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Who Are The 2015 MVP Candidates?
Posted by John Dewan on Dec 16th 2015
August 31, 2015
In 2014, Clayton Kershaw became just the second pitcher to win an MVP award in the last 20 years. In some ways, he has been just as dominant this season as he was last season. Specifically, he is striking out 11.5 batters per nine innings, up from 10.9 in 2014. However, while sabermetrics are slowly becoming an accepted part of the voters’ decision-making, Kershaw’s 11-and-6 record is a far cry from his 21-and-3 record in 2014 and may keep him out of the running.
If any pitcher could compete for the award this season, it’s Kershaw’s teammate Zack Greinke. Greinke does not share Kershaw’s amazing peripheral statistics, but his 1.61 ERA is the only one under 2.00 among qualified starters and his 14-and-3 record is likely more palatable for voters.
The real key for Greinke may be the fact that the Dodgers, despite some recent troubles, still sit atop the NL West standings. Greinke is the only member of the top five in NL Total Runs—a measure of player value based on his offensive, defensive, pitching, and baserunning contributions—who would make the playoffs if the season ended today, which may it his award to lose unless the standings change.
| National League Leaders in Total Runs, 2015 | ||||||||
| Player | Runs Created | Pitching Runs Created | BR Runs | Defensive Runs Saved | Positional Adjustment | Total Runs | ||
| Paul Goldschmidt | 111 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 137 | ||
| Bryce Harper | 111 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 15 | 137 | ||
| Zack Greinke | 5 | 108 | -1 | 8 | 2 | 122 | ||
| Joey Votto | 108 | 0 | -2 | 5 | 10 | 121 | ||
| Buster Posey | 75 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 24 | 119 | ||
For most of the season, Bryce Harper has looked like the clear-cut favorite to win the NL award, and he remains tied for the lead with 137 Total Runs. He also is tied for the NL lead with 31 home runs and is in the NL lead with a .457 on-base percentage. However, Harper may see some resistance from the voters if the struggling Nationals fail to reach the postseason. If the Nationals make the playoffs, Harper will likely lock down the award. Meanwhile, if the Nationals fall short and Buster Posey’s Giants can rebound to make the playoffs, that may be enough to push Posey over the top.
| American League Leaders in Total Runs, 2015 | ||||||||
| Player | Runs Created | Pitching Runs Created | BR Runs | Defensive Runs Saved | Positional Adjustment | Total Runs | ||
| Josh Donaldson | 103 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 135 | ||
| Mike Trout | 99 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 126 | ||
| Ian Kinsler | 78 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 25 | 117 | ||
| Manny Machado | 85 | 0 | -3 | 14 | 20 | 116 | ||
| Lorenzo Cain | 76 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 114 | ||
The AL MVP race is much more straightforward. Josh Donaldson has a fairly comfortable lead with 135 Total Runs, is second in baseball with 36 home runs, and plays for the surging Blue Jays who are on track to win the AL East for the first time since 1993.
The man closest to Donaldson is 2014 MVP winner Mike Trout, who has put together another incredible season. The biggest upset in all of this may be that Trout could have just one MVP trophy after the unprecedented first four full seasons he has had in his career.