixth in OPS (.988). Braun will continue to produce no matter how bad the Brewers are, but if he wants to repeat as N.L. MVP he has to hope that the voters don't vote based on everything that happened this past offseason. The voters need to vote based on his stats and the facts because Braun has been a stong MVP candidate in the first half of the season.
4th - Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates: Andrew McCutchen is having a breakout season. He is a huge reason why the Pirates are in first place in the N.L. Central. He is batting .360 with 16 homeruns, 56 RBI's, and an on-base percentage of .413. He ranks in first in batting average, second in OPS (1.023), and he ranks in the top ten in homeruns, RBI's, and runs (54). Andrew McCutchen has been the only real offense for the Pirates and he will be in the conversation for the MVP Award throughout the rest of the season.
5th - Carlos Beltran - St. Louis Cardinals: The aging veteran in Carlos Beltran has been a nice surprise this season for the Cardinals. Many people thought he could be a good player for the Cardinals but no one thought he would be in the MVP Award race. Beltran has a .306 batting average with 20 homeruns, 65 RBI's, and a on-base percentage of .392. He ranks second in homeruns, first in RBI's, and he is ranked in the top ten in batting average, walks (41), and OPS (.951) in the National League. Carlos Beltran has been a good player in the fist half of the season, but I don't think he will be a real contender for the MVP Award by the end of the season.
Players who are still in the MVP Award Race: Carlos Gonzalez, Melky Cabrera, Carlos Ruiz, and R.A. Dickey.
This season there are multiple players who have a great chance to win the MVP Award this year in the National League. It will be very interesting to see if voters will vote for Ryan Braun, and if Carlos Ruiz, who has had a great season so far, will get any MVP consideration. Any of my nine players listed have a chance to win the award, but some of these players won't get as much attention because of there team's lack of success this season.
Please follow me on Twitter @DanTheMan4295
Showing posts with label R.A. Dickey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label R.A. Dickey. Show all posts
Friday, July 6, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The National League Cy Young Award Race
This year in the National League there has been many surprising pitchers. Roy Halladay, one of the best pitchers in the game, has been hurt for most of the season, and Tim Lincecum hasn't look anything like his Cy Young Award winning years. This year there is many pitchers, anywhere from 10 or more, who can win the Cy Young Award, and so far the leading candidate is a 37 year old knuckleball pitcher, R.A. Dickey. Here is how I feel the race is shaping out:
1st - R.A. Dickey - New York Mets: R.A. Dickey has been a huge surprise so far this season. No one ever thought he would ever be this good, and anything close to a Cy Young Award contender. He has been the most dominating pitcher this year going 12-1 with a 2.15 ERA. R.A. Dickey leads the league with a .88 WHIP and three complete games. He is second in the National League in strikeouts with 116, and he has shown great control with his knuckleball. We have never seen a pitcher like R.A. Dickey before who throws mid 80's knuckleball and is so dominate. He is the leading Cy Young Award candidate and if he continues to pitch like this the rest of the season there will be no question that he should win the award.
2nd - Matt Cain - San Fransisco Giants: Matt Cain, who has so far lived up to his huge contract he received this off season, has been a very dominate pitcher this year. He is finally getting some respect he has deserved, since in years past he has been one of the most underrated pitchers in the game. Matt Cain has been very good this year, and he has pitched the best game this year so far, a perfect game, where he struck out 14 batters. Through 16 games this season, Cain is 9-3 with a 2.53 ERA and a .95 WHIP. He is close to the top in strike outs with 114 and innings pitched with 113.2. Matt Cain has become the ace of the Giants staff and has shown why he is one of the best young pitchers in the game today. He should continue stay in the Cy Young race and will challenge R.A. Dickey for the award if he continues to pitch this way.
3rd - A.J. Burnett - Pittsburgh Pirates: A.J. Burnett might be a surprise here at third but if you look at his numbers he has pitched very well. He has been very hot in his last 10 starts going 8-0 with a 2.29 ERA. The ace of the Pirates staff has had only one bad start this season, where he allowed 12 earned runs against the Cardinals on May 2nd. If it wasn't for the one bad start he would of had a 2.05 ERA, which would currently be second best in the league. A.J. Burnett is currently 9-2 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP, in 13 starts. He could have a good chance at a 20 win season, and if he continues to pitch this well and stay healthy he will be a dark horse in the Cy Young race.
4th - Stephen Strasburg - Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg has pitched very well so far, but if he is shut down at his 160 innings limit, which I expect to happen, he will not win the Cy Young Award. As of today, Strasburg is still well in the conversation of being the Cy Young winner, but because of his inning limit, that is why I have him ranked fourth in my Cy Young Award race standings. The young power pitcher through 16 games is 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He is also leading the N.L. with 122 strike outs in 93 innings. He is one of the most over powering pitchers in the game, and he will be able to have a chance at the Cy Young Award. But you can't be the best pitcher when you don't pitch in September.
5th - James McDonald - Pittsburgh Pirates: James McDonald has been a surprise this season. He has finally showed that he can be a top of the rotation pitcher. He has pitched well this season and has a record of 8-3 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. His could have even more wins but the Pirates have struggled to score runs, and have been shut out all three times he has lost. If he and the Pirates continue to play well, he will have a slight advantage over guys like Wade Miley, Zack Greinke, and Cole Hamels for the fifth spot.
Pitchers who are still in the race: Zack Greinke, Wade Miley, Cole Hamels, Gio Gonzalez, Lance Lynn, Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto, and Chris Capuano.
The Cy Young Award race is still not over and many of these great pitchers who are not in my top five could easily make a push for the top spot. The Cy Young Award race should come down to the wire and it should be fun to see if some of these pitchers can make a strong push to become the best pitcher in the National League.
Please follow me on Twitter @DanTheMan4295
1st - R.A. Dickey - New York Mets: R.A. Dickey has been a huge surprise so far this season. No one ever thought he would ever be this good, and anything close to a Cy Young Award contender. He has been the most dominating pitcher this year going 12-1 with a 2.15 ERA. R.A. Dickey leads the league with a .88 WHIP and three complete games. He is second in the National League in strikeouts with 116, and he has shown great control with his knuckleball. We have never seen a pitcher like R.A. Dickey before who throws mid 80's knuckleball and is so dominate. He is the leading Cy Young Award candidate and if he continues to pitch like this the rest of the season there will be no question that he should win the award.
2nd - Matt Cain - San Fransisco Giants: Matt Cain, who has so far lived up to his huge contract he received this off season, has been a very dominate pitcher this year. He is finally getting some respect he has deserved, since in years past he has been one of the most underrated pitchers in the game. Matt Cain has been very good this year, and he has pitched the best game this year so far, a perfect game, where he struck out 14 batters. Through 16 games this season, Cain is 9-3 with a 2.53 ERA and a .95 WHIP. He is close to the top in strike outs with 114 and innings pitched with 113.2. Matt Cain has become the ace of the Giants staff and has shown why he is one of the best young pitchers in the game today. He should continue stay in the Cy Young race and will challenge R.A. Dickey for the award if he continues to pitch this way.
3rd - A.J. Burnett - Pittsburgh Pirates: A.J. Burnett might be a surprise here at third but if you look at his numbers he has pitched very well. He has been very hot in his last 10 starts going 8-0 with a 2.29 ERA. The ace of the Pirates staff has had only one bad start this season, where he allowed 12 earned runs against the Cardinals on May 2nd. If it wasn't for the one bad start he would of had a 2.05 ERA, which would currently be second best in the league. A.J. Burnett is currently 9-2 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP, in 13 starts. He could have a good chance at a 20 win season, and if he continues to pitch this well and stay healthy he will be a dark horse in the Cy Young race.
4th - Stephen Strasburg - Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg has pitched very well so far, but if he is shut down at his 160 innings limit, which I expect to happen, he will not win the Cy Young Award. As of today, Strasburg is still well in the conversation of being the Cy Young winner, but because of his inning limit, that is why I have him ranked fourth in my Cy Young Award race standings. The young power pitcher through 16 games is 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He is also leading the N.L. with 122 strike outs in 93 innings. He is one of the most over powering pitchers in the game, and he will be able to have a chance at the Cy Young Award. But you can't be the best pitcher when you don't pitch in September.
5th - James McDonald - Pittsburgh Pirates: James McDonald has been a surprise this season. He has finally showed that he can be a top of the rotation pitcher. He has pitched well this season and has a record of 8-3 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. His could have even more wins but the Pirates have struggled to score runs, and have been shut out all three times he has lost. If he and the Pirates continue to play well, he will have a slight advantage over guys like Wade Miley, Zack Greinke, and Cole Hamels for the fifth spot.
Pitchers who are still in the race: Zack Greinke, Wade Miley, Cole Hamels, Gio Gonzalez, Lance Lynn, Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto, and Chris Capuano.
The Cy Young Award race is still not over and many of these great pitchers who are not in my top five could easily make a push for the top spot. The Cy Young Award race should come down to the wire and it should be fun to see if some of these pitchers can make a strong push to become the best pitcher in the National League.
Please follow me on Twitter @DanTheMan4295
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)