Trout Heavy Favorite To Win 2020 AL MVP Award

While the National League MVP winner seems to be a different person each year, the American League MVP has been a little more predictable. Out of the last six seasons, Mike Trout has won the award three times. Is he a good bet to get the job done again in 2020? The oddsmakers seem to think so.

MIKE TROUT +100

The AL MVP race has a centerpiece in center field. His name is Mike Trout. Pitchers exist in their own separate category. Among position players, Mike Trout is clearly number one in all of baseball. Scouts, executives and analysts all refer to “five-tool players,” the players who can do it all: hit, hit for power, run the bases, play defense, and throw. They swing the bat effectively and potently, combining a high batting average with a lot of home runs and extra-base hits. They have great speed, whether in terms of stolen bases or going from first to third on a single or first to home on a double. They field their position extremely well, making above-average catches by covering more ground than other defensive players would manage to do. They throw out baserunners with a strong arm.

Mike Trout is the ultimate five-tool player. He does those five things better than anyone else in the game. It is up to someone else to knock him off his perch. What could actually help Trout is that he has Anthony Rendon now in the Los Angeles Angels’ batting order to protect him. Trout could get more good pitches to hit this year, which is a scary prospect for the rest of the American League.

AARON JUDGE +1200

The slugger for the New York Yankees has a great ballpark to hit in. The short porches down the lines in Yankee Stadium give Judge a great chance to hit 50 home runs as long as he plays something close to a full season. Judge has developed, however, as a defensive player. He made a lot of high-level leaping catches in right field last season for the Yankees. If his health cooperates, Judge could certainly give Trout a run for AL MVP in 2020. He could make defining plays in big games to help the American League favorite, the New York Yankees, achieve the best record in the AL. That would certainly be a strong argument for his candidacy.

GLEYBER TORRES +1200

The obvious handicap for Torres is that he plays on the same team as Aaron Judge. Yet, Torres – who isn’t quite the power hitter Judge is – plays better defense and should hit for a much higher average. If Torres becomes the player on the Yankees who hits a lot of game-winning singles and doubles and collects the most clutch hits in the biggest games, he doesn’t have to win the home run title (which he very likely won’t under any circumstance) to get AL MVP. Coming up big in big moments is the recipe for Torres to win the award.

SHOHEI OHTANI +1800

Much as Gleyber Torres might be limited by Aaron Judge on the Yankees, Shohei Ohtani might be limited by Mike Trout on the Los Angeles Angels. The extra limitation on Ohtani is that Anthony Rendon will also be there in the Halos’ batting order. Remember that Rendon had an MVP-caliber season for the Washington Nationals last year, but didn’t win the award. If Rendon plays well and Trout plays well, Ohtani won’t win. He will need Trout and Rendon to be slightly less than their very best, and the Angels will need to make the playoffs as well.

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