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There was certainly a case to be made for either A.J. Burnett or Gerrit Cole, but when digging deep into the numbers, the obvious choice became Andrew McCutchen. The Pirates’ 27-11 record since the end of May coincided with McCutchen’s statistical surge.
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The Cardinals absorbed a season-ending injury to ace Adam Wainwright thanks to a monster first half from projected fifth starter Carlos Martinez, who accumulated 10 wins with a stellar 2.52 ERA. Who saw this coming?
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Lorenzo Cain parlayed a breakout playoff performance into a big start to 2015, batting .316 with a club-best .864 OPS. Outstanding reliever Wade Davis garnered consideration as well.
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Zack Greinke, who has not allowed an earned run since June 13, entered the all-star break with the lowest ERA (1.39) of any starting pitcher with at least 100 innings since 1968. That sure sounds like an MVP to me.
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Really tough choice between Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer, but the edge goes to Harper, who leads MLB in wins above replacement (per FanGraphs). He is batting .339 with 26 home runs, 61 RBI and a 1.169 OPS.
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Albert Pujols had a stellar first half, but there’s no one who can compete with Mike Trout — and that’s not a knock on the Angels. Trout is once again the best player in baseball. We don’t need to debate this any more.
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Is it Alex Rodriguez? Mark Teixeira? Brett Gardner? In the end, we’re going with A-Rod. Playing DH costs him some points but his offensive production and health are incredibly impressive. He was expected to fail this season yet he’s been great for New York.
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The Astros have the most annoying mascot in baseball, but that hasn’t distracted Dallas Keuchel, whose beard and performance on the mound have been the talk of Houston this summer.
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Anthony Rizzo, hitting .298 with 16 home runs, was the first Cub to start the All-Star Game since Kosuke Fukudome (seriously) and Geovany Soto did so in 2008. Expect him and Kris Bryant to become staples at the midsummer classic.
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Second baseman Brian Dozier entered the All-Star break in style, becoming the first Twins player to hit two walk-off homers in one week since the franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961. He ranks third in the majors with 48 extra-base hits and first in runs scored with 67.
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Who figured the Mets would be in the race at this point? The key has been an ascending pitching staff led by Jacob deGrom, who posted a 2.18 ERA with 112 strikeouts in 113.2 innings. The 27-year-old struck out the side in 10 pitches in his one All-Star inning.
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Joe Panik, Matt Duffy and Brandon Crawford have greatly exceeded expectations, but the most valuable Giant has certainly been catcher Buster Posey, leading the club in home runs, OPS, and WAR while providing stellar defence behind the plate.
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Sorry J.D. Martinez. Once again, the Tigers’ MVP has been Miguel Cabrera, despite a calf strain that will sideline him for six weeks. The 10-time All-Star is hitting .350 with 15 home runs and 54 RBI in 333 plate appearances.
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If not for Mike Trout, Josh Donaldson would have a legitimate case as AL MVP, slugging .562 with 21 home runs while playing fantastic defence in his first 89 games for Toronto.
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The Rays are like that annoying friend who never goes away. After dealing away David Price and losing several starters to injury, Chris Archer emerged as an ace, registering a sub-three ERA in 19 starts.
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After losing Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis in free agency, Baltimore replaced that production internally thanks to a breakout first half from third baseman Manny Machado, who drilled 19 home runs with a .525 slugging percentage. Pretty good for a 23-year-old.
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Brock Holt, Clay Buchholz and Xander Bogaerts all played well, but the best all-around contributor has been young outfielder Mookie Betts, who leads the Red Sox in runs, stolen bases, and WAR.
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Arizona slugger Paul Goldschmidt is having another fantastic season in the desert, batting .340 with 21 home runs and an 1.064 OPS. He rarely gets the attention he deserves.
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Quietly, the White Sox moved to within four games of .500 after a strong push to end the first half. A big part of the recent success has been the stability of ace Chris Sale, who again is posting a Cy Young- calibre campaign — 2.72 ERA with 157 strikeouts.
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Jason Kipnis has recovered nicely from a rocky 2014 season, leading all AL second basemen in hits, doubles, OPS, and WAR. Now, Cleveland just needs production from the middle of the order…
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It’s been an up-and-down first half for the Rangers, but the bright spot, along with starter Yovani Gallardo, has been Prince Fielder, who rediscovered his power with 14 bombs combined with a .924 OPS.
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Despite strong showings from Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager, King Felix remains the most valuable Mariner. How valuable? Seattle is 12-6 (.666 winning percentage) when Hernandez starts a game and 29-42 in all of their other games.
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Our first-half MVP for Atlanta isn’t a player. It’s new president of baseball operations John Hart, who jump-started a franchise turnaround by acquiring valuable contributors such as Shelby Miller, Jason Grilli, and Cameron Maybin this past winter.
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For all of the Padres’ off-season hype, we haven’t seen much success on the field. Justin Upton has been San Diego’s most valuable addition, but he’s in the final year of his contract. How much longer will he be around?
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If the Home Run Derby wasn’t evidence enough, it’s time to acknowledge Todd Frazier as a blooming star. The Reds third baseman has been outstanding for an otherwise-middling squad, batting .284 with 25 home runs through 85 games.
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The Athletics predictably regressed after dealing away a handful of everyday position players, but Sonny Gray hasn’t followed the team’s downward trend. The Oakland ace has registered 10 wins with a phenomenal 2.03 ERA in his third MLB season.
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The Rockies won four in a row before the break and now sit just 10 games under .500. Despite the ugly record, the team has to be thrilled with the production of Nolan Arenado, who has mashed 24 home runs and might be the best defender in all of baseball.
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It’s been an especially ugly year for the Marlins, whose two first-half MVP candidates — Giancarlo Stanton and Dee Gordon — are sidelined with injuries. Stanton had 27 home runs while slugging .606 before going on the disabled list.
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The Brewers have traded away a few players who earned mentions in these power rankings, but they should be content with their off-season acquisition of Adam Lind, who has been the club’s most consistent hitter all year.
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On principle we refuse to hand any MVP awards to the Phillies, so instead we’ll reward outfielder Jeff Francoeur, who stepped in to pitch in a dire situation during a 19-3 loss in June. Frenchie, you’re a true hero.
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