The AL MVP Race is Officially On

By Brendon Rosenau
Love of Sports Correspondent

You want surprises in baseball? Look no further than the American League.

As of Saturday, Tampa Bay led the A.L. East while the Yankees where in dead last.

Detroit, the preseason pick de jour, had the second-worst record in the league and resided in the Central cellar - below the Royals.

In the West, the Oakland A’s, who traded away two of their best players prior to the season, are just a half game behind the Angels.

Just like the standings, the race for AL MVP is full of surprises as well. Below is a list of 11 players who are building their cases for one of baseballs most prestigious awards. Among those you will not see: David Ortiz, Miguel Cabrera, Alex Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero or Ichiro.

BETTER THAN MOST, BUT NOT THE BEST

Carl Crawford, OF, Tampa Bay: Crawford leads the team in several offensive categories, including runs (30), hits (48) and stolen bases (12). The elder statesmen of the surprising Rays is hitting .276 and has 24 RBI. He leads the American League with three triples and is second in runs scored.

James Shields, SP, Tampa Bay: Shields isn’t as well known as teammate Scott Kazmir, but after this year that may be a different story. Shields is 4-3 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. What’s more impressive is that he has two shutouts on the year as well: a one-hitter against the Red Sox and a two-hit gem against the Angels.

Joakim Soria, RP, Kansas City: Possibly the best reliever going today. Soria’s made 17 appearances and has yet to allow an earned run. In 16.1 innings of work, he’s allowed just four hits and walked only one, giving him an amazing WHIP of 0.31! He only has 10 saves, but then again he pitches for the Royals. If he wore pinstripes or played in Boston, he’d be a household name.

Emil Brown, OF, Oakland: The A’s have shocked even themselves with their great April, and Brown is a large reason why. He’s provided the offense with 33RBI, which ranks third in the league, and a team high 22 runs, 13 doubles and 42 hits.

Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders, SPs, Los Angeles Angels: This one-two punch has been heavenly, contributing to half the teams wins. Santana’s 6-0 with a 2.63 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP, while Saunders is 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA and a WHIP of 1.12. They’re the only teammates in the majors with six wins each.

THE TOP 5

Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP, Boston: Dice K has almost reached the ridiculous level fans thought he would when he arrived from the Far East. He’s yet to lose this season (6-0) and has a 2.45 ERA in 47.2 innings. He’s held opponents to a .170 average (second in the league) and has a WHIP of just 1.22. His 40 strikeouts are fifth in the league.

Carlos Quentin, OF, Chicago White Sox: The centerpiece of the Dan Haren trade leads the A.L. in home runs (10) and OPS (.988) and is second in RBI with 34. He’s the only player in the league with at least 10 dingers going into the weekend and has been the most consistent hitter in the White Sox lineup all season long.

Josh Hamilton, OF, Texas: Hamilton was the feel good story of 2007. Now he showing that he’s a really dangerous hitter. He’s driven in 44 runs, 11 more than anyone else, while hitting .293. He has an OPS of .886 (fifth in league) and is in the Top 5 in both doubles and triples. The Rangers are going nowhere, but Hamilton’s putting up an Andre Dawson-circa 1987-type year.

THE FAVORITES

Kevin Youkilis, 1B, Boston: Without a doubt the offensive MVP up to this point. Youk is among the Top 10 in seven offensive categories, leads the league with 14 doubles and is second with both eight HR and a .984 OPS. He also has a .318 average (third), has scored 27 runs and driven in 30, all while playing a Gold Glove caliber first base.

Cliff Lee, SP, Cleveland: He’s the biggest surprise of them all, and he’s currently the front runner for the award. Lee’s helped the Indians climb back into first with numbers that are just plain silly. Before Sunday’s loss to the Reds, he was 6-0, but that was far from his most impressive stat. How about a Three-Fingers Brown-like 0.67 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP, both of which are tops in the majors by far. He’s holding batters to a .176 average and has 44 strikeouts while issuing only four walks.

So, what about it, gang? Can a pitcher win the MVP this year? Guess it may just be time to jump on that Cliff Lee Bandwagon before it gets too full.