MLB Playoffs 2017: Choosing an MVP for every team

With the postseason upon us, it’s time to recognize one player from each team that helped his club reach October

Well, the calendar now reads October which means postseason baseball. After obtaining the majors’ best record in 2016, the Chicago Cubs turned in a record of 92-70 this season. That mark was good enough to net them the three seed in the National League, meaning the Cubs will face-off against the Washington Nationals in the NLDS.

For the Cubs, 2017 marks the third year in a row that the North Siders have made the playoffs. Despite the Cubs’ good fortune, some teams have not been so lucky. The Colorado Rockies squeaked out the last spot on the National League side of the bracket and made the postseason for the first time since 2009.

On the opposite side of the playoff bracket, in the American League, the Minnesota Twins are making their first appearance in October since 2010. Even so, the Twins have not won a postseason game since 2004.

In addition to the Cubs, Twins and Rockies, the Red Sox, Astros, Yankees, Indians, Nationals, Diamondbacks and Dodgers round out the postseason picture. With the best record in their respective leagues, the Indians and Dodgers earned number one seeds.

With the playoff picture set, it’s time to see how each team made it to October. More specifically, it’s time to identify one MVP for each team; a player that carried his team to the postseason in 2017.

Let’s start in the National League with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Justin Turner

For a team that won 104 games in the regular season and finished in the top ten in both OBP and slugging percentage as a team, picking an MVP was hard. Not only do you have rookie sensation Cody Bellinger and 23-year-old Corey Seager to consider, but Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen also posted great seasons.

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With Kershaw only able to log 175 innings this season and Bellinger’s 146 strikeouts, the choice becomes a little clearer.

Turner, who just finished up his seventh full season in the majors, posted a career-best 5.7 WAR in 2017. To do that, the 32-year-old slashed .322/.415/.530 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI. While most are going to say “yeah, but Cody Bellinger hit 39 home runs and drove in 96,” I implore you to look a little deeper. Turner bests Bellinger in batting average by more than 50 points and OBP by 65 points. Turner was able to increase his OBP by drawing 59 walks and only striking out 56 times in 457 at-bats (12.3%).

On the defensive side of the ball, Turner was able to turn in an above average season at third base. In just under 1,000 innings at the hot corner, Turner posted a .969 fielding percentage, slightly better than the .962 league average. Along with that, Turner saved six runs on defense and decreased his number of errors from nine in 2016 to eight this season.

As the postseason gears up, it’s important to see how each teams “MVP” has performed during the postseason. For Turner, the numbers look very good. In 18 career postseason games, Turner has slashed .357/.471/.607 with two home runs and 12 RBI.

Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer

If Max Scherzer is healthy, he will always be at the top of the list when discussing an MVP candidate, for a specific team or for the entire league. This season, however, Scherzer had some competition within his own rotation. Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg each had very impressive seasons.

The 31-year-old Gonzalez tossed the second most innings of his career in 2017 (201) and compiled the second lowest ERA of his career (2.96). Gonzalez was durable as always, logging 30 or more starts for the seventh time in his career. In addition to that, Gonzalez recorded an ERA+ of 149 in 2017, the highest mark of his career.

Strasburg, 28, was equally impressive this season. In 28 starts, Strasburg notched 15 wins and recorded an ERA of 2.52. Along with that, Strasburg struck out 204 batters in 175 1/3 innings pitched.

Despite solid performances by Gonzalez and Strasburg, Max Scherzer tops them both. Now 32, Scherzer made 31 starts in 2017, posting a 16-6 record and a 2.51 ERA. With 200 2/3 innings pitched this season, Scherzer logged his fifth straight season of 200 or more innings pitched. In those 200 innings, Scherzer struck out 268 batters, equating to an average of 12 per game.

Scherzer also led the Nationals with a 7.2 WAR.

Following an early exit in his last start, Scherzer’s availability for the postseason seems to be up in the air. It seems that Scherzer suffered some sort of hamstring injury that could keep him from starting Game 1 of the NLDS against the Cubs.

The Nationals hope they can get Scherzer healthy in time for the playoffs. In his career, Scherzer has made 12 postseason starts and appeared in 14 postseason games. He is 4-4 in those games with a 3.74 ERA in 74 2/3 innings pitched.

It’s important to note the offensive players that had solid campaigns in 2017. Anthony Rendon, Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman all logged batting averages over .300 and OBP’s north of .350. Zimmerman clubbed 36 home runs while Harper hit 29 and Rendon and Murphy hit 25 and 23 respectively.

Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo

What else can be said other than Anthony Rizzo is a stud. At just 27 years old, Rizzo has amassed four straight seasons with 30 or more home runs. In three of those seasons, Rizzo has driven in more than 100 runs. To paint a picture of consistency, Rizzo slugged the same amount of home runs and recorded the same number of RBI in 2017 as he did a year prior, 32 and 109.

While Rizzo’s batting average dipped this season, down from .292 in 2016 to .273 this season, he increased his OBP in 2017 by seven points to .392. Along with that, Rizzo compiled an OPS of .899 and an OPS+ of 132.

In 2016, Rizzo finished fourth in the MVP voting, won a Gold Glove, a Sliver Slugger and was voted into the All-Star Game. This season, Rizzo has not entered the MVP conversation and was not voted to the All-Star Game. Despite not getting any love from the MVP-voting community, Rizzo had, in some ways, a better season in 2017 than in 2016.

This season, Rizzo recorded 14 fewer hits than last season. To make up for that, Rizzo drew 17 more walks, struck out 18 less times and was hit by a pitch eight more times in 2017 compared to 2016.

In addition to Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Ian Happ, Javier Baez and Willson Contreras all posted solid offensive seasons. Bryant slashed .295/.409/.537 while Happ and Baez clubbed 24 and 23 home runs respectively. Contreras slashed .276/.356/.499 with 21 home runs and 74 RBI in 117 games.

Over the last two seasons, Rizzo has racked up the postseason experience. In 2015 and 2016, Rizzo appeared in 26 postseason games and logged 97 at-bats. He has a slash line of .247/.336/.454 with five home runs and 12 RBI in those games.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Goldschmidt is the easy pick for the Diamondbacks’ regular season MVP. The 29-year-old first baseman hit 36 home runs and drove in 120 runs for the second time in his career. In addition to that, Goldschmidt slashed .297/.404/.563, upping his slugging percentage 74 points from 2016.

The last time Goldschmidt put up 36 home runs and at least 120 RBI was in 2013 when he finished second in the MVP voting. That season, Goldschmidt led the league with a .551 slugging percentage and .952 OPS, numbers he bested in 2017. Along with that, Goldschmidt scored 14 more runs this season compared to 2013 and stole three more bases.

With his impressive stats this season, Goldschmidt led the Diamondbacks in every major offensive category, batting average, home runs, RBI, OBP and hits.

In a very small sample size, Goldschmidt has tore up the postseason. Six years ago, in 2011, Goldschmidt played in his first and only playoff series. That series was an NLDS match-up against the Brewers. In four games (16 at-bats), Goldschmidt clubbed two home runs and recorded six RBI. Along with that, he slashed .438/.526/.813. The Diamondbacks hope Goldschmidt can be that successful again when they match up against the Rockies in the NL Wild Card Game.

Some other solid seasons for Diamondbacks’ players include Jake Lamb (30 home runs, 105 RBI), J.D. Martinez (29 home runs, 65 RBI) and Robbie Ray (15-5, 2.89 ERA).

Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado

To pick just one of these players would be doing a disservice to the other. There is no doubt Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado sat the bar offensively for the Rockies this season. Both played 159 games and hit 37 home runs.

Even though Arenado edged him in the RBI category (130-104), Blackmon prevailed in many other offensive categories. The 30-year-old Blackmon slashed .331/.399/.601 with 14 triples, 213 hits and 137 runs scored. To speak to the excellent play of Blackmon in 2017, he led the National League in runs scored, hits, triples, batting average and total bases.

Arenado, 26, posted the best season of his career according to OPS+ with a 132 mark. The fifth-year third baseman slashed .309/.373/.586 with 37 home runs and 130 RBI this season. In addition to that, Arenado led the league with 43 doubles and notched 187 hits.

Arenado leads the Rockies in RBI while Blackmon is tops in batting average, home runs, OBP and hits.

As stated at the beginning of this piece, the Rockies have not made it to the postseason since 2009, meaning neither Blackmon nor Arenado have appeared in a playoff game.

Despite having no experience in the postseason, Blackmon and Arenado paved the way for the Rockies’ offense to be one of the best in baseball. Colorado’s offense finished the season in the top ten in runs scored, team batting average, OBP and slugging percentage.

With a high-powered offense, the Rockies may surprise a lot of people in the coming weeks.

Cleveland Indians: Corey Kluber

The Cleveland Indians have two serious AL MVP candidates, Jose Ramirez and Corey Kluber. For this piece, I am going to choose Corey Kluber as the Indians’ regular season MVP. While it’s hard to argue with Ramirez’s .318/.374/.583 slash line and 29 home runs, Kluber’s 8.0 WAR is hard to ignore. What is also hard to ignore is how many categories Kluber led this season.

In 29 starts, Kluber went 18-4 with a 2.25 ERA and 265 strikeouts in 203 2/3 innings pitched. Those 18 wins and four losses equate to a .818 winning percentage. That winning percentage, amount of wins and ERA were all tops or tied for the top spot among qualified pitchers in the American League. Along with that, Kluber led the AL with five complete games, three shutouts, an ERA+ of 202, a WHIP of 0.869 and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.36. Wait, there’s more. Kluber also led the league with an average of 6.2 hits per game and 1.6 walks per nine innings.

There was little doubt during the season that Kluber was the ace of a pitching staff that finished in the top five in ERA, quality starts, WHIP and batting average against.

The Indians hope Kluber can keep up his dominant ways in the postseason. In six career postseason starts, Kluber has been nothing short of amazing. In those six starts, Kluber is 4-1 with a 1.83 ERA in 34 1/3 innings pitched.

Moving forward, Kluber will be the Indians’ horse in the postseason. That is a role he assumed last season when he made two starts in the ALCS against the Blue Jays and three starts in the World Series against the Cubs.

Boston Red Sox: Chris Sale

I would be amiss if I did not include the front-runner opposite Corey Kluber in the American League Cy Young voting. Chris Sale has put together one of the best seasons of his career in his first year as a member of the Red Sox.

After a block buster trade made him change the color of his socks last winter, Sale dominated opponents. In 32 starts, Sale went 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA and 308 strikeouts in 214 1/3 innings pitched. That strikeout total along with his innings pitched led the American League this season.

With that insane amount of strikeouts, it would make sense for Sale to have a high strikeouts per nine innings ratio. With a 12.9 mark, not only did Sale top a career high, but he also led the league in that category.

In back-to-back seasons, 2015 and 2016, Sale finished in the top five in the American League Cy Young voting. Despite posting solid numbers in each one of those seasons, Sale bested both of those seasons in 2017. In 2015 and 2016, Sale posted ERA’s in the mid-three range while striking out 274 and 233 batters respectively. Along with that, Sale notched an ERA+ of 114 in 2015. In 2016, Sale bested that to 121, but in 2017, he recorded an ERA+ of 157.

With a solid body of work not only in this season but over the course of his career behind him, Sale will likely get the call to start Game 1 of the ALDS against the Astros. Whenever Sale makes a start this postseason, it will the first of his career.

There is no doubt the Red Sox offense is one of the better ones in the majors. As a group, they finished tenth in runs scored, 13th in batting average and 11th in OBP. Because the Red Sox own a potent offense, Sale should feel comfortable making his first postseason start.

New York Yankees: Aaron Judge

Who else from the Yankees did you think would make this list? Of course Aaron Judge was the Yankees’ regular season MVP; by some accounts he should be the AL MVP.

After striking out 42 times in 84 at-bats in 2016, Judge came back with a vengeance in 2017. All the 25-year-old rookie did was club 52 home runs, drive in 114 and walk 127 times. That does even mention his .284/.422/.627 slash line and OPS+ of 171.

On perhaps a negative note, Judge struck out 208 times, good enough to lead the league. However, he did balance it out with the 127 walks mentioned above. Those walks, coupled with an insanely high OBP, account for the league leading 128 runs Judge scored in 2017.

With the Yankees failing to make the postseason in 2016, Judge has yet to play in October. All the Yankees can hope for is a little of Judge’s regular season to carry over into the postseason. Behind Judge, the Yankees’ offense was solid in 2017.

Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius and Brett Gardner all hit 20-plus home runs this season while Starlin Castro slashed .300/.338/.454 in 112 games.

After posting the type of season that Judge did in 2017, it would seem that he is a lock for AL Rookie of the Year. Even more so, Judge’s name should be seriously considered for American League MVP.

With a sterling first full season behind him, Judge will look to build upon his wonderful campaign when the Yankees square off against the Twins in the American League Wild Card Game.

Minnesota Twins: Ervin Santana

Ervin Santana turned a seven win season in 2016 into one of the best seasons of his career in 2017. In 33 starts, Santana won 16 games and logged a 3.28 ERA in 211 1/3 innings pitched. In addition to that, Santana tied Corey Kluber with five complete games and three shutouts.

With some very solid numbers that included an ERA+ of 135, Santana earned the second All-Star Game selection of his career.

The 34-year-old Santana has a big league career that spans 13 seasons so it would make sense for him to have an extensive postseason resume. Because Santana has played for some underachieving teams in his career, he has made only eight postseason starts in his career. All of those starts came early in Santana’s career when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels. Still, the results leave much to be desired.

From 2005-2009, Santana made all of his postseason starts. In those starts, Santana went 2-2 with a 5.56 ERA in 22 2/3 innings pitched.

While those numbers may not reflect the success Santana has had at points in his career, they came a long time ago. It’s for that reason that Twins fans hope Santana can shake off his rough postseason outings and throw up a gem against the Yankees.

With one year and a team option left on his contract, this may be the last time Santana makes it to the postseason. That fact will no doubt help drive Santana to put up his best work so the Twins can advance to face the Indians.

The postseason is a time for MVP’s to shine

The point of this piece was to point out one (or two) players that helped his respective team reach the postseason. Labeling that person the team’s “MVP” means that is the person we should expect the most out of in the postseason when the lights are at their brightest.

As we have seen over the years, once the postseason rolls around, anything is possible. Take the Cubs for example. Down three games to one in the World Series, the North Siders stormed back and downed the Indians in seven games. Without the help of team “MVP” and eventual league MVP Kris Bryant, the Cubs’ comeback would have been impossible.

Next: Chicago Cubs have the potential to be spoilers in the playoffs

With the postseason starting up shortly, it will be crucial for each team’s “MVP” to rise to the occasion and carry his team deep into October. Who knows, it may not be the play of the guys listed above that proves the difference in a playoff series. That is what makes October so fun.