The Case for Mike Napoli

Every year the fall classic brings out the best in some previously unknown player. Last year, Cody Ross stole the show for the San Francisco Giants. This year, Mike Napoli has proven to be a legitimate big-game player. Going into this World Series I swore that Adrian Beltre would prove to be the MVP of the series. It looks like I may have to eat those words as Napoli is just feeding them to me.

In the 5 games he has played thus far Napoli has compiled the following stat line: 13 at bats (18 total plate appearances), 2 runs scored, 4 hits, 1 double, 2 home runs, 9 runs batted in, 3 walks and he has struck out twice. His batting average is .308 while his on-base percentage is .389. His slugging percentage is .846 and his OPS is 1.235.

What does that all translate into? He is first on the Rangers in OPS, Slugging and OBP. He is 3rd in batting average (2nd if you only quantify players that have played in all 5 games.) I need to repeat this, he has 9 RBI's - that is as many as Michael Young (3), Adrian Beltre (2), Nelson Cruz (2) and Josh Hamilton (2) combined. He has become an offensive machine.

On the other side of the ball - he has not allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to steal a base on him, throwing out all 3 attempts: Allen Craig twice and Jon Jay once.

While Napoli's star is surely shining bright right now, the question is, why haven't we noticed him before? The obvious answer is that he is buried on a team full of offensive and defensive weapons. But, Napoli is single handedly destroying my case for the Texas Rangers needing to/being in the hunt for Albert Pujols. Now, allow me to clarify here, I am not saying that Napoli is as good as Pujols, but what I am saying is that Napoli is good enough to not need Pujols.

First of all, Napoli is only 29 years old. Pujols is 31 - not a huge difference in age, but nevertheless, a difference exists. Napoli is capable of both catching and playing first base as well as DH'ing if need be. Pujols can play first or DH. Those are the plain eyeball examinations of the players, but lets take a quick look at the meat and potatos.

During the 2011 season Mike Napoli's stat line looked like this: 113 games played, 72 runs scored, 118 hits, 25 doubles, 30 home runs, 75 RBI's, 58 walks, .320 batting average, .414 OBP, .631 slugging and 1.046 OPS.

During the 2011 season Albert Pujols' stat line looked like this: 147 games played, 105 runs scored, 173 hits, 29 doubles, 37 home runs, 99 RBI's, 61 walks, .299 batting average, .366 OBP, .541 slugging and .906 OPS.

For arguments sake, Prince Fielders 2011 stat line looked like this: 162 games played, 95 runs scored, 170 hits, 36 doubles, 38 home runs, 120 RBI's, 107 walks, .299 average, .415 OBP, .566 slugging and a .981 OPS.

In 34, and 49 fewer games played respectively, Napoli put up fairly similar numbers to both Pujols and Fielder. Of course, on the free agent market, both of those gentlemen will command big dollars and long term contracts. The Rangers have Napoli arbitration eligable for the 2012 season and he becomes a free agent in 2013. According to SI.com, the average salary for a catcher is $2,160,425.94. The Rangers have something special in Napoli and if they are wise, their biggest signing this off-season could be a nice contract extension for him. Not bad for a guy who was traded to the Blue Jays, stayed there for all of 4 days and was turned around and traded to the Rangers last winter.

After all that, I need to offer up 2 mea culpa's... first, Mike Napoli, not Adrian Beltre will win the World Series MVP. Second, the Rangers do not need, nor will they sign Albert Pujols, they're gonna be just fine without him.

As of Today: Who is Your MVP?

(I apologize for the alignment, the editor on this site isn't that great....)

I know that it may seem a bit premature to name an MVP. However, the fact of the matter is the season is winding down. True, there is still a month of baseball to be played and a lot can change in that time, however, I have narrowed down my field(s) for each league to 3 players that I think are very much deserving of the Most Valuable Player designation. So let's kick this thing off with my National League finalists:

Ryan Braun, the Hebrew Hammer, the man the Brewers locked up to a nice contract extension earlier this se

ason, is living up to his pay. What are his credentials? First of all, he is leading (okay, co-leading) a Milwaukee Brewers team to an 8.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. In doing so,

he has amassed a .333 batting average with 25 homers, 89 RBI's, 30 stolen bases and has scored 92 runs. The hard sell is that he is pretty much neck and neck with Prince Fielder as the MVP of his team! I give Braun the nod because I feel he is a more rounded player. Though Fielder has more home runs and

RBI's, Braun has a higher OPS and obviously has the speed that Fielder lac

ks.

Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers is doing something in LA that one has not observed in a few seasons now - playing exceptional baseball. While his team appears to be falling apart at the seems, Kemp has gone on to hit .319 with 31 home runs, 100 RBI's, 35 stolen bases and added 86 runs. The Dodgers, in my opinion, have a team that is capable of being great, especially anchored by Kemp. They just cannot seem to get their stuff together. Kemp is playing hardfor a team that is obviously going nowhere, but his numbers look as though, to him, every game is the 7th game of the World Series.

Jose Reyes of the New York Mets is my third nominee. Again, this is a player on a team going nowhere.

I mean, NOWHERE, yet he is still playing hard baseball. True, he is in a contract year, however, when healthy, Reyes always puts up tremendous numbers. This season he is batting a healthy .336 with 5 home runs, 37 RBI's, 34 stolen bases and has scored 82 runs. In essence, he is d

oing exactly what is asked of him. He is getting on base, advancing, and scoring. Not bad for a guy stuck on a team that is just... horrible. Okay, they aren't THAT bad, but when not a single player on your team has more than 50 RBI's this late in the season... well, things aren't exactly aces there, now are they?

In the American League we start things off with a player I find to be playing OUT OF HIS MIND this season, Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox. After only having played 18 re

gular season games last year, there is no way in hell you would have been able to tell me that Ellsbury would have transformed into a beast for the 2011 season. But, batting out of the lead

off spot he has managed to put up a .312 average adding 23 homeruns, 82 RBI's, 36 stolen bases and has scored 95 runs. I repeat, this is out of the lead off spot!!!! To put that in perspective

, arguably the greatest lead off hi

tter of all time, Rickey Henderson, maxed out at 28 home runs in a season (twice, 1986 and 1990), NEVER had 80 RBI's (coming closest with 74 in 1986), but did manage to blow away Ellsbury with dozens of bags swiped (obviously) and runs scored. However, this looks like this kids match has just been lit.

Next up, fellow member of the Boston Red Sox, Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzo was brought in to rake for the Sox. He is doing exactly that. Though many people had him pegged to unanimously win the AL MVP award, he has had a couple of slumps that have taken him out of that obvious selection. Having said that, he has still managed to bat .342 with 23 home runs, 103 RBI's and has scored 90 runs. Nobody really cares about the 1 stolen base he has. In fact, I think that may have been a courtesy stat. However, Gonzo is doing exactly what everyone expects him to do. Now, we just need to see if the power numbers take a spike in the month of September.

Last, but certainly not least is Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees. This man has been a pleasant surprise for the Yanks, much like some would say about Ellsbury in Boston. Granderson went from having a very disappointing 2010 campaign, to becoming a beast. Granderson comes into today batting .274 with an AL best 38 home runs, 107 RBI's, 123 runs scored and has swiped 24 bags. Another all-around player. Though he wears the pin stripes, I have a hard time disliking Granderson. He plays the game the right way and he plays it hard. Granderson has managed (in my opinion) to steal the spotlight in New York away from Jeter, A-Rod, Cano and even Texeira. I think this young man is the next face of the franchise, and the Steinbrenner family should be very pleased with that.

So, after giving my case for each of the above players, I had a fairly easy time with my selection for the NL, but a much more difficult time with the AL. In the NL, I think Matt Kemp is by far the best player this season. He is tops in most statistically categories and has not given up on a team that just doesn't seem to care. In the AL - my pick, like many at the start of the season was for Gonzo. However, Granderson has better numbers. On top of that argument, I think Ellsbury is playing far and away the most surprising baseball of all the nominees. I had to rule out A-Gon because of his lulls. Between Granderson and Ellsbury I have to go with Ellsbury. What this kid is doing right now and what he is capable of... well, he's gonna make a whole lot of money when he hits the free agent market. So there you have my picks - thoughts?

NL MVP: Matt Kemp

AL MVP: Jacoby Ellsbury