Which Baseball Players look set to Win the MVP this Season?

As spring training wraps up, it’s time to make some predictions for the upcoming MLB season. Today, we look at who is most likely to win the AL MVP and NL MVP in 2015. Fortunately, baseball’s two-league system does give us multiple MVP’s, though it also makes for a wider range of contenders. Here’s who I think will win the awards in both leagues, starting with the American League.

Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels claimed the prize in 2014 following a tremendous 36-home run season. He’s an athletic center fielder with great power, and his .452 spring training average suggests he’ll continue his great form. The sky is truly the limit for this guy. There will be stiff competition, however. One particular player that has caught my attention is reigning AL Rookie of the Year, Jose Abreu. Though he is 27, the Cuban’s first year in Major League Baseball was a blaring success. He also belted out 36 home runs and had an average of .317. What’s more, he’s batting .488 this spring. One particularly inexperienced player I’d keep tabs on is Mookie Betts for the Boston Red Sox. He’s probably the Spring Training MVP, and we all know how little that actually means, but he’s got extra-base hitting power and blazing speed. He even hit an inside-the-park home run just a week ago! He had a successful 52-game 2014 where he bat near .300 and hit several home runs. In spring he’s at .487. He’s probably more a candidate for Rookie of the Year, but at 22 is certainly someone to watch as he progresses. 

In the National League, it was pitcher Clayton Kershaw who won MVP last season, but I’m going to stick with hitters this time again. My initial thought is for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig, another Cuban sensation, to finally mature into the super star his potential calls for. In addition to some sensational catches in the outfield, he’s a prototypical slugger; it’s just the base running and potential for antics that currently hold him back. He’s having a relatively average spring, but I feel he’s the type of player who rises to the challenge when the pressure grows and will be a thrill to watch again this season. Andrew McCutchen, who claimed the NL MVP in 2013, should get big numbers as well with his own collection of highlight catches. In fact, he single-handedly carries the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has a slight injury concern this year, but if he can fight through it he’ll be a definite contender.

Perhaps one player with a greater pedigree than these, with three World Series titles in five years, is the San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey. He hits .300 and usually gets around 20 home runs per year. If he can hit a few more out of the park this season, he should be a contender, along with his Giants who repeatedly get hot in October.

And so who wins in each league? In the American League I’m picking Abreu, while in the National League it’ll be Posey. Either way, it’s going to be exciting to see baseball return in the next week. Let’s play ball!