Thursday, September 21, 2017

Looking Back at TGP’s 2017 Predictions: The Most Valuable Players


If you can pick a Cy Young Award winner “easily” then shouldn’t you be able to pick the AL and NL Most Valuable Players pretty consistently as well? History would prove, especially on this site, which this is not the case for whatever reason. First and foremost there are generally just five starting pitchers per team and eight or nine position players hitting per team giving you basically twice as many players in the pool to choose from in the MVP discussion. Secondly you have to think that pitchers are just paid to win games and keep runs off the board, there isn’t a huge distinction between ground ball pitchers, fly ball pitchers, strikeout pitchers or pitchers who pitch to contact. That is not the case here on the MVP side of things as you can slug 40-50 home runs a season and win an MVP award, you can hit for contact and steal a ton of bases and win an MVP Award or you can be like Mike Trout and do a little bit of everything so damn well and win an MVP Award or two. Keep that in mind when crushing my hopes, dreams and opinions of myself after reading these predictions.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

TGP 2017 MLB Predictions: The MVP’s


Here we are finally, the big one. The Most Valuable Player Award in Major League Baseball is considered the highest honor an individual position player can achieve and there is only one for each league. Who wins it for the American League and the National League? Well my American League pick won’t shock many as it’s probably the consensus and the popular pick but that National League pick though… that one could turn some heads. I mean it shouldn’t but it still might anyway. Read on to see what and who I am talking about.

American League MVP: Mike Trout

There isn’t much explanation that needs to go into this one. Mike Trout is arguably the best player in the American League right now followed closely by the Boston Red Sox’s outfielder Mookie Betts, who I honestly considered putting here… but rivalries, and is fresh off winning the award in 2016. Trout is still young and shows no signs of breaking down or slowing up his game so I’m simply going to keep picking him until he gives me a reason not to. I know this isn’t the risqué pick by any means but sometimes the safe pick is the best pick because it’s a safe pick for a reason.

National League MVP: Nolan Arenado


Nolan Arenado has been one of the best young hitters and third baseman in the National League for a few seasons now but somehow there are still people out there that don’t know about him. Is that because he plays for a rebuilding team that’s west of the Mississippi River in the Colorado Rockies? Maybe but it certainly isn’t his production that’s doing it. Arenado, now just 25-years old, heads into 2017 fresh off his fourth straight Gold Glove Award at third base for Colorado as well as his second straight season in which he led the National League in home runs. The Rockies will live and die by the bat of Arenado next season and they will ride him all the way to an MVP Award and quite possibly an NL West Division crown or at the very least a trip to the postseason as a Wild Card. I didn’t predict they would but I won’t be the one to bet against them either. 

Paul Goldschmidt will likely win the National League MVP Award in 2017, as he should, while Giancarlo Stanton will draw some votes for the award as well as he chases down Roger Maris and his 61 home runs in a single season mark. In the American League there are a few candidates who could win the award including Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros although I don’t feel like Trout is a strong candidate at this time unfortunately.


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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)