AL MVP Talk in June

Yet another worthless mid-season list. But it's from the Muffin so read up, it's good for you. On to the AL MVP candidates:

1a. Josh Hamilton (TEX), .311 average, 19 HR, 76 RBI, 50 R
1b. Milton Bradley (TEX), .332 average, 15 HR, 48 RBI, 47 R, ML-leading .452 OBP and 1.079 OPS
1c. Ian Kinsler (TEX), .305 average, 12 HR, 47 RBI, 64 R, 19 SB

I saw the Hairy Guate implement the "#a" and "#b" strategy yesterday when putting together the NL Cy Young list. I'm going to steal that idea to pick a few teammates here. While everyone goes on and on about Hamilton's numbers (and they should), many seem to overlook the guys setting the table. Still, I give Hamilton the nod because of the absurd amount of RBI he has to this point. Besides, the Rangers likely aren't making the playoffs, so they're gonna need someone with eye-popping numbers a-la Alex Rodriguez in 2003 to bring home the hardware.

4. Alex Rodriguez (NYY), .332 average, 14 HR, 41 RBI, 40 R, 9 SB
There seems to be less focus on A-Rod this year, which probably has a lot to do with the fact that he didn't start on the torrid pace he did last year, and the Yankees struggles up to this point. But those numbers are still very impressive, and if the Yankees make a playoff run, A-Rod will be at the forefront. (I already filled my teammate quota for this list, but Jason "The Mustache" Giambi deserves some recognition - .271 average, 17 HR, 42 RBI, 39 R)

5. Francisco Rodriguez (LAA), 2.06 ERA, 31 saves, 33 K's, 35 IP, 1.17 WHIP
I know, I left him off my AL Cy Young list. But I think putting him on the MVP list is appropriate restitution, don't you? Besides - I'm not a big of relievers winning the Cy Young award, but has any one player been more valuable to the Halos this year than K-Rod? The Angels currently have just a +19 run differential (11th in MLB), yet find themselves 18 games over .500 (1st in MLB). That means the Angels are winning some tight games, and Rodriguez is the one walking the tightrope.

6. Carlos Quentin (CHW), .280 average, 17 HR, 56 RBI, 49 R
Carlos Quentin was the bright spot for an otherwise offensively-challenged ChiSox team to start the 2008 season. Pretty nice pickup for the White Sox seeing as they got the righthander for nothing more than first base prospect Chris Carter. And, no, not the X-Files guy. But a fall back to Earth, as well as the emergence of teammates Joe Crede and Jermaine Dye suggest Quentin may not even be the consensus most valuable player on his own team.

I don't put these guys on the list, mostly because their teams - with the exception of the Red Sox - just aren't good enough to warrant any serious consideration (I know it's an individual award, but that's just how things go). So here they are, the Honorable Mentions: Jose Guillen (.293, 13 HR, 60 RBI), Justin Morneau (.305, 11 HR, 59 RBI), Manny Ramirez (.292, 15 HR, 49 RBI), Kevin Youkilis (.304, 13 HR, 47 RBI), J.D. Drew (.314, 14 HR, 45 RBI), Grady Sizemore (.266, 17 HR, 41 RBI, 17 SB).