Twins Midseason MVP (vote)

[Seth Stohs]

We have now passed the halfway point of the season... I was curious... who would you vote for as the Twins Most Valuable Player through the season's first half?

 

https://twitter.com/twinsdaily/status/1146473624175558657 

 

Are there others who should get serious consideration? I suppose Odorizzi and Rogers could be considered. I put Kepler ahead of Rosario because he's had a better first half, but Rosie probably deserves consideration. I thought Cruz and Garver missed too much time to put on the four-person ballot.

 

So, vote and discuss. 

[Vanimal46]

Polanco's consistency and contact skills keeps this offense clicking on all cylinders. He has my vote.

[MMMordabito]

Polanco for sure ... Echoing Vanimal46 on the consistency part .... That allows for the streaky Keplers and Rosarios to hide or shine without creating a rollercoaster

 

I think Cron has provided a lot of that consistency as well since mid-May.  His season OPS has rode between 825 and 900, and he's been steady, if not above-average, at first as well.

[dbminn]

I voted for Polanco. Like Vanimal, I think his consistency has been important.

 

I would've voted for Jasitch Garvstro but he wasn't listed. A combined 3.0 WAR in 309 PA. The best C defense we've seen since Mauer was healthy.

[Vanimal46]

I voted for Polanco. Like Vanimal, I think his consistency has been important.

 

I would've voted for Jasitch Garvstro but he wasn't listed. A combined 3.0 WAR in 309 PA. The best C defense we've seen since Mauer was healthy.

I believe his full name is Willjasitch Garvstrodillo.

[jkcarew]

Polanco. (I'm not a tweeter.)

[curt1965]

Polanco

 

These polls are nice, but why couldn’t they be scored on TD? I don’t do twitter, as I am sure others do not do, so not getting true indication of who the readers think the MVP is!

[Blake]

Don't have a twitter account.

 

I would have gone with Kepler.

[mikelink45]

No twitter for me either, but I think Kepler would get my vote.  He came through when we really needed a lift. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Polanco

These polls are nice, but why couldn’t they be scored on TD? I don’t do twitter, as I am sure others do not do, so not getting true indication of who the readers think the MVP is!ant...

 

Someone can do a TD Twitter poll if they want. We get a lot more results on Twitter, and you can see those results in the thing above once it''s complete (24 hours). 

[USAFChief]

Polanco.

 

But I refuse to participate in anything Twitter related.

[Thrylos]

Polanco leads the team in bWAR and WARP and tied with Kepler in fWAR.  So it is Polanco

[John Kelsey]

Buxton would probably be close if he had been healthy, but I'd go Polanco. 

[Sssuperdave]

For hitters Polanco is a pretty easy choice, but I can do some mental gymnastics to choose Berrios as the team MVP. Polanco has 4.0 bWAR and Berrios is at only 2.0, so this is a stretch, but here goes...

 

One way of thinking about MVP could be to ask "whose injury would have hurt the team the most?" If I imagine a world where Berrios was injured for the entire first half, it changes things dramatically. He has pitched 112 innings (13 more than any other pitcher) with a 2.89 ERA, so that is 112 innings that would have been picked up by guys like Stewart, Smeltzer, Littell, Thorpe, and Poppen. In WAR terms, Berrios would not have actually been replaced by a "replacement-level" player.  That 112 innings pitched by others would probably have been negative WAR.

 

Regarding Polanco, the Twins had enough depth, at least until the most recent string of injuries, that they might have been better able to weather a Polanco injury. Polanco's 370 plate appearances would have been picked up by guys like Gonzalez, Adrianza, Astudillo, Arraez, and Cave, and his innings in the field would have been picked up by Gonzalez, Adrianza, and Arraez.  I think that group would have produced a positive WAR.

 

I don't know if the difference in quality of replacements is enough to make up the 2.0 WAR gap between Polanco and Berrios, but it's at least an interesting way to think about it.

[dex8425]

Polanco is the easiest choice based on WAR, but I like to think about it this way:

 

Which player would we LEAST like to lose?

 

Answer: Taylor Rogers.  

[IndianaTwin]

I think the correct answer among these four is...

 

Yes. 

 

 

 

(And gosh, has it been fun so far!)

[obtusebanter]

"Polanco leads the team in bWAR and WARP and tied with Kepler in fWAR.So it is Polanco"

 

I lean Kepler.  He has provided an extra win when one considers their WPA.  

[gunnarthor]

Polanco. Both Buxton and Kepler are having outstanding seasons as well but right now Polanco has been incredibly consistent and healthy.

[Doomtints]

Strictly speaking, it's Nelson Cruz.

 

When it comes to the long-term players, it's Kepler as his performance saw the biggest jump and has made the biggest impact.

 

I understand why people are saying Polanco, though.

[Danchat]

I'm going to pick Berrios, but like Chief I don't do Twitter so you won't get my vote there. He's been the ace we've desperately needed, providing 112 innings with a sub 3.00 ERA, and his ability to get more innings than the other guys has saved the bullpen from throwing more innings. While Polanco has the higher WAR and on a individual player basis he should be the MVP, without Berrios our pitching staff as a whole would suffered tremendously.

 

It was hard not picking Polanco, I do love this guy. He deserves to be the MVP and All-Star rep.

[Thegrin]

Although Berrios, Odo & Taylor Rogers have proven their value, a pitcher should never be considered as a most valuable player.  That is why MLB has both a MVP & a Cy Young award. 

[DocBauer]

The beauty is there are so many great choices!

 

Rosario has been amazing, despite some small Jekyl and Hyde. Kepler deserves serious discussion in his breakout year. Even with injury causing missed time, Cruz has done exactly what he was supposed to do, MASH, produce, and seemingly provide a veteran presence.

 

Even though Rosario and Kepler have been outstanding and produced some better numbers, I have to jump on the Polanco wagon for his production and amazing consistency.

[strumdatjaguar]

MVP - Polanco

 

Runner-ups:  Berrios, Max and Odo

 

Honorable Mentions:

Eddie

Cron

Rogers

Cruz

Garver

 

I'm just happy there are so many doing so well!

 

 

 

[Kelly Vance]

It has to be Polanco.  He is starting the All Star Game at shortstop and has been leading the league in hitting all year while manning the 2 or 3 spot in the lineup.  And I am a big Eddie fan.  I like Keps too. I have never seen him dog it on any play ever.

 

But honorable mention to Nelson Cruz for his leadership, teaching ability and presence. It is not just a coincidence that all these kids started hitting a ton this year. Cruz is the difference. 

 

Berrios is a solid anchor, but maybe not most valuable. 

[Darius]

Fantastic discussion topic right now. There are arguments for a number of guys.

 

Hard to argue against either Berrios or Buxton. I think the team would most without either of them for a sognificant stretch.

 

Polanco and Kepler are among the top WAR guys in the league right now (Polanco on pace for an 8 win season, Kepler 6 - pretty incredible).

 

The thing about Kepler: he’s been a consistent force at the top of this lineup all year. He’s been hammering the ball all year, for the most part. Probably not going to be handed team MVP, but he has been a massive driver of this team’s success this year.

 

In the end, I just can’t give it to anyone other than Buxton. The difference when he’s in center field is clear. The effect he has on the opposing pitcher when he gets on base is clear. To rip off a line from the Twins Skor North crew the other day (not sure of the name, and paraphrased): Despite all of the new-fangled advanced stats out there right now, I don’t think there is one that fully and accurately measures Buxton.

[amjgt]

I’m surprised so many of you don’t have a Twitter account. If for no other reason that to follow Twins news