Cafardo's MVP and Best Pitcher Award Rankings

Welcome to part 6 of 7 in "The All-Star Break w/ Nikc Cafardo". The end-of-season award winners is always a huge debate, so I'm taking an in depth look at who is in contention so far halfway through the season. Chances are these aren't how it will finish in session 18, probably not even in 2 weeks. But it is who I believe is leading right now.

AL Best Pitcher:
#3: Superbone Threefinger, TEX

47 IP, 30 ER, 23 K, 3.83 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 2.94 K/6, 228.52 D/BF, -0.356 WPA, 2.125 WAR

The ERA is underwhelming, and he's not the most prominent member in the league discord, but I think Threefinger definitely deserves more attention. Compared to the rest of the AL, Threefinger's ERA is impressive, but the 47 innings pitched is what puts him on the list. To be solid while being the workhorse that he is takes serious skill, and although most opposers will point to his strikeouts, I'll point towards his low 0.89 HR/6, despite having so much to scout on him.

#2: Chipper Dipper, BAL

25.33 IP, 10 ER, 21 K, 2.37 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 4.97 K/6, 266.77 D/BF, 1.756 WPA, 2.267 WAR

He's also good at the plate, but the real reason we know of Dipper is because of his arm. Even though the Orioles are struggling, Dipper plays a large role in their wins as his WPA is the highest of all active pitchers in the MLR. Dipper already has 7 1-2-3 innings so far this season, and the Orioles should expect more to come.

#1: Tim Burr, MIN

25.33 IP, 8 ER, 11 K, 1.89 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 2.61 K/6, 255.63 D/BF, 0.972 WPA, 2.551 WAR

Burr is probably everyone's vote as of now. Despite coming off of his worst start of the season, he was able to limit the damage to only 4 runs. Outside of that, Burr has been dominant. Including a 1-hitter that came 1 out away from being a no-no, Burr has managed to keep everyone off the bases despite not striking a ton of people out. Burr has been very precise as only 17.6% of differences 100-200 have turned into hits.

NL Best Pitcher:

#3: Cal Tiberius Jr., MTL

41.67 IP, 19 ER, 21 K, 2.74 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.89 K/6, 270.9 D/BF, 0.946 WPA, 3.093 WAR

Tiberius was the clear-cut Cy Young in Season 1, and started off Season 2 as the favorite as well. Despite a time period where the media portrayed him as overrated, Tiberius is back to his old stuff. He's a workhorse with over 40 innings already, and he's not struggling either. Tiberius has the 2nd best D/BF of NL Pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched, and he's not far off from #1. Tiberius is a big reason why Montreal is in the position they are.

#2: Dan Gerzone, MIL

35 IP, 11 ER, 33 K, 1.89 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 5.66 K/6, 270.63 D/BF, 1.307 WPA, 3.378 WAR

The beer-channel may have him busy, but this doesn't stop Gerzone from dominating on the mound time and time again. With 2 player of the game awards, a lot of innings, and a WHIP nearly under 1, it's hard not to be wowed by Gerzone's stats. The most impressive thing about Gerzone in my opinion is his ability to get not just outs, but good outs. He has 18 differences over 450, or 12.8% of his pitches.

#1: Darth Vader, PIT

33 IP, 6 ER, 33 K, 1.09 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 6.00 K/6, 275.62 D/BF, 1.622 WPA, 4.402 WAR

I'm not all that sure how a 4.4 WAR through 9 sessions is possible, but Vader can do it. He's known as a numbers man, and it definitely seems to be working. Not only is he limiting runs, but it's definitely not just luck as his differences are high as well. His ability to limit major damage is the best in the league, as through 131 pitches thrown (9th most in MLR) he has not allowed a single difference under 19, and has only given up one home run.

AL MVP:

#3: Graham Grams, 2B, TOR

29 PAs, 13 H, 1 HR, 6 R, 3 RBI, .520/.571/.960, .607 wOBA, 214 DPA, .079 WPA, .929 WAR

Grams was an AL MVP candidate last year, and he's back once again showing himself off as one of the greatest all-time hitters. This year Grams has been a doubles machine, he's already got 8 in 9 games, including 6 in his last 13 appearances.

#2: Grimm Carp, C, TBDR

19 PAs, 8 H, 3 HR, 7 R, 6 RBI, .500/.579/1.188, .660 wOBA, 191.8 DPA, .290 WPA, .901 WAR

Carp may not have the plate appearances racked up yet, but his production has been good enough to put him at #2. With a DPA under 200 and a .660 wOBA, it's a surprise if Carp doesn't play nearly every game in the 2nd half. Carp has been reading pitchers with ease and been getting within striking distance a ton, including being within 80 of the pitch 42% of the time, and he has 2 0 difference home runs. Carp is one to keep an eye on for sure.

#1: Dakota Carolina Montana, 1B, HOU

24 PAs, 14 H, 1 HR, 2 SB, 6 R, 6 RBI, .636/..667/.955, .637 wOBA, 162.5 DPA, .251 WPA, 1.095 WAR

Everyone should know of "The Secretary of State" by now. DCM is carrying the Astros offense with a WAR over 1 and an unbelievable mix of contact, power, and even speed on the basepaths. It's amazing that anyone can go this long while getting on base two-thirds of the time, and he also has 4 extra base hits as well s accounting for .482 runs from stolen base attempts. He's played in all 9 sessions, and there was only 1 where he did not get on base (he went 0-2).

NL MVP:

#3: Forehead Jones, 1B, SDP

24 PAs, 7 H, 4 HR, 4 R, 6 RBI, .350/.458/.950, .519 wOBA, 168.2 DPA, .181 WPA, .798 WAR

We've probably all heard about Forehead Jones by now. His stock may be falling just a bit lately, but his stats still back him up to be top 3. Jones has so much power than more than half of his hits have left the ballpark. If he can continue to precisely guess the pitcher's number within 20, Jones could end with 8 or more home runs. While it's expected for most hitters to have about 50% of their differences over 250, Forehead Jones only has 25% of his over 250. In addition, he's showed an inability to get fooled, as only 1 of 24 differences have been over 350.

#2: Scotty Smalls, CF, LAD

26 PAs, 11 H, 3 HR, 2 SB, 10 R, 5 RBI, .524/.615/.952, .599 wOBA, 204.1 DPA, .350 WPA, .871 WAR

Smalls has been a force to be reckoned with because of his ability to be discord active, hit as well as he has, and be a threat on the basepaths. Although he could be considered not even the best player on his own team, Smalls has the 3rd best wRAA in the MLR and should probably be getting more attention for it.

#1: Billy Cutgrass, LF, LAD

20 PAs, 9 H, 3 HR, 7 R, 8 RBI, .500/.550/1.278, .674 wOBA, 196.1 DPA, .508 WPA, 1.163 WAR

Billy Cutgrass needs to be known, as through 9 sessions he has been the best position player in the MLR. With a crazy high wOBA for his number of plate appearances and a WAR over 1.1, Cutgrass is extremely important to the Dodgers lineup. He manages to get on base more than half of the time while also having the power to send 3 balls over the wall so far. Cutgrass also does the small things, like not grounding out in any of his 5 double play opportunities.

Credit for all stats goes to Meerstats