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American League players like Aaron Judge, Justin Verlander and Julio Rodriguez are looking to take home some hardware this year. Winners of the AL MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year will be announced in November.
While there are favorites for every award, there are still plenty of players who deserve recognition. The American League had its fair share of dominant players this season.
Judge may be the favorite for the AL MVP Award, but he's certainly not without competition. Here are some other candidates for the prestigious award.
Who will win the American League MVP?
5) Justin Verlander
Verlander is almost guaranteed to take home his fifth Cy Young award. He was head and shoulders above the rest of the AL pitching class. The 39-year old posted a 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over a span of 175.0 innings pitched. He was so dominant that he put himself in the MVP conversation.
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His 6.1 WAR (via Fangraphs) is the most among American League pitchers and is tied for fifth among all AL players. He's already won an MVP Award in his career. So it wouldn't be ridiculous to think he could win another.
4) Jose Ramirez
Jose Ramirez doesn't get the attention he deserves. He is one of the best players in baseball. His 6.2 WAR is ranked fourth among AL position players. He was the catalyst for an overachieving Cleveland Guardians team.
They weren't expected to do much this season. The Guardians ended up finishing first in the AL Central with a 92-70 record. Ramirez will not win the award because the field is too stacked. But he deserves a few votes.
3) Yordan Alvarez
While Verlander will get some attention, the majority of MVP voters will think of Yordan Alvarez when looking at the Houston Astros. His was incredible this season, posting a 185 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) through 134 games.
His WAR was impacted because he primarily played DH. He still managed to rank second best among AL position players with a 6.6 WAR.
He also posted a .304 batting average, 37 home runs and 96 RBI.
2) Shohei Ohtani
Any other year, Shohei Ohtani would be the runaway MVP favorite. His unique ability to hit and pitch, both at an incredibly high level, is unmatched. That alone deserves MVP attention.
As a hitter, he put up 142 wRC+ and hit 34 home runs, which is the third most in the American League.
On the mound, he posted a ridiculous 2.33 ERA and 11.87 strikeouts per nine innings. That puts him second in the league in that department, trailing only Carlos Rodon.
1) Aaron Judge
Unfortunately for the other contenders, no one had a season quite as dominant as Aaron Judge. The Yankees slugger posted a 207 wRC+. He became the fourth player in MLB history with 500 or more plate appearances in a season to reach that milestone (StatMuse).
Barry Bonds holds the record with four seasons above the 200 threshold. Judge is next on the list. He also set the American League home run record, which will earn him a lot of points with voters.
