MLB Midseason Awards: A.L. MVP Award

Last year, it was a two-man race between Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout.

This year?

It's more of the same, but with one other player in the mix.

Mike Trout is not going to be mentioned in most people's midseason MVPs, but I just can't leave him out.  After hitting just .261 for the month of April, Trout is up to hitting .322 with 119 hits, 15 home runs, 59 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases.

We are slightly more than halfway through the season, but Trout is on pace to hit .322 with over 200 hits, close to 30 home runs, over 100 runs batted in, and 40 stolen bases.  His season may be overshadowed by the top two contenders, but I feel Trout is worth mentioning, as a hot second half could easily put him in the discussion.

Chris Davis is leading the league in home runs with 37, and is hitting a solid .315 at the plate.  He's got an OPS of 1.109, and is a huge reason why the Orioles are having the kind of success they are having.  In a tough AL East, the O's are 10 games over .500, and are right in the mix, both in the division, and for a wild card spot.

Davis has been exciting to watch, and some early mutterings of 62 home runs has begun.  Davis is my number two for midseason AL MVP.

Top honors has to go to Miguel Cabrera.  No player in the history of baseball has ever had 30 home runs and 90 RBIs at the All Star break, until this year.  Cabrera is hitting an incredible .365 with 30 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a 1.132 OPS.  He is putting up video game numbers so far in the first half of the season, and has actually elevated himself after an MVP and triple-crown winning season.

If Davis cools off a bit, Cabrera may actually win back-to-back triple crowns.  Color me impressed.

Also, check out: AL Midseason Cy Young Winner (Leader)

[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]

MLB announces A.L. All-Stars

Major League Baseball has just announced the starters, pitchers and reserves for both leagues for the 2013 MLB All-Star Game, which will be played on Tuesday, July 16th.

Here are the American League starters:

• C: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
• 1B: Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
• 2B: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
• SS: J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles
• 3B: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
• OF: Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
• OF: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
• OF: Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
• DH: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox

Here are the AL pitchers:

• * RHP: Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox
• LHP: Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays
• ** RHP: Bartolo Colon, Oakland A's
• * RHP: Jesse Crain, Chicago White Sox
• RHP: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers
• RHP: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
• RHP: Hisashi Iwakuma, Seattle Mariners
• RHP: Justin Masterson, Cleveland Indians
• RHP: Joe Nathan, Texas Rangers
• ** LHP: Glen Perkins, Minnesota Twins
• RHP: Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
• LHP: Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox
• RHP: Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers
• RHP: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

* Denotes injured.
** Denotes injury replacement.

Here are the AL reserves:

• C: Jason Castro, Houston Astros
• C: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
• 1B: Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers
• 2B: Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians
• 2B: Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
• 2B: Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays
• SS: Jhonny Peralta: Detroit Tigers
• 3B: Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
• OF: Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers
• OF: Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
• OF: Torii Hunter, Detroit Tigers
• DH: Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays

In addition, there will a final vote for additional AL All-Star and here are the candidates:

• Joaquin Benoit, Detroit Tigers
• Steve Delabar, Toronto Blue Jays
• David Robertson, New York Yankees
• Tanner Scheppers, Texas Rangers
• Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox

Thoughts?  Snubs?

[Here are the N.L. All-Stars.]