DJ LeMahieu has been absolutely incredible for the Yankees this season, but Mike Trout is the front-runner for the MVP in the American League.
Trout went 2 for 5 with two home runs and four RBIs on Wednesday in the Angels' 6-2 win over the Rangers. He now leads LeMahieu in every category offensively save two — batting average and hits.
In fact, LeMahieu leads Trout significantly on those fronts, as he finished the Yankees' 5-1 win over the Mets with a .342 average and 110 hits on the season.
But here's the kicker, despite leading Trout by nearly 50 points in average, Trout is beating LeMahieu by 65 points in on-base percentage.
He's also topping him in slugging, OPS, OPS+, WAR, home runs, runs scored, stolen bases and walks. He has walked 51 more times than LeMahieu, which makes his numbers even more impressive.
Absolutely no one wants to pitch to him and he's still smoking the ball at-bat after at-bat.
And, for those out there who say a player who plays for a losing team can't win an MVP, go talk to Giancarlo Stanton, whose Marlins went 77-85 in 2017 when he won the award. He did so because his numbers far trumped anything any other player did in the National League that year.
If the season ended today, Trout's numbers absolutely demolish those of LeMahieu. And yes, the Yankees infielder has been a huge bright spot in a lineup that sustained a lot of injuries.
But, Mike Trout didn't have Shohei Ohtani or Andrelton Simmons for a month and Justin Upton was out for two months. Kole Calhoun is also batting .229 and Albert Pujols is hitting .234.
Trout has willed a mediocre and injured Angels team over .500. That's the definition of MVP worthy.
LeMahieu has been fantastic, but he is not leading the MVP race.
Studs of the Night
Stephen Strasburg tossed 7 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball against the Marlins with 14 strikeouts. Washington won 3-1.
Cubs catcher Victor Caratini homered from both sides of the plate in a 6-5 loss to the Pirates.
Reds starter Sonny Gray struck out 12 batters in eight scoreless innings in a 3-0 win over the Brewers.
Dud of the Night
Rays reliever Jose Alvarado gave up five earned runs in 2/3 of an inning in a 9-6 loss to the Orioles.
Highlight
Nolan Arenado is a cheat code. The Astros, though, defeated the Rockies 4-2.
Too easy for Nolan 😍 pic.twitter.com/5IXltoBRpe
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) July 4, 2019
What's Next
Phillies (45-41) at Braves (51-36) , 7 p.m. ET — The Phillies need to win the rubber game of this three-game series for a couple of reasons. For one, they need it to cut into Atlanta's 5 1/2 game lead in the division, and secondly, a divisional win against one of the best teams in the National League can only build confidence going forward.